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

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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.