Developing and Validating a Questionnaire for Iranian EFL Teachers’ Emotionality in the Iranian Context
Subject Areas : Journal of Applied Linguistics StudiesMasoud Mortazavi Nezhad 1 , Fazlolah Samimi 2 , Shahram Afraz 3
1 - Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language, Qeshm Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran.
2 - عضو هیئت علمی دانشگاه هرمزگان
3 - Assistant Professor of TEFL, Department of English Language, Qeshm Branch,
Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran
Keywords: Anxiety, Burnout, Emotionality, Emotional Support, Enjoyment, Flexibility, Responsiveness,
Abstract :
Teacher emotions refer to the range of feelings and affective states experienced by educators during their professional practice, particularly in the context of teaching and interacting with students. This study aimed at developing a questionnaire for Iranian EFL teachers’ emotionality. In so doing, a qualitative thematic analysis method was used. The participants recruited for this study included 25 Iranian EFL teachers (15 males and 10 females) (in the qualitative phase) and 200 Iranian EFL teachers (120 males and 80 females) (in the quantitative phase) who were selected from different language institutes of Iran through convenient sampling. To collect the data, semi-structured interviews, audio-reflective journals, and observations were used. To analyze the data, thematic analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used. According to the results, a questionnaire namely, the Questionnaire for Iranian EFL Teachers’ Emotionality in the Iranian Context was developed in 30 Likert items in six sub-scales including enjoyment, anxiety, burnout, responsiveness, emotional support, and flexibility. The results confirmed the reliability and validity of the developed questionnaire for Iranian EFL teachers’ emotionality. In line with the findings of the study, it can be concluded that Iranian EFL teachers experience emotionality in the form of positive and negative emotions. They experience such positive emotions as enjoyment, responsiveness, emotional support and flexibility. The negative emotions they experience include anxiety and burnout. Therefore, EFL teaching is a profession intermingled with diverse emotions. The findings have some implications for EFL teachers, learners, teacher education administrators and researchers.
Acheson, K., & Nelson, R. (2020). Utilising the emotional labour scale to analyse the form and extent of emotional labour among foreign language teachers in the US public school system. In C. Gknonou, J.M. Dewaele, & J. King (Eds.), The emotional rollercoaster of language teaching (pp. 31-52). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/GKONOU8335
Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., & Sorensen, Ch. (2010). Introduction to research in education (8th ed.). Wadsworth Group.
Benesch, S. (2017). Emotions and English language teaching: Exploring teachers’ emotion labor. Routledge.
Benesch, S. (2018). Emotions as agency: Feeling rules, emotion labor, and English language teachers’ decision-making. System 79, 60–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.03.015
Benesch, S., & Prior, M. T. (2023). Rescuing “emotion labor” from (and for language teacher emotion research. System, 113(4), Article 102995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.102995
Burić, I., & Moè, A. (2020). What makes teachers enthusiastic: The interplay of positive affect, self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 89, Article 103008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.103008
Chen, J. (2016). Understanding teacher emotions: The development of a teacher emotion inventory. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55, 68–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.001
Chen, J. (2019). Efficacious and positive teachers achieve more: Examining the relationship between teacher efficacy, emotions, and their practicum performance. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 28(4), 327–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-018-0427-9
De Costa, P. I., Li, W., & Rawal, H. (2019). Language teacher emotions. In M. A. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of teacher education (pp. 1-4). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_262-1
Derakhshan, A., Wang, Y., Wang, Y., & Ortega-Mart, J. (2023). Towards innovative research approaches to investigating the role of emotional variables in promoting language teachers’ and learners’ mental health. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 25(7), 823–832. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2023.029877
Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 6(3–4), 169–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939208411068
Esmaeili, F., Modirkhamene, S., & Alavinia, P. (2019). EFL teachers’ emotions, their identity development and teaching strategies: A constant-comparative approach. International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies, 7(4). 1-12. http://www.eltsjournal.org/archive/value7%20issue4/1-7-4-19.pdf
Frenzel, A. C., Becker-Kurz, B., Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., & Lüdtke, O. (2018). Emotion transmission in the classroom revisited: A reciprocal effects model of teacher and student enjoyment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(5), 628–639. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000228
Gkonou, C., Dewaele, J. M., & King, J. (2020). The emotional rollercoaster of language teaching. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/GKONOU8335
Glazzard, J., & Rose, A. (2019). The impact of teacher well-being and mental health on pupil progress in primary schools. Journal of Public Mental Health, 19(4), 349–357. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpmh-02-2019-0023
Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271
Han, J., & Yin, H. (2016). Teacher motivation: Definition, research development and implications for teachers. Cogent Education, 3(1), Article 1217819. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2016.1217819
Hargreaves, A. (1998). The emotional practice of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14(8), 835-854. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(98)00025-0
Heydarnejad, T., Zareian, G., Ghaniabadi, S., & Adel, S. M. R. (2021). Measuring language teacher emotion regulation: development and validation of the language teacher emotion regulation inventory at workplace (LTERI). Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 708888. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708888
Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press.
Hochschild, A.R. (2003). The managed heart: commercialization of human feeling (2oth anniversary ed.). University of California Press.
Hodges, W. F. (2015). The psychophysiology of anxiety. In M. Zuckerman & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Emotions and anxiety: new concepts, methods, and applications, (pp.187–206). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315744643-14
Khany, R., & Ghasemi, F. (2018). Development and validation of teacher emotional support scale: A structural equation modelling approach. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 10(21), 137-160.
LeDoux, J. E. (1996). The emotional brain: The mysterious underpinnings of emotional life. Simon and Schuster.
Martínez Agudo, J. D. D. (2018). Introduction and overview. In J. D. D. Martínez Agudo (Ed.), Emotions in second language teaching: Theory, research and teacher education (pp. 1-16). Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75438-3
Namaziandost, E., Heydarnejad, T., & Rezai, A. (2023). Iranian EFL teachers’ reflective teaching, emotion regulation, and immunity: Examining possible relationships. Current Psychology, 42(3), 2294–2309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03786-5
Nazari, M., & Karimpour, S. (2022). The role of emotion labor in English language teacher identity construction: An activity theory perspective. System, 107(3), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102811
Noughabi, M. A., Amirian, S. M. R., Adel, S. M. R., & Zareian, G. (2020). The association of experienced in-service EFL teachers’ immunity with engagement, emotions, and autonomy. Current Psychology, 41(8), 5562–5571. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01066-8
Ordono, T. R. (2023). A cross-sectional exploration of EFL teachers’ emotions, emotional labor, and identity [Master's thesis, Soka University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Reeve, J. (2018). Understanding motivation and emotion (7th ed). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sisiyan, Z., Samimi, F., & Afraz, S. (2023). Appraising the generalizability of EFL teachers’ passion for profession: Evidence from teachers’ perceptions and MSA model. Journal of Language and Translation, 13(2), 243-254. https://doi.org/10.30495/ttlt.2023.703385
Song, J. (2016). Emotions and language teacher identity: Conflicts, vulnerability, and transformation. TESOL Quarterly, 50(3), 631–654. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.312
Uitto, M., Jokikokko, K., & Estola, E. (2015). Virtual special issue on teachers and emotions in Teaching and teacher education (TATE) in 1985–2014. Teaching and Teacher Education, 50, 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.05.008
Wentzel, K. R. (2016). Teacher-student relationships. In K. R. Wentzel & D. B. Miele (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 211-230). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315773384-18
White, C. (2018). The emotional turn in applied linguistics and TESOL: Significance, challenges and prospects. In J.D.D. Martinez Agudo (Ed.), Emotions in second language teaching: Theory, research and teacher education (pp. 19 – 34). Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75438-3_2
Xiyun, S., Fathi, J., Shirbagi, N., & Mohammaddokht, F. (2022). A structural model of teacher self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and psychological wellbeing among English teachers. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 904151. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.904151