Abstract:
This study explores the relationship and interconnections between EFL teachers’ beliefs and their motivational practices in the classroom. The present study combined qualitative and quantitative methods of research. First, the motivational practices of 30 teachers in two private language schools in Tehran were explored with a classroom observation instrument, the Motivation Orientation of Language Teaching (MOLT) which was used to estimate the time that teachers spent for each motivational strategy. Then, teachers’ beliefs were examined through the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) and an open-ended questionnaire aimed to assess beliefs about motivational strategies. The quantitative results indicated that the higher the teachers’ scores on the BALLI, the less frequently their use of motivational strategies in the classroom. The findings based on qualitative data, drawing largely on data from observations and the open-ended questionnaire, showed that although teachers were observed to generally follow their beliefs, there existed several points of difference between their beliefs and practices. Also, there was evidence that what teachers practice in the classrooms does not always impact their beliefs.
Machine summary:
Keywords: motivation, motivational strategies, teachers’ beliefs, teacher variables, ELT Introduction Motivation is one of the most important psychological factors that can lead to effective foreign language learning.
Much research into EFL/ESL teachers’ beliefs has addressed the relationship between these teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practices reporting significant interaction between the two variables (Attardo & Brown, 2005; Johnson, 1994; Jones & Fong, 2007; Poynor, 2005; Richardson, 1996).
To this end, the following research hypotheses were raised: H01: There is no significant relationship between teachers’ beliefs and the amount of motivational strategies that they use in the classroom.
Numerous studies in educational research have shown that teacher belief and classroom practice exist in symbiotic relationships (Foss & Kleinsasser, as cited in Borg, 2009) and a multitude of studies have also examined these relationships in the field of language teaching (e.
g. Bartels, 1999; Gatbonton, 1999; Golombek, 1998; Lam, 2000; Nunan, 1992; Richards, Li, & Tang, 1998; Smith, 1996; Ulichny, 1996).
Open-Ended Questionnaire on Teachers’ Belief about Their Motivational Orientation An open-ended questionnaire was developed by the researchers to gather qualitative data in this study since it provided an appropriate means of exploring the beliefs teachers had about the amount and type of motivational strategies in language learning and teaching.
e. to see whether a significant relationship existed between teachers’ beliefs and the amount of motivational strategies that they use in the classroom, the Pearson Correlation Coefficient had to be run.
e. teachers’ beliefs about language learning and the motivational strategies they use in the classroom, are negatively correlated.