Exploring the Relationship Between Teacher Confirmation and Student Motivation: The United States and Finland

Toward the Role of Language Teacher Confirmation and Stroke in EFL/ESL Students’ Motivation and Academic Engagement: A Theoretical Review

“…To start with, compared to other positive interpersonal behaviors, teacher confirmation and stroke have received less attention (e.g., Sidelinger and Booth-Butterfield, 2010 ; Hsu, 2012 ); hence, more empirical studies should be conducted on these two interpersonal behaviors. Next, previous research proved that teacher confirmation and stroke play a pivotal role in improving student motivation and academic engagement ( Van Uden et al, 2014 ; LaBelle and Johnson, 2020 ; Croucher et al, 2021 ); it would be interesting to examine whether other student-related variables (e.g., learning achievement, willingness to communicate, satisfaction, etc.) can be positively predicted by teacher confirmation and stroke.…”

“…To fill this gap, further empirical studies are advised to use both observer-report scales and self-report scales to measure these two interpersonal behaviors of teachers. Last but not least, the moderating effects of situational variables such as gender ( Campbell et al, 2009 ) and culture ( Shen and Croucher, 2018 ; Croucher et al, 2021 ) have been the focus of less research. In this regard, more empirical research is highly required to examine the impact of different situational variables.…”

“…By the same token, Pishghadam and Khajavy (2014) uncovered that teacher stroke can remarkably predict EFL students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn the language. In the same vein, Croucher et al (2021) demonstrated that ESL students' level of academic motivation can be dramatically enhanced by teacher confirmation behaviors.…”

“…Finally, the fourth dimension of teacher confirmation is tied with not exhibiting any disconfirming actions toward students, which can be deemed as a kind of confirmation ( Ellis, 2004 ). Previous research has revealed that teacher confirmation behavior is associated with EFL/ESL student-related variables such as increased achievement ( Goodboy and Myers, 2008 ; Hsu, 2012 ; Goldman et al, 2014 ; Santana, 2017 ), motivation ( Ellis, 2004 ; Shen and Croucher, 2018 ; Croucher et al, 2021 ), and academic engagement ( Campbell et al, 2009 ; LaBelle and Johnson, 2020 ).…”

“…While students’ trait motivation inclines to be stable, their state motivation can be directly or indirectly influenced by their teachers’ interpersonal behaviors ( Fallah, 2014 ). Hence, in interaction with students, teachers should employ positive interpersonal behaviors such as confirmation ( Ellis, 2004 ; Shen and Croucher, 2018 ; Croucher et al, 2021 ) and stroke ( Akin-Little et al, 2004 ; Pishghadam and Khajavy, 2014 ) to enhance EFL/ESL student motivation to learn language.…”