Examining the Role of Teachers’ Stroking Behaviors in EFL Learners’ Active/Passive Motivation and Teacher Success

Abstract

Due to the important role that teachers’ professional success plays in the effectiveness of their students and the education system in which they are involved, the present study investigated whether teacher stroke can predict teacher success through the mediation of students’ active and passive motivation. For this aim, a group of 437 Iranian university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students were targeted to respond to the teacher success, teacher stroke, and student motivation questionnaires. The main results of the study, obtained through running correlation and structural equation modeling (SEM), were first, while positive stroke showed a positive correlation with teacher success, it did not directly predict success; yet mediated by active motivation, it was a positive predictor of success; second, while teacher success had no significant relationship with total motivation, it was positively correlated with active and passive motivation, separately; third, in terms of gender differences, for the female participants, stroke, mediated by active motivation, was a better predictor of teacher success; fourth, high scores in positive, verbal, and conditional stroke were in association with high scores in active motivation, which significantly predicted teacher success. Based on the results, it can be concluded that teacher stroke, as an instance of positive teacher interpersonal communication behaviors, increases students’ active motivation for foreign language learning, which in turn results in their higher perceptions of English teachers’ professional success.

Researching and Practicing Positive Psychology in Second/Foreign Language Learning and Teaching: The Past, Current Status and Future Directions

“…As indicated by previous research, teachers play a significant role in preparing a learning environment that can increase students' academic accomplishments (Dewaele and Dewaele, 2020 ). Accordingly, pre- and in-service teachers should be taught how to create an enjoyable learning environment by showing respect and care toward students, building on positive teacher-student interpersonal relationships (Pishghadam et al, 2021a ), and increasing interest in the target language, which will ultimately aid learners sustain engagement with the L2 learning.…”

“…Except Dewaele and MacIntyre ( 2014 , 2019 ) and Dewaele et al's ( 2019b ) studies which had international samples, there is less empirical evidence on cross-cultural studies, seeking to unravel how individuals from different cultural contexts conceptualize, perceive, and experience positive emotions and characteristics. This is very important because culture is a pivotal factor affecting how our mindset is shaped and reshaped (Pishghadam et al, 2021a ). To fill the identified lacuna in the literature, the authors of the present study and their co-researchers have initiated a new line of cross-cultural studies on positive teacher-, student-, or institution-related variables such as teacher rapport, credibility, care, stroking behaviors (a type of teacher care), work engagement, psychological well-being, students' willingness to attend L2 classes, L2 engagement, loving pedagogy in the Iranian, Polish, British, and Iraqi cultures (e.g., Derakhshan et al, 2021a , b ; Greenier et al, 2021 ; Pishghadam et al, 2021a ).…”

“…This is very important because culture is a pivotal factor affecting how our mindset is shaped and reshaped (Pishghadam et al, 2021a ). To fill the identified lacuna in the literature, the authors of the present study and their co-researchers have initiated a new line of cross-cultural studies on positive teacher-, student-, or institution-related variables such as teacher rapport, credibility, care, stroking behaviors (a type of teacher care), work engagement, psychological well-being, students' willingness to attend L2 classes, L2 engagement, loving pedagogy in the Iranian, Polish, British, and Iraqi cultures (e.g., Derakhshan et al, 2021a , b ; Greenier et al, 2021 ; Pishghadam et al, 2021a ). Nevertheless, positive psychology issues of other cultural contexts still need to be investigated.…”

The Role of Teacher-Student Relatedness and Teachers' Engagement on Students' Engagement in EFL Classrooms

“…A positive teacher-student relationship, motivation, attachment to school, cooperation in class activities, hard work in dealing with problems, friendly help and support, understanding of interpersonal behavior, and creating responsibility and freedom can be effective (Wang et al, 2021). In other words, EFL students who have a warm and intimate relationship with their teachers have high selfconfidence, interest in their teacher, more motivation to learn a positive attitude toward school, and enjoy the acceptance of their peers and classmates (Pishghadam et al, 2021a).…”

Beginning EFL Teachers' Emotional Labor Strategies in the Chinese Context

“…Teachers are emotionally engaged in their work, and teaching practices carry emotions (Zembylas, 2006). Recent studies have indicated that teachers' emotional behavior, such as stroke and emotioncy, influences students' communicative competence (Pishghadam and Ebrahimi, 2020), learning motivation (Pishghadam et al, 2021a), willingness to attend classes (Pishghadam et al, 2021b), and emotions experienced in classes (Derakhshan et al, 2021). Among the topics related to teacher emotion studies (Wang et al, 2021) is emotional labor.…”