Chinese English As A Foreign Language Teachers Research Articles

The effect of positive emotion on foreign language teacher engagement and well-being: A cross-cultural comparison

Foreign language teaching enjoyment (FLTE) has recently been introduced as a broad positive emotion experienced by foreign language (FL) teachers, despite obstacles embedded in FL teaching. However, identifying its psychological outcomes – and the cultural specificity of these outcomes – has received scant research attention across different contexts. The present cross-cultural study aims to investigate whether teachers’ FLTE can predict and influence engagement and well-being in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context of Iran and China. A series of structural equation models (SEMs) indicated that EFL teachers’ FLTE affected their work engagement and well-being in both Iranian and Chinese samples, with structural invariance tests confirming the group-level differences between Iranian and Chinese EFL teachers in the light of FLTE outcomes. The study provides insight into the positive outcomes of positive emotions in FL teaching as framed by the lens of positive psychology. In addition, a rare non-Western cross-cultural comparison contributes to the ongoing discussions in literature regarding the influence of cultural contexts on the experience and outcome manifestation of positive emotions.

Emotion regulation and well-being as factors contributing to lessening burnout among Chinese EFL teachers

Teachers have come under significant scrutiny due to their pivotal role in educational context and lately, the study of emotion-connected aspects in teachers' education domain has got much attention and experts in this domain proved that emotion is at the center of teaching subjects. Also as teaching is an emotionally challenging occupation, it often results in high levels of stress and consequently burnout which has become a prominent concern in mainstream education in recent years. As the main issue of education, teachers' emotions should be taken into account as their positive emotions and their regulation have been highlighted in the literature. Therefore, the study underscores the critical significance of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' well-being and emotion regulation and their relations to burnout. To fulfill the research objectives, 398 English teachers participated in the assessment of the studied concepts. The findings, analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), reveal that both variables significantly contribute to the reduction of job burnout in teachers. This study discusses key findings, implications, and limitations while also offering suggestions for future research directions.

Re-contextualizing locus of enunciation and linguistic citizenship: a diary analysis of Chinese EFL teachers’ critical intercultural awareness development

ABSTRACT This study navigates the constructive role of English as a foreign language (EFL) as a critical intercultural discourse of locus of enunciation and linguistic citizenship through which teachers in Chinese educational context act as agents of action and social change. Based on a critical discourse analysis of learner diary entries, the study traces the preservice teachers’ development of critical intercultural awareness as a result of learning provided in the course. Findings of this study suggest that relevant EFL teacher education programs should strategically fortify the discursive role of English for contesting hegemonic ideologies in curricular materials and engaging in justice-oriented dialogue through advancing learners’ reflexivity and agency.

The associations among gratitude, job crafting, teacher-student relationships, and teacher psychological well-being.

This study explores the complex dynamics among gratitude, job crafting, teacher psychological well-being, and teacher-student relationships within the context of Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. A sample of 456 Chinese EFL teachers participated in this study. Valid scales were administered to collect data on gratitude, job crafting, teacher psychological well-being, and teacher-student relationships. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to investigate these relationships. The findings reveal significant connections between gratitude, job crafting, teacher psychological well-being, and teacher-student relationships. SEM analysis demonstrates that gratitude and job crafting have direct effects on teacher psychological well-being. Furthermore, teacher-student relationships were identified as a mediator in these relationships. This study underscores the importance of gratitude and job crafting in enhancing the psychological well-being of EFL teachers. It highlights the mediating role of positive teacher-student relationships in the associations between gratitude, job crafting, and teacher psychological well-being. These results have implications for the development of interventions and practices aimed at promoting gratitude, job crafting, and positive teacher-student relationships in the EFL teaching context.

Developing Chinese Prospective EFL Teachers' NCA: A Qualitative Approach

Improving the Native Cultural Awareness (NCA) of EFL teachers is one of the important challenges facing higher education institutions in China. To give insights in this problem, based on the Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) theory, this study investigated and analyzed how to develop prospective English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' NCA. Specifically, this paper recruited 70 Prospective EFL teachers from a university in China to conduct a six-week qualitative study. Non-numerical data related to semi-structured interviews and topic writing were collected and qualitatively analyzed using the qualitative analysis software NVivo. The results show that “Native Cultural Sensitivity” and “Key Native Cultural Awareness” play an important role in prospective EFL teachers' NCA. This paper uncovers specific changes in cultural critical awareness due to the training, providing valuable guidance for enhancing the cultural critical competence of prospective EFL teachers. Moreover, this paper also provides crucial insights for fostering a more sensitive understanding and response to native culture among prospective EFL teachers.

Chinese EFL teachers’ desire to attend professional development programs: Exploring the role of job satisfaction and organizational commitment

The influence of teachers’ inner forces and factors in professional development (PD) has been highlighted in the past decades. However, little is written about the interplay of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ desires to attend PD programs and their perceived job satisfaction and organizational commitment. To fill this gap, this study used three questionnaires to inspect the relationships among these three constructs. It also aimed to showcase whether Chinese EFL teachers’ desire to attend PD programs is predicted by their job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Adopting a random sampling technique, a sample of 357 EFL teachers was recruited from different colleges and universities in China. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and correlation analysis revealed a positive and strong correlation between teachers’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and their desire to attend PD programs. Moreover, it was found that both job satisfaction and organizational commitment could collectively predict around 73% of changes in teachers’ desire to attend PD programs. The results are discussed and implications for the theory and practice of second/foreign language (L2) education in light of psycho-affective factors are enlisted. FUNDING INFORMATION. This work was supported by “Jiangsu Provincial Social Science Fund of China” (Grant No.: 22ZWD001).

Probing into novice and experienced teachers’ knowledge, perceptions, and practices in the EFL classroom

Due to the invaluable role of scaffolding in the language education environment, several language studies to date have been conducted on this construct. However, the role of teaching experience in understanding and implementing scaffolding practices in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context has rarely been explored. To fill this gap, this study investigated novice and experienced EFL teachers’ perceptions, knowledge, and practices of scaffolding in China. In doing so, a questionnaire was completed by 487 Chinese EFL teachers followed by a semi-structured interview with 22 respondents. The results of the thematic analysis revealed that novice and experienced EFL teachers have different perceptions of scaffolding and its practices in the classroom. Moreover, the results of the independent samples t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between novice and experienced EFL teachers’ perceptions, knowledge, and practices of scaffolding in the Chinese context with the experienced group having higher scores. Possible implications for EFL teachers and trainers are discussed to raise their understanding of scaffolding theory and practice.

Modeling the Effect of Chinese EFL Teachers’ Self-efficacy and Resilience on Their Work Engagement: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Teaching is deemed a taxing enterprise, especially as far as higher education is concerned. As a result, much research attention has been showered upon exploring the correlates of engagement for instructors. To contribute to this research direction, the present researchers carried out this survey to test a model of work engagement in a Chinese higher education context. Teacher self-efficacy and resilience were added as predictors of the hypothesized model. A number of 372 Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) instructors in higher education contexts were selected through convenience sampling. The measurement models of the latent variables (i.e., self-efficacy, resilience, and work engagement) were confirmed via running Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Afterward, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the structural model. The results obtained from the analyses showed that both teacher self-efficacy and resilience could significantly predict EFL teachers’ work engagement, with self-efficacy serving as a stronger predictor than resilience. The outcomes suggest some implications for EFL stakeholders such as teachers, teacher trainers, policy makers, and officials.

Uncovering English as a foreign language teacher resilience: a structural equation modeling approach

Abstract While teacher resilience has gained wide currency in the general education field, empirical research on language teacher resilience is still insufficient, especially with regard to the exploration of its inner structure. Against this backdrop, this study utilized a quantitative approach to investigate the structure of English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher resilience. An adapted Chinese version of the Multidimensional Teachers’ Resilience Scale (MTRS) was completed by 539 Chinese junior high school EFL teachers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided an acceptable fit for the 13-item MTRS and identified a tri-factorial structure of teacher resilience concerning professional competence, sociability, and grit. Based on these findings, the paper offers some implications for developing studies on language teacher resilience in the future.

The effect of teacher self-efficacy, teacher resilience, and emotion regulation on teacher burnout: a mediation model.

This research aimed to explore the relationships among teacher self-efficacy, teacher resilience, emotion regulation, and teacher burnout within the context of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. A sample of 638 Chinese EFL teachers participated in this study. They completed self-report assessments for teacher self-efficacy, teacher resilience, emotion regulation, and teacher burnout. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to establish the construct validity of the measurement tools. Subsequently, structural equation modeling was utilized to assess the proposed structural model. The results of the study revealed significant insights. Teacher self-efficacy and resilience exhibited direct and negative associations with teacher burnout. Additionally, an interesting finding emerged where teacher emotion regulation indirectly affected teacher burnout, mediated by teacher resilience. The analysis supported the suitability of the partial mediation model as the best-fit representation of the relationships. The findings of this study provide valuable implications for EFL teaching programs. The negative connections between teacher self-efficacy, resilience, and burnout highlight the importance of nurturing these factors to mitigate burnout risk. The discovered mediation effect of teacher resilience emphasizes the role of emotion regulation in promoting teachers' overall well-being. These outcomes collectively contribute to the understanding of teacher dynamics and suggest potential avenues for targeted interventions.

A Ten-Year Bibliometric Analysis of E-Learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Context

This bibliometric study offers a comprehensive overview of e-learning research landscape in English as a foreign language (EFL) context, including the publication trend, country contributions and collaboration, productive authors and journals, and key topics of interest. Through a thorough review of 602 documents extracted from the Scopus database from 2013-2022 using VOSviewer, Excel, and Tableau, the study reveals a significant increase in e-learning publications since 2020, with China, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia emerging as the leading contributors and collaborators. The study further identifies the most productive authors and journals and highlights six key topics, including the effectiveness of e-learning, learners' perceptions, mobile learning, e-education during COVID-19, Chinese EFL teachers, and teacher education. The study provides innovative insights for EFL practitioners, researchers, and policymakers, and contributes to the general knowledge about the hotspots and frontiers of literature in the e-learning landscape of the EFL context.

EFL teachers’ writing assessment literacy: Surveying teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practises in China

Writing assessment literacy (WAL) constitutes an integral part of language teachers’ professional competence, and yet insufficient attention has been paid to the WAL of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from non-English-speaking countries. This study surveyed the knowledge, beliefs and practices in writing assessment of 219 tertiary EFL teachers from China. Data were collected through a Likert-scale WAL Survey (Crusan et al., 2016), and analysed quantitatively with a focus on the WAL level of tertiary EFL teachers in China and the influence of their demographic characteristics. Additionally, this was the first study exploring the association and relationship among different dimensions of WAL, namely, teachers’ levels of knowledge, beliefs and practices in writing assessment. The findings indicated that Chinese tertiary EFL teachers’ WAL depicted a relatively positive picture and that teachers’ training experiences and academic degrees had significant effects on teachers’ WAL. In addition, teachers’ writing assessment knowledge and beliefs were two significant predictors of their writing assessment practices. Implications for future EFL teacher training programs are discussed.

The development and validation of a scale for measuring EFL secondary teachers’ self-efficacy for English writing and writing instruction

Although the field of second language (L2) writing has evolved into an independent field of inquiry with the exponential growth in research across contexts in the past decades, relatively less attention has been paid to teachers who write and teach writing in school instructional contexts. In particular, scant research on L2 writing teachers has investigated secondary English teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for writing and writing instruction. The present study aimed to develop and validate the Secondary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teachers’ Self-Efficacy for Writing and Writing Instruction Scale (SEFL-TSEWWIS). A sample of 984 Chinese secondary EFL teachers participated in the study. The final version of the SEFL-TSEWWIS scale was comprised of 26 items measuring three dimensions: self-efficacy for teaching and assessing writing elements; self-efficacy for writing instruction; and self-efficacy for writing. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the SEFL-TSEWWIS scale had good psychometric properties. This study highlighted that EFL teachers’ beliefs about writing assessment and feedback are crucial parts of their conception of self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching L2 writing. Theoretical and pedagogical implications of the findings are provided for English writing teachers and writing teacher educators in EFL contexts.

Unpacking Chinese EFL Students' Academic Engagement and Psychological Well-Being: The Roles of Language Teachers' Affective Scaffolding.

Over the past decade, there has appeared a surge of research interest in language learners' academic engagement and psychological well-being as important factors in improving the quality of education. However, research on the roles of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' affective scaffolding in enhancing the academic engagement and psychological well-being of their students is relatively scant. Inspired by this gap, the current study aimed to investigate the impact of Chinese EFL teachers' affective scaffolding on their learners' academic engagement and psychological well-being. To this end, a total number of 1968 Chinese EFL learners participated in this questionnaire survey. The results of the study showed that EFL teachers' affective scaffolding positively and significantly predicted students' academic engagement and psychological well-being. More specifically, it was found that teachers' affective scaffolding explained about 73% and 65% of variances in EFL students' academic engagement and psychological well-being. Moreover, it was found that psychological well-being and academic engagement were positively correlated and predicted 56% of each other's variances. In accordance with these findings, educators are recommended to build up a harmonious teacher-student relationship to foster students' psych-emotional development.

A model of teacher enthusiasm, teacher self-efficacy, grit, and teacher well-being among English as a foreign language teachers.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship among teacher enthusiasm and teacher self-efficacy, grit, and teacher psychological well-being among Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. A sample of 553 Chinese EFL teachers completed self-report measures of teacher enthusiasm, teacher self-efficacy, grit, and teacher psychological well-being. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the validity of the scales, and structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. The results indicated that teacher self-efficacy and grit were positively associated with teacher psychological well-being, providing support for the importance of these teacher characteristics in promoting teacher well-being. Furthermore, teacher enthusiasm was found to have an indirect effect on teacher psychological well-being through the mediation of teacher grit, providing evidence for the importance of teacher motivation and engagement in promoting teacher well-being. The partial mediation model was found to be the best fitting model. These findings have important implications for the development of interventions and programs aimed at promoting teacher well-being in the context of EFL teaching.

EFL Teachers’ Identity and Power in China: A Discursive Analysis of Their Humor

Previous studies examined the benefits of the use of humor in language classrooms, but none of them has queried a deep understanding of the role of humor from teachers’ perspectives. This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of three Chinese secondary school English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers on the use of humor in a period of six months of research. It discussed Chinese EFL teachers’ identity and proposed humor as a strategy that helps maintain or shift the power in the Chinese teaching context. The path of power shift proposed in this study can be applied to educational scenarios similar to Chinese secondary schools in which exam is oriented and the size of class is large.

A model of teachers' growth mindset, teaching enjoyment, work engagement, and teacher grit among EFL teachers.

Because of the importance of positive emotions in second language (L2) acquisition, researchers have undertaken studies to investigate L2 learners' emotions. Nevertheless, L2 teachers' emotions still require more scholarly attention. Against this backdrop, we sought to test a model of teachers' growth mindset, teaching enjoyment, work engagement, and teacher grit among English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. To this end, 486 Chinese EFL teachers volunteered to partake in an online survey and completed the questionnaires of the four constructs in question. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to ensure the construct validity of the used scales. Then structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized model. SEM results indicated that teaching enjoyment, teacher grit, and growth mindset directly predicted EFL teachers' work engagement. In addition, teaching enjoyment affected work engagement indirectly via the mediation of teacher grit. Likewise, teacher grit mediated the effect of growth mindset on teachers' work engagement. Finally, the implications of these findings are discussed.

A microanalysis study of EFL teacher self-regulation in COVID-19 emergency remote teaching

Abstract Teacher self-regulation is under-studied yet important especially for teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) who need to conduct remote teaching over the internet due to COVID-19, known as emergency remote teaching (ERT). In light of the teacher development and self-regulation model that consists of the three phases of forethought, performance and self-reflection, this qualitative study applies the microanalysis method to explore how one novice-level and two master-level Chinese university EFL teachers self-regulated their ERT teaching. After synthetical term frequency analysis using jiebaR, we summarised a total of 14 teacher self-regulation strategies corresponding to the three phases and categorised them into ERT goals (three strategies), motivation for ERT (three strategies), self-control in ERT (three strategies), self-observation in ERT (one strategy), self-judgment from the ERT class (two strategies) and self-reaction from the ERT class (one strategy). We ended by proposing a tentative EFL teacher self-regulation model for ERT context. Implications are provided.

Probing into the boredom of online instruction among Chinese English language teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although researching emotions in language education has dramatically increased during the past decades, little is written about the effects of aversive feelings like teacher boredom in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context, especially in the context of online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Against this shortcoming, this study examined the causes of and solutions to teacher boredom experienced by 216 Chinese EFL teachers, including both genders with their ages ranging from 19 to 58. In so doing, the researcher used maximum variation sampling to gather the data via an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The gleaned data were then thematically analyzed by MAXQDA (Version 2020) whose results indicated that most participants consider the online mode of delivery more boring than the face-to-face mode. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that both the antecedents of and the solutions to teacher boredom come under the macro-categories of student-related, task-related, IT-related, and teacher-related factors and solutions. Out of these, IT-related factors and teacher-related solutions were the most frequently raised themes extracted from the data. The study presents some practical implications and directions for future research.

Examining the effects of teacher self-compassion, emotion regulation, and emotional labor strategies as predictors of teacher resilience in EFL context.

This study investigates the effects of teacher self-compassion, emotion regulation, and emotional labor strategies on teacher resilience in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The study aims to understand the relationships between these variables and their potential implications for promoting teacher resilience. A sample of 711 Chinese EFL teachers participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the instruments used to measure teacher self-compassion, emotion regulation, emotional labor strategies, and teacher resilience. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationships between these variables. The results of the study revealed that teacher self-compassion and emotional labor strategies had direct positive effects on teacher resilience. Specifically, higher levels of self-compassion and effective use of emotional labor strategies were associated with greater teacher resilience. Furthermore, teacher emotion regulation was found to indirectly predict teacher resilience through the mediation of emotional labor strategies. This suggests that the ability to regulate emotions influences the adoption of effective emotional labor strategies, which in turn contributes to higher levels of teacher resilience. The findings of this study highlight the importance of teacher self-compassion, emotion regulation, and emotional labor strategies in promoting teacher resilience in the EFL context. Interventions aimed at enhancing teacher emotional regulation skills and fostering self-compassion may have significant implications for supporting teachers in managing the demands and challenges of their profession, ultimately enhancing their resilience. These findings contribute to the understanding of factors that can promote teacher resilience and inform the development of targeted interventions in the EFL context.