Examining the L2 Motivational Self-System Among Iranian EFL Student-Teachers[Latin Thesis]

Parisa Javadi Rad

Exploring the motivating and demotivating factors in teaching profession among teachers is of paramount importance. Motivation is one of the leading factors for teachers to enhance their teaching practice. The purpose of this study was to explore the second language motivational self-system (L2MSS) of Iranian EFL student-teachers. To pursue this goal, 173 male and female Iranian EFL teachers with ages ranging from 18 to 45, falling into two groups of experienced (N=72) and novice (N=101) teachers, and English major (N=147) and non-English major (N=26) were targeted. Throughout this mixed-methods research, two instruments were employed for the quantitative and qualitative phases of the study. First, in the quantitative phase, Papi and Teimouri’s (2012) questionnaire, developed based on Dörnyei’s (2009) pioneering framework, was used to measure the participants’ L2MSS. Second, in the qualitative phase, a semi-structured interview was conducted to achieve a deeper understanding of the teachers’ perceptions and ideas in regard with their motivational self-system. The results from the questionnaire were statistically analyzed through a series of t-tests to draw a comparison between novice and experienced teachers’ L2MMS for a better understanding of student-teachers’ motivational system. In order to have a clear understanding of different components of motivational self-system, the descriptive data per each of the components was measured and the highest and lowest mean scores were determined. Results showed that "Attitude to L2 Culture and Community" was the most determining component while "Family Influence" was the least influencing component in their motivational self-system. Comparing the two groups, results showed that out of the eight components, five of them located significant differences in favor of the novice group, including ideal L2 self, English learning experience, instrumentality-prevention, instrumentality-promotion, and Attitude to L2 culture and community. Also, English major practitioners were statistically more motivated than non-English majors. In addition, the results showed that the motivating factors included positive relationships between the ideal L2 self, intended effort, instrumentality promotion and final English grades as well as social and economic factors. Moreover, demotivating factors were 1) Teaching Contents, Materials, and Facilities, 2) Income and Supporting Status, 3) Attitude towards teaching in General, 4) Students' Low Motivation. Finally, the theoretical and pedagogical implications of the study were presented