Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Language Teacher Psychology Conference, Mersin, Türkiye, 6 - 07 Ekim 2022
Although the body of evidence on the dynamic changes and variability in language teacher motivation is gradually accumulating, prior work has primarily explored fluctuations in motivational trajectories over extended periods of time covering months and years in one’s professional lifespan (e.g., Lee & Yuan, 2014; Song & Kim, 2016; Yuan & Zhang, 2017). So far, temporal changes of motivation at the classroom level and the factors responsible for these changes have received little attention (e.g. Kimura, 2014; Sampson, 2016), particularly in the context of online instruction. The present study aims to close this gap by investigating dynamic changes in teacher motivation in the course of regularly-scheduled online English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classes in Turkey, as experienced by two EFL teachers at the tertiary level. Changes in the motivation levels and reasons for these changes were explored in eight 45-minute classes during a two-week period. Data were collected via self-ratings of motivational intensity, journal entries, follow-up interviews, and lesson plans. The analysis showed considerable variation in the level of motivation both within and across the participating teachers, with the fluctuations resulting from a host of learner-related, course-related, and individual factors. Overall, the findings contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics and situated complexity of language teacher motivation, as well as offering implications for how to promote motivation towards teaching in the context of online language instruction.