Teacher Confirmation and Caring as Predictors of Chinese and Iranian EFL Students’ Willingness to Attend EFL Classes

Abstract

This mixed-methods cross-cultural study examined the role of instructor confirmation and care in EFL students’ willingness to attend classes (WTAC). For the quantitative phase, 1006 and 605 EFL university students were chosen respectively from Chinese and Iranian universities, and for the qualitative phase, sub-groups of 43 Chinese and 34 Iranian participants were selected. Three close-ended scales and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Results of confirmatory factor analysis approved the factor structure and validity of the three scales. Results of correlation and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses indicated the positive associative/predictive role of perceived teacher caring and confirmation in Chinese and Iranian students’ WTAC. The independent samples t-tests results showed significant differences in perceptions of caring, confirmation, and WTAC, with Chinese participants significantly outperforming Iranians. Frequency counts of qualitative data revealed that both Chinese and Iranian students believed in the facilitative role of confirmation and caring in WTAC. Further content analysis of the data through MAXQDA presented four themes of teacher-, student-, context, and task-related factors, among which the teacher-related factors theme and its teacher interpersonal factors sub-theme were deemed very influential by Chinese and Iranian students in predicting WTAC.