EFL Teachers’ Motivation of Professional Development at the University Level in China

Abstract

The motivation of instructors has been found to have a significant impact on students' enthusiasm to learn a second language, but less attention has been paid to the motivation of English Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, especially in the Chinese environment where English plays a significant role. In order to lay the groundwork for the formulation of suggestions on how to increase teacher motivation and consequently boost the standard of instruction and student performance, this study explores the motivation of English instructors at the university level in China. 203 native Chinese EFL instructors who are currently employed at institutions in China’s mainland participated in the study. The motivation of EFL instructors for selecting a profession in teaching and the elements influencing that motivation was investigated using a quantitative approach design. For the purpose of evaluating the level of English writing skills of EFL instructors, a survey with close-ended questions that was founded on theories of motivation and modified from earlier research was utilized as the instrument. Then proportion, frequency, mean, and statistic tests were used to analyze the survey data. The findings indicate that the EFL instructors had a variety of motivations for deciding to work as teachers, with intrinsic motivation being the primary driver, followed by altruistic motivations like wanting to support English education in their own countries. The findings also showed that a variety of factors, such as positive student feedback, personal happiness, and a solid wage, had an impact on the motivation of EFL teachers. Demotivating variables were discovered to be extrinsic, such as poor pay and few other sources of money, uncomfortable working circumstances, and students' unfavorable attitudes.