["European Journal of Education, Volume 61, Issue 3, September 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nTeaching the German language is widely believed to be emotional and emotion‐driven. There have been many studies on the affective side of teaching German as a foreign language (GFL) in the past decades. The typology and regulation techniques of teacher‐related emotions have been the focus of increasing studies. However, the role of others in managing teachers' emotions has been ignored by researchers. To fill this gap, this study probed into teachers' perceptions of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) and its contribution to work engagement. A sample of 30 Chinese GFL teachers with different backgrounds were invited to a face‐to‐face interview on the constructs of interest. The interview data were analysed via thematic analysis. The results indicated that Chinese GFL teachers held positive perceptions of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies due to the relational nature of L2 teaching. They considered IER as an ability and social‐interactive process of understanding, managing, and adjusting self and others' emotions at work. Additionally, it was found that IER had led to teachers' work engagement by ‘increasing work efficiency’, ‘maintaining good relationships at work’, ‘establishing comfortable work atmosphere’, ‘increasing collective enthusiasm and energy’, ‘reducing negative emotions’ and ‘increasing positive emotions’. The findings are discussed and implications for GFL teachers and educators are provided to enhance their awareness of the role of IER in teachers' pedagogical practices.\n"]