Imposter phenomenon (IP) refers to an individual’s sense of incompetence and perceived lack of intellect despite objective evidence to the contrary, leading imposters to attribute their achievements to luck rather than their own abilities (Clance, 1985). While its generally negative impact on students and their academic performance (e.g., Ménard & Chittle, 2023) has been widely established, its role within the context of foreign language (FL) learning remains under-researched (e.g, Brauer et al., 2023).

In this talk, I will take stock of what we already know and what factors contribute to the experience of IP in FL learners. Based on data collected through a web-based questionnaire from 397 tertiary-level EFL learners in Austria, we investigated possible effects of demographic and language use variables on the experience of IP, and the extent to which IP affects learners’ Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE), their Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA), and engagement with FL learning (Resnik et al., 2025). The analyses revealed that younger, female participants were more likely to experience IP as were those who perceived their standing in the group of learners as below average. Additionally, IP was linked to both FLCA and FLE and it predicted the performance engagement of EFL learners.

Overall, the results provide evidence as to the presence of IP in tertiary-level EFL classrooms and make a case for much needed future research in this context. In addition to possible future research avenues, the potential of interventions targeting imposter feelings in the FL classroom will be discussed (Alrabai et al., in preparation), which should provide FL teachers with ideas to mitigate its negative effects.

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