JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies) P-ISSN: 2407-2575 E-ISSN: 2503-2194 https://jurnalfaktarbiyah.iainkediri.ac.id/index.php/jeels THE CORRELATION BETWEEN TEACHERS' EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND STUDENTS' LEARNING ENGAGEMENT IN EFL CLASS *Wahyu Satya Gumelar1; Sri Fitri Wulandari2; Tyara Sucia Lestari3; Riki Ruswandi4 1,2,3,4English Education Study Program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Islam Nusantara, Bandung, Indonesia *wahyusg@uninus.ac.id; srifitriwulandari272@gmail.com; suciatyara@gmail.com; riki_rusw@uninus.ac.id (*) Corresponding Author Abstract: This study examines student perceptions to evaluate teachers' emotional intelligence. EFL students' lack of engagement was related to teachers' emotional intelligence, prompting this investigation. The study also seeks to determine student involvement and whether teachers' emotional intelligence affects EFL students' learning. This study included Islamic senior high school students. The sample of 60 students was recruited via disproportional stratified random sampling from classes X (n=30) and XI (n=30). Teacher emotional intelligence and EFL student learning engagement were measured using a Likert scale questionnaire. Descriptive analysis and Pearson Product Moment with SPSS 22.0 for Windows bivariate analysis were employed. The study found that teachers 1 Citation in APA style: Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. DOI: 10.30762/jeels.v11i2.3377 Submission: June 2024, Revision: August 2024, Publication: September 2024 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. have medium emotional intelligence (10.07) and moderate student learning engagement (12.46). Teacher emotional intelligence and student learning engagement have a significant positive correlation, according to hypothesis analysis. Thus, teachers must improve their emotional intelligence to boost EFL students' learning engagement. Keywords: EFL class, students’ learning engagement, teachers’ emotional intelligence INTRODUCTION Emotional intelligence is a person's capacity to recognize, express, comprehend, manage, and utilize emotions (Kotsou et al., 2019:1). Personal growth and social development are significantly influenced by emotional intelligence in our lives (Bhuvaneswari & Baskaran, 2020:146). It refers to the ability to be aware of, understand, and express oneself, comprehend and relate to others, manage strong emotions and impulses, and adapt to changes while solving personal and social problems (Bhuvaneswari & Baskaran, 2020:147). Emotional intelligence helps us understand our feelings and manage our behavior, which, in turn, enables us to sense the emotions and perspectives of others and maintain positive relationships with them (Awan et al., 2021:492). Teachers with high social skills and emotional intelligence are better able to manage their classes and establish positive and supportive relationships with their students (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009:493), both of which have a direct impact on the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process (Nopiah & Sattar, 2020:106). Moreover, a stable teacher situation makes it easier for smart teachers to learn and continue to develop their abilities in teaching their students (Defrianti & Iskandar, 2022:56). Therefore, emotional intelligence is considered an important component that influences instructor behavior in education (Zhang, 2022:1). 602 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. Emotional intelligence is divided into two types, namely personal competence and social competence. Personal competence is the capability of choosing the way we behave to ourselves. Personal competence includes self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation. Social competence is the ability to decide how we relate to others. Social competence involves empathy and social skills. Thus, emotional intelligence has five domains: 1). Self-awareness, a teacher’s recognition abilities of his/her own emotions, strengths, and even weaknesses; 2). Self-regulation is a reflection of that control over one’s emotions, honesty principles, and responsibility features, as well as adaptability and flexibility towards change; 3). Motivation is the teacher’s capacity for directing feelings toward achieving goals or trying to meet high standards for excellence; 4). Empathy, which means feeling what other people feel as well as understanding their point of view, hence building trustful relationships with them; and 5). Social skills refer to those approaches teachers employ in working with others such that they can influence emotions, build better interpersonal connections with others, and work together in teams towards common objectives (Goleman, 2006:35-36). There are three levels of emotional intelligence for teachers: high, medium, and low (Sabol et al., 2020:81). Teachers possess selfawareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation, and excellent social skills at a high level. This enables teachers to improve teaching practices and create interesting learning experiences for students. The second level is medium, teachers struggle to consistently incorporate emotional intelligence principles into their classroom instruction. The last level is low, where educators are not completely mindful of their feelings, struggle to self-regulate, and experience issues communicating with students in class. Republic Indonesia’s Constitution No. 20 of 2003, in Chapter VII about the Education System, states that English as a foreign language can be used as the language of instruction in certain educational units to support students' foreign language skills, one of which is the senior high school level (UU RI, 2003). However, since English is a foreign 603 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. language often becomes difficult for students and hence affects their class participation. Student engagement means how actively involved and dedicated the learners are towards learning, including acquiring knowledge and developing academic ability to reach educational ends (Newmann, 1992:12). It also encompasses their participation in schoolrelated extracurricular activities as well as academic-related ones such as attending classes with seriousness, therefore promoting their goals in education (Reschly & Christenson, 2022:4). Students’ engagement is divided into three types: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. The first, behavioral engagement refers to appropriate behavior towards the learning process, which involves adhering to classroom norms, paying attention, and performing every task given by a teacher. Second, emotional engagement refers to the positive and negative reactions of students toward their teachers, fellow learners, academics, and schools. For example, students enjoy learning in class, feel happy, anxious, etc. The last type is cognitive engagement. This kind of engagement is an investment in understanding complex ideas and mastering difficult skills that include attending. For instance, they can come up with new ways of solving problems, work hard on achieving learning goals, and respond positively when faced with failure (Fredricks et al., 2004:6364). Three kinds of students’ learning engagement levels have been adapted from previous studies, namely high, moderate, and low (Rajabalee et al., 2020:9). At the high level, students actively participate in class activities and discussions with great enthusiasm for learning. They also dare to ask questions of themselves and manifest persistence and effort in completing assignments. At the moderate level, students participate in class activities and discussions, but they are not always involved or proactive. While at the lower level, there is minimal student participation in class activities as well as discussions that depict little interest or enthusiasm for learning. 604 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. Emotional intelligence was therefore lacking among EFL teachers in Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 5 Garut, leading to disengagement among students. Initial interviews were conducted with several students to find out current problems at the school and the findings indicate that students’ engagement in EFL classes is influenced by their instructor’s emotional intelligence. This makes some learners consider it less engaging since certain EFL instructors lack emotional intelligence. Because of this reason, students become demotivated, hence classroom learning does not thrive very well. From what has been identified as a problem above, it is assumed that this issue requires further investigation into such matters. Numerous studies on emotional intelligence in the learning process are associated with other components. One of which is research about teachers’ emotional intelligence with students’ relationships and motivation (Awan et al., 2021:492), as well as cross-cultural studies on teachers’ emotional intelligence conducted by Al-Obaydi et al. (2022:93) and Gunasekara et al. (2022:112). However, there is no research on teachers' emotional intelligence or students' engagement in EFL classes for high school students with face-to-face learning in class. Previous research has examined the online learning process due to COVID-19 around the world. While current learning is again carried out directly in the classroom, this study wants to re-examine students’ engagement after online learning becomes face-to-face learning in the classroom. Therefore, the novelty of this research is to investigate the correlation between teachers' emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL classes at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 5 Garut in face-to-face learning. 605 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. METHOD Research Design A correlational quantitative research design was used in this study to establish the connection between teachers' Emotional Intelligence according to Goleman (2006), and students' learning engagement in EFL classes as stated by Fredricks et al. (2004). The independent variable in this study is teachers' emotional intelligence, which is classified into five domains: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. The dependent variable refers to students’ learning engagement, which consists of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Population and Sample The population of this research was students of Madrasah Aliyah 5 Garut. Disproportional Stratified Random Sampling was used as a sample selection method. It was used to measure teachers and students at different grade levels and the numbers were not proportional. The sample consisted of 60 students, with 30 students each at class X and XI levels. Data Collection In this research, questionnaire was used to collect data by providing statements with predetermined answer choices. Respondents would be asked to select the option they want. Closedended questionnaires are used so that respondents can answer research statements by choosing the answer options available in the choices. The questionnaire format used in this research was adapted from previous research conducted by Goleman (2006:35-36), Agustina et al. (2021:130– 133), and Al-Obaydi et al. (2022:108). Questionnaire answers using a Likert scale have a gradation from negative to very positive. The questionnaire answers for the Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence variable with five answer choices, namely Underdeveloped, Need improvement, Adequate, Good, and Excellent (Al-Obaydi et al., 2022:108). While for the Students’ Learning Engagement variable with 606 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. five answer choices, namely Never, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, and Always (Sugiyono, 2013:94). The Pearson Correlation Product Moment method with SPSS 22 software was used to test the validity of the questionnaire. To test reliability, Cronbach Alpha testing was employed, with the reliability test referring to the Alpha value in the SPSS 22 output table. The results of the validity and reliability tests using SPSS 22 indicate that the questionnaire for the Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence variable (X) with 15 statements and Students’ Learning Engagement (Y) with 12 statements is valid because the r-value > r-table. With 30 respondents, the r-table value is 0.361. The reliability test shows that the Cronbach's alpha value for the Teacher Emotional Intelligence variable is 0.913, and for Student Learning Engagement is 0.905, indicating that both variables are reliable. Data Analysis The data investigates research questions through several steps. To examine the level of teachers' emotional intelligence in each domain according to Goleman's (2006) theory and students’ learning engagement based on Fredricks et al.'s (2004) model using descriptive analysis. For every domain, the mean was divided into three categories: high, medium/moderate, and low. After that, to perform a normality test to see if the data was distributed normally, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used because the sample was over 50. If a Sig value is greater than 0.05, then the residual value is normally distributed. However, if it is less than 0.05, then the residual value is not normal. Bivariate analysis involves investigating two variables to determine their relationship (O’Dwyer & Bernauer, 2016:221). Bivariate analysis will look at the teacher's emotional intelligence (X) and the students' learning engagement in EFL class using SPSS 22 for Windows. The Pearson Product Moment technique was utilized to do bivariate analysis. The decision-making criteria are listed below: If the significance level (Sig) is less than 0.05, Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. If Sig is more than 0.05, Ho is approved while Ha is rejected. 607 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. Problem selection Determ ine the sample Determine the research design and procedures Determine the instrument How to collect the data How to analyze data and interpret it Figure 1. Research Framework (Fraenkel et al., 2012:330) Independet Variabels Dependent Variabels Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Students’ Learning Engagement in EFL Class Self-awareness Self-regulation Motivation Empathy Social skill 1. 2. Behavioralengagement Emotional engagement 3. Cognitive engagement Figure 2. The Schema of Study Shows the Correlation Between Independent Variables and Dependent Variables (Adapted from Moreno, 2018:53) FINDINGS Descriptive statistics are used to provide an overview of each variable in a research variable description. The participants' responses will be shown in terms of average, minimum, and maximum values, as well as standard deviation. The results of descriptive statistics for the research variables are presented in Table 1. Table 1. Descriptive statistics of research variables Variabel N Minimum Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence Students’ Learning Engagement Valid N (listwise) 60 28 71 50.35 Std. Deviat ion 8.391 60 20 56 37.38 7.977 60 608 Maximum Mean Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. Table 1 shows statistical data on the variables of teachers' emotional intelligence and students' learning engagement. It can be seen that the minimum values for the two variables are 28 and 20, while the maximum values are 71 and 56. The mean values for the two variables are 50.35 and 37.38. The standard deviation for the two variables is 8.391 and 7.977. From the data calculations, we can see the description of each variable and determine the level of the variable based on the domain of each variable. These data help in understanding the variation in teacher emotional intelligence and student learning engagement. The standard deviation in particular provides insight into the variation or consistency of the data for each variable, which can influence further analysis of the relationship between the two variables. Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence To determine the teacher's emotional intelligence level, the first looked for the mean interval and category, which are as follows: Table 2. Range of teachers’ emotional intelligence No Mean 1 3-6 2 7 - 10 3 11 - 15 Category Low Medium High Table 3. Level five domains of teacher emotional intelligence Domains of Emotional Intelligence Mean Self-awareness 10.27 Self-regulation 10.27 Motivation 9.82 Empathy 9.41 Social skill 10.58 Teachers’Emotional Intelligence 10.07 Category Medium Medium Medium Medium Medium Medium In Table 3, it can be seen that the average value of teachers’ emotional intelligence is 10.07. The results of respondents' answers to the five domains of emotional intelligence are as follows. 609 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. Tabel 4. Respondents' answers to the teachers’ emotional intelligence variable Statement Self-awareness Teachers can empathize and understand their students’ situations The teacher understands their own and their students' abilities Teachers are confident when teaching English in the class Self-regulation The teachers have abilities to provide solutions when students feel they don't understand, are bored, and are frustrated during the earning process Teachers can adaptability to adapt flexibly when experiencing changing times Teachers are professional, patient, and calm when dealing with students who are difficult to manage Motivation Teachers have enthusiasm when teaching in class Teachers have creativity when teaching in class. Teachers motivate and provide support to their students to continue developing their English language skills apart from studying in class Empathy Teachers have abilities to understand each student's situation and treat all students the same Teachers can pay special attention to students who find it difficult and provide additional training for students who respond quickly Teachers can consider any opinions given by their students regarding the learning process Social skill Teachers can influence their students in carrying out all tasks in the learning process Teachers have a relationship with their students Teachers can socialize with their students during the learning process (teaching with the right voice, being able to liven up the class atmosphere, and creating a pleasant learning atmosphere) 610 Category Highest frequency’s answers Adequate 33% Good 47% Good 47% Adequate 37% Good 43% Adequate 40% Adequate Adequate 48% 37% Good 40% Adequate 35% Adequate 48% Adequate 50% Good 45% Good 33% Good 37% Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. Students’ Learning Engagement To determine the students’ learning engagement level, the first looked for the mean interval and category, which are as follows: Table 5. Range of students’ learning engagement No Mean 1 4–8 2 9 – 13 3 14 – 20 Category Low Moderate High Table 6. Level of students’ learning engagement Kind of Students’ Engagement Behavioral engagement Emotional engagement Cognitive engagement Students’ engagement in a total Mean 12.78 12.52 12.08 12.46 Category Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate In Table 6, it is evident that the overall mean value of Students' Learning Engagement is 12.46, falling into the moderate category. The results of respondents' answers to the three kinds of student engagement are as follows. Tabel 7. Respondents' answers to the students’ learning engagement variable Statement Behavioral Engagement Students are focused and attentive when studying in English class Students chat during the English learning process Students answer questions asked by the teacher when English learning takes place Students carry out every order and task given by the English teacher Emotional Engagement Students feel optimistic when learning English 611 Category Highest frequency’s answers Sometimes 52% Sometimes 55% Sometimes 43% Always 38% Sometimes 53% Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. Students feel confident when learning English Students feel curious about continuing to learn English Students feel happy and enthusiastic when learning English Cognitive Engagement Students ask the teacher if there is material they do not understand Students never give up and try to continue to understand English materials until they feel they understand Students also try to be more focused and extra when experiencing difficulties in learning English The students try to connect new material with previous material to understand the material more deeply Sometimes 63% Sometimes 37% Sometimes 53% Sometimes 33% Sometimes 42% Often & sometimes 40% Sometimes 40% Normality Test The normality test determines if the residual values follow a normal distribution. The Kolmogrov-Smirnov test was utilized in this study because the sample number was above 50. The questionnaire normality test produced the following results. Tabel 8. Normality test One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test Unstandardized Residual 60 Mean .0000000 Std. Deviation 7.15978186 .080 .200c,d N Normal Parametersa,b Test Statistic Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) a. Test distribution is Normal. b. Calculated from data. c. Lilliefors Significance Correction. d. This is a lower bound of the true significance. 612 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. According to the data in Table 8, the Asymp value can be found in the Kolmogorov-Smirnov column. Sig. (2-tailed) = 0.200 > 0.05. As can be seen, the residual value follows a normal distribution. Hypothesis Test The Pearson Product Moment Method was employed to evaluate the relationship between the teachers' emotional intelligence (X) and the students' learning engagement (Y) variables. The data results are as follows. Tabel 9. Correlation test Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence Teachers’Emotional Intelligence Pearson 1 Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 60 Students’Learning Pearson .441** Engagement Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 60 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Students’ Learning Engagement .441** .000 60 1 60 In Table 9, it can be seen that the sig value (2-tailed) on the Teachers' Emotional Intelligence and Students' Learning Engagement variables is 0.000 < 0.05. This means that there is a positive and significant relationship between teachers' emotional intelligence and Students' Learning Engagement. Therefore, it can be concluded that Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. 613 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. DISCUSSION Level of Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence After the findings above, it can be inferred that students’ perception of their teachers’ emotional intelligence falls within the medium category. Teachers should improve their emotional intelligence to make them more effective and ensure maximal student learning. This is consistent with previous studies stating that the quality of teachers is a determining factor in a student’s achievement (Ismail et al., 2017:59). This is because a teacher’s emotional intelligence significantly affects the teaching and learning process (Nopiah & Sattar, 2020:106). Apart from that, the role of teachers' emotional intelligence can build and develop student relationships and discipline in the classroom (Sayko 2013, Valente et al. 2020), cited from (Skura & Świderska, 2022:4). Self-awareness is when people understand what drives them, their longings, and the result they want to accomplish (Galiakberova et al., 2020:485). Self-awareness individuals tend to have three main characteristics: emotional awareness of oneself, an understanding of personal strengths and weaknesses, and a strong belief in one’s worthiness (Goleman, 2006:35). Teachers who are self-aware do not only acknowledge their feelings and capacities but also sympathize with the students’ emotions to recognize and address student needs in terms of strengths and weak points (Krishnan & Awang, 2020:89). Studies indicate that teachers have medium self-awareness, suggesting several ways of improving it, such as becoming more sensitive towards students’ feelings and situations of the students. For example, if a student finds problems studying a particular subject or topic, the teacher can bring up this issue during the teacher's consultation time or any other convenient moment for students. Additionally, teachers can ask particular questions when children become bored or feel indifferent about something to trigger their attention, these questions help elicit responses that can be used by teachers to assess learning outcomes achieved by students through class activities such as group discussions. Besides that, when children feel angry or sad because 614 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. something has gone wrong with them, then students may need some advice from teachers on how best to handle disappointment. Self-regulation is an element of emotional intelligence that refers to the way a person manages his/her thoughts and actions (Duong & Nguyen, 2023:5). There are four types of characteristics when someone has self-regulation abilities, namely: trustworthy, responsible, able to adapt, and innovative (Goleman, 2006:35). Teachers who have high emotional intelligence can handle students who have emotional problems, and successful teachers can manage and control their emotions (Mayer et al., 2016:296). The results of this research show that the teachers’ self-awareness level is medium. Teachers can increase this level by being able to provide more ways and solutions if students feel they don't understand or are bored and frustrated when learning. For example, by creating a pleasant class atmosphere, teachers can also try to be more patient, professional, and calm when dealing with students, which is difficult to arrange. Previous research states that teachers and students experience different challenges that need to be controlled, managed, and monitored. Therefore, an effective teacher is a teacher who can adapt to existing situations and challenges (Heydarnejad et al., 2022:596). Motivation is an important part of the teaching and learning process (Filgona et al., 2020:17). Motivation is the ability of a person to control one’s emotions to achieve what he/she wants (Goleman, 1996:89). There are several characteristics of someone who has high motivation, namely: aspirations for excellence or self-improvement, optimism, and readiness to act based on opportunities (Goleman, 2006:36). This shows that the teacher has a medium level of motivation. To enhance this, teachers can increase their enthusiasm when teaching and employ more creative learning techniques, such as role-playing in English classes. This will help boost students’ interest and desire to take part in English lessons at school. This is confirmed by previous research, which states that instructors who show enthusiasm for enhancing teaching pedagogy and respond globally improve the lives of students (Abiodullah & Aslam, 2020:131). Besides this, motivated 615 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. teachers can also encourage their students to get better grades while also engaging actively in accomplishing their goals (Al-Obaydi et al., 2022:107). Empathy is a skill that is closely related to understanding and using emotions: a person's ability to understand other people's emotional states (Segura et al., 2020:3). Teachers who have high empathy can understand, develop, anticipate, recognize, and utilize differences (Goleman, 2006:1). The research results show that the level of teacher empathy is in the medium category. To improve empathy skills, teachers can treat all students equally, not just smart students, and pay special attention to students who have learning difficulties. In addition, teachers can encourage students to express their opinions and consider their points of view on the learning process. This is supported by previous research, which considers empathy to be a very promising determining factor for explaining teacher-student interactions, emotional support for students, and positive student development from a theoretical perspective (Aldrup et al., 2022:1177). Social skills refer to a person's ability to maintain good relationships and build networks (Akpevweoghene & Jamabo, 2022:49). Someone who has good social skills can influence, communicate effectively, negotiate and resolve conflicts, inspire, have a leadership spirit, initiate and manage change, and collaborate or cooperate with others (Goleman, 2006:36). Research shows that the level of social skills of English teachers is moderate. To increase the level of social skills, teachers can focus on social interactions with students, but overall, teachers' social skills are quite good. Level of Students’ Learning Engagement Students' levels of learning engagement remain at a moderate level. Increasing teachers' emotional intelligence is one strategy for increasing students’ engagement. The concept of behavioral engagement involves students’ engagement in academic activities, participation in class, interactions with teachers, and engagement with learning materials (Gul et al., 2022:3762). Based on the research results, 616 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. the level of behavioral engagement among students is classified as moderate level. This shows that teachers must look for ways to increase students’ behavioral engagement, one of which is by improving teachers' social skills and empathy. When teachers have good social skills, the teacher will create a comfortable and safe environment during the learning process, thereby helping to increase students' focus on learning. Social skills enable a person to make other people feel comfortable (Goleman, 1996:233). In addition, when teachers have a good relationship with students, students will tend to reciprocate by showing respectful behavior and not chatting during class. Previous research states that teachers with social skills can effectively manage various emotions in relationships and interpret social situations (Nopiah & Sattar, 2020:109), and social-affective skills are characteristics that must be possessed to become an effective English teacher (Tatipang et al., 2022:28). Apart from that, teachers can also improve their empathy abilities. When students have difficulty answering questions, teachers can help and ask about the challenges students face. Empathy is a fundamental concept in teaching, and teachers must understand students' backgrounds and cultures (Abiodullah & Aslam, 2020:129). Emotional engagement refers to students' feelings, attitudes, and perceptions of learning in the classroom (Sheard, Carbone, & Hurst, 2010, Yazzie-Mintz & McCormick, 2012) quoted from (Kanaparan et al., 2019:5). The study's findings indicate that students have a moderate level of emotional engagement. Since the degree of students’ emotional engagement is moderate, this shows that teachers must find a way to increase students' emotional engagement. Increasing teachers' selfawareness and self-regulation skills is one way to increase students' emotional engagement. This is in line with previous research that selfawareness is a teacher's ability to understand emotions, and the emotional impact on other people, and choose priorities when making decisions (Nopiah & Sattar, 2020:108). Students will be more optimistic and confident in their ability to learn English when teachers are aware of their students' emotions. Aside from that, when teachers encounter 617 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. students who are sluggish and uninterested in learning, they will look for ways to make learning enjoyable and encourage their interest in continuing to learn English. Cognitive engagement relates to students' willingness and commitment to work hard to understand and master the learning content and skills taught by the teacher (Huang et al., 2019:4). The results showed that the level of students' cognitive engagement was moderate. This shows that students' cognitive engagement must be increased, from "sometimes" to "always" and "often". One way teachers can do this is by increasing skill motivation. This is supported by previous research that teachers with higher Emotional Intelligence (motivation) can manage and motivate student learning well (Krishnan & Awang, 2020:89). When teachers try to create creativity and interesting learning, students will be interested in continuing to learn English. The Correlation Between Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence and Students’ Learning Engagement in EFL Classes The findings show that students' learning engagement in EFL classes is significantly correlated with teachers' emotional intelligence. This demonstrates that teachers' emotional intelligence and students' learning engagement have a positive and strong enough relationship. This study's findings are consistent with previous studies that found a positive and significant correlation between students’ engagement and teachers' emotional intelligence in higher education (Welmilla, 2020:30). This study is also supported by previous research, which found that the ability to understand people on a deeper level (empathy) has an impact on educator-student relationships and understudy learning commitment in English classrooms. Empathy promotes students' confidence in the classroom (Zhang, 2022:1). Teachers who have emotional abilities will be able to increase the effectiveness of learning because the most effective teachers are teachers who involve emotional and intellectual effort, struggle, frustration, joy, and also anxiety. Therefore, an effective teacher needs 618 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. an understanding of the emotional state of students and the causes of their behavior to create social interaction, active involvement, and strong learning motivation in students (Sekreter, 2019:286). Previous research also stated that, with emotional intelligence, teachers can manage classroom discipline by creating positive teacher-student relationships (Valente et al., 2019:742). This is in line with student behavioral engagement, where students must obey every rule in the classroom and actively participate in following the learning process. Previous research also shows that teacher emotional intelligence correlates with work involvement and teaching for creativity, where teacher creativity in education is driven by emotional intelligence (Skura & Świderska, 2022:1). To improve student engagement in EFL classes, teachers can apply concern for students, and provide regulations and positive feedback by giving praise and support during the intervention (Sun, 2021:5). This is in line with the principle of emotional intelligence, namely the presence of empathy given to support the student's learning process. In addition, teachers who have high enthusiasm are often the cause of student engagement and can create a positive classroom atmosphere, thereby increasing pleasure and reducing boredom (Dewaele & Li, 2021:18). This aligns with the principle of teacher emotional intelligence (motivation), teachers have enthusiasm in teaching English. CONCLUSION Based on the research results, it can be concluded that students' perceptions of the level of Teacher Emotional Intelligence are medium, with the same level in each domain (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills). It is also known that there is a moderate level of student learning engagement, with the same level for three types of student learning engagement, namely behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Therefore, it can be seen that there is a positive and significant relationship between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students' learning engagement in EFL 619 Gumelar, W. S., Wulandari, S. F., Lestari, T. S., & Ruswandi, R. (2024). The correlation between teachers’ emotional intelligence and students’ learning engagement in EFL class. JEELS, 11(2), 601625. classes with a quite strong relationship. Therefore, to increase students’ engagement in EFL classes, teachers must increase their emotional intelligence so that students’ engagement in EFL classes will increase as well. 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