Teachers’ Enthusiasm: A Predictor of Students’ Motivation to Learn English

Abstract

Aim of the Study: Although the role of the teacher in the affective field has gained much attention in the field of second language (L2) motivation, the impact of teacher enthusiasm has not been thoroughly explored in low-resourced contexts, such as those in South Asia. This study aimed at the level of perceived teacher enthusiasm, the level of students' motivation to learn English and the extent to which perceived teacher enthusiasm predicts motivation of secondary school level female students learning English as foreign language (EFL) in government schools of Quetta city, Pakistan.

Methodology: A five-point Likert questionnaire, with a validated enthusiasm subscale consisting of six items (α = .866) and a motivation subscale comprising of fifteen items (α = .933), were used to collect data from (n=365) female students (Grades 9–10) using a descriptive–correlational design.

Findings: The descriptive statistics revealed that the learners' perceptions of their English teachers' enthusiasm was high (M = 3.60, SD = 0.77), and the overall level of their motivation was high (M = 3.55, SD = 0.70). Teacher enthusiasm also correlated significantly and positively with students' motivation (r = .49, p < .001), and was a significant predictor of students' motivation (β = .490, t = 10.69, p < .001), accounting for 24% of the variance of students' motivation (R² = .240).

Conclusion: The results are in favor of an emotional contagion theory of L2 motivation and indicate that enthusiasm can be developed by teachers and is a useful trait for them to cultivate for motivational purposes in an L2 classroom where resources are limited. Discussions of implications for teacher education and classroom practice are provided.