Less is more: Developing and validating the short scale for investigating L2 boredom beyond the classroom

In line with current trends in the field to reduce the number of items in scales and to provide thorough validation evidence, the study aimed to develop and validate a short-form version of the 21-item Boredom in Learning English Outside of School (BLEOS) scale. A multinational dataset of n = 1,133 participants was divided into two samples: the first sample was used to develop the Short-form Boredom in Learning English Outside of School (S-BLEOS) scale while the second sample was used to validate the scale. Development efforts included examining the underlying factor structure of the 21-item scale and selecting items through a combination of factor loadings, item reliabilities, and inter-item correlations. Validation efforts included testing the resultant measurement model through confirmatory factor analysis, as well as establishing convergent and discriminant validity by contrasting the S-BLEOS with existing boredom and other individual difference variables in the known foreign language learning nomological network. The development of the S-BLEOS resulted in a unidimensional model of 10 items. The measurement model indicated a close fit, with convergent and discriminant validity established. Importantly, the S-BLEOS was shown to be a construct that was related to but distinct from in-class language learning boredom. In addition, invariance testing was carried out across gender, age, and nationality groups, with the S-BLEOS determined to be fully invariant. As such, the S-BLEOS can be used to measure out-of-class language learning boredom for adolescents and adults and can be fairly administered across genders, age groups, and nationalities.