Dr. Shorouk Aboudahr is an Assistant Professor of Education at Ajman University, UAE, specialising in educational leadership, quality improvement, inclusive learning environments, and early childhood education. She holds a PhD in Educational Leadership and Management and two master’s degrees in Educational Management and Early Childhood Education. Her international experience spans teaching, postgraduate supervision, programme coordination, and research across Egypt, Malaysia, China, and the UAE. Her expertise encompasses connecting educational leadership with inclusive teaching, teacher development, children’s well-being, and technology-supported learning. She has led research on AI and workforce readiness for people with disabilities and contributed to curriculum and postgraduate programme development. She also delivers research training in bibliometric analysis and SPSS. Her professional development includes ISO 9001:2015 implementation, Six Sigma Green Belt, risk management, and leadership training, strengthening her commitment to evidence-informed educational improvement.
While blended learning has become increasingly institutionalised in Chinese higher education, low academic performance in English and limited participation in English-Medium Instruction (EMI) environments remain significant concerns. Although much has been researched on technological integration and linguistic challenges, little research has examined the interaction of student- and teacher-related factors to foster a flow experience and, subsequently, improve academic performance in English. This research is based on the Flow Theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), which examines direct and mediated relationships among student and teacher factors, flow experience, and English academic performance within a Chinese blended classroom context. The sample data were gathered from 165 non-English majors, both first- and second-year undergraduates enrolled in mandatory College English classes, using purposive sampling. A structured questionnaire comprising 38 questions was developed and administered, and the data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that student- and teacher-related factors have significant positive direct effects on English academic performance. The results of the flow experience are notably large and positive, and flow experience partially mediates the relationships between students’ and teachers’ factors and academic outcomes. The findings provide empirical support for the challenge-skill balance hypothesis of Flow Theory, demonstrating how the joint influence of the learners’ capabilities and the instructional requirements leads to optimal psychological involvement. The study contributes to existing knowledge by incorporating variables related to learners and instruction into a single structural model, which will help understand how psychological immersion can be applied to English language success within a blended higher education setting.