Abstract
This study explored teacher apprehension by collecting self-report data from language teachers. The qualitative data for this study were collected via semi-structured interviews, open-ended questions, diary, and observation. The antecedents of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ apprehension comprised attitudinal factors, organizational factors, classroom management, and L2-related factors. The ramifications of EFL teachers’ apprehension included attitudinal factors, job-related factors, stress coping strategies, and smart classroom management. The multitude of the antecedents of EFL teachers’ apprehension was clustered in the light of three broad conceptualizations: trait vs. state, internal vs. external, and controllable vs. uncontrollable dimension. The consequences were subsumed under facilitative and debilitative effects.
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Appendices
Appendix 1. Conceptualization of Factors and Sub Factors of the Antecedents of EFL Teachers’ Apprehension
Antecedents | Sub factors | Operational definition |
|---|---|---|
Attitudinal factors | teachers' low self-esteem | The person’s overall subjective assessment of his or her own value. It is a judgment of oneself as well as an attitude toward the self |
Example | • Not being praised by the students | • Gifted students who can take the control of the class |
• Being an unexperienced teacher, he was extremely stressed-out | • Any tricky mishap that can hinder the teacher's being efficacious | |
• Having difficulty in building up a good rapport with the learners | • Teachers’ feeling dissatisfied with their level of knowledge | |
Attitudinal factors | Students’ demotivation | The forces that diminish students’ inspiration to learn or the absence of the forces that derives effective learning (Ghanizadeh & Jahedizadeh, 2015a) |
Example | • She felt apprehensive on how to teach the learners who are unmotivated and how to make them understand the subject-matter | |
Attitudinal factors | Students’ perceptions: challenge | Perceptions of classroom activities are the processes by which we receive and interpret information in the classroom. Students see the class activities challenging if, for instance, they lead to solving problems (Ghanizadeh & Jahedizadeh, 2015b) |
Example | • Running boring classes | • When students’ curiosity leads a teacher to go beyond the normal level of the class |
• Students’ being expectant | When her students got tired and asked their teacher to change the topic since it wasted time | |
• Not to have an interactive class | • Disturbing students who blurt out some nonsense or personal questions | |
Attitudinal factors | Students’ perceptions: Interest | Perceptions of classroom activities are the processes by which we receive and interpret information in the classroom. Students see the class activities interesting when, for instance, the teacher devises interesting activities Ghanizadeh & Jahedizadeh, 2015b) |
Example | • Inactive and unenthusiastic students | |
Organizational factors | Supervisor observation | |
Example | • She is afraid of being judged by the supervisor | Being observed by the supervisors |
Classroom management | Students’ disengagement: emotional | Student engagement in school has been operationalized so as to see the extent to which students are committed to school and motivated to learn. Emotional engagement refers to the extent to which students feel a sense of belonging and the degree to which they care about their classes (Fredricks et al., 2004) |
Example | • Students' not being curious and flexible | • Students' demotivation |
Classroom management | Students' disengagement: cognitive | Cognitive engagement refers to the students’ volunteer efforts for understanding and mastering the classroom tasks (Fredricks et al., 2004) |
Example | • Teachers monitor the students over time and see they have not improved their skills | • She was afraid of the situation when absent learners did not take the responsibility of their own learning |
• She lost control of the class but she pretended everything is okay | ||
Classroom management | Students' disengagement: behavioral | Behavior engagement is defined in terms of both participation in the learning environment as well as positive conduct, such as following the rules, adhering to classroom norms, and the absence of disruptive behavior such as skipping school or getting into trouble (Fredricks et al., 2004) |
Example | • How to manage an inadvertent argument | • Noisy students |
• When some reasons question teachers' authority in the class | ||
Classroom management | Students’ proficiency | |
Example | • Learners’ characteristic differences | • Gifted students who can take the control of the class |
• Students with different learning styles | • Mixed classes | |
Classroom management | Time restriction | |
Example | • The warm-up part took a lot that he escaped the time | • Keeping up with the syllabus |
Classroom management | Syllabus coverage | |
Example | • She felt anxious if she fell behind the syllabus and had difficulty managing the time | • Having too much work to cover in a session |
• Lack of time to cover all the materials in a session | ||
Classroom management | Error treatment | The input the learners receive after their oral or written production which is an indication to the learner that his or her use of the target language is incorrect |
Example | • Reproaching the students | |
L2-related factors | Linguistic factors | |
Example | • Students’ questions that u r not sure of the answer | • Teaching grammar when the teacher is not pre-planned |
• Teaching grammar and running panel discussion classes are the most difficult to teach | • Writing is the most difficult skill to teach if the teacher is not good at writing | |
• She felt solicitous if she had spelling errors | ||
The striving towards high standard in teaching as well in students’ language learning | ||
Example | • Obsessive–compulsive disorder | • Not up-to-dated with new stuff |
• Teachers’ being perfectionist to make the students 100% interested in the subject-matter and class | ||
L2-related factors | Cultural differences | |
Example | • Not knowing enough about the target culture caused her to feel apprehensive | |
Appendix 2. Conceptualization of Factors and Sub Factors of the Ramifications of EFL Teachers’ Apprehension
Ramifications | Sub factors |
|---|---|
Attitudinal factors | Efficacy |
Example | • I indoctrinate myself to come to this belief that being an experienced teacher, I can teach without preparation before the class ( +) • I should prove myself by teaching the students well ( +) • It makes me not to be the one that I really am ( −) • It makes me not have confidence in me ( −) |
Attitudinal factors | Intrinsic interest |
Example | • To manage time and give variety to different tasks, I use new teaching methods ( +) • I try to come up with new ideas to cover the listening parts ( +) |
Attitudinal factors | Emotional control |
Example | • I feel a lump lodged through my throat ( −) |
• It makes me not have confidence in me (-) | |
Attitudinal factors | Avoidance goal approach |
Example | • When I was stressed, all I wanted was to finish the session ( −) • It seemed like I lingered teaching the vocabulary part (− / +) • To screw the learners up, I change the task and I shift it to the task on which I’m keen (− / +) |
Attitudinal factors | Resilience |
Example | • I found deeper truths within myself and tried her best to be resilient ( +) |
• Using a sudden self-regulation, I try to raise my self-confidence ( +) | |
Attitudinal factors | External/uncontrollable factors |
Example | • I feel blue ( −) |
• I feel as though I lost my face ( −) | |
Job-related factors | Burnout |
Example | • I feel I am not knowledgeable enough ( −) |
• I resign myself to mediocrity ( −) | |
Job-related factors | Effectiveness |
Example | • The learners can have a say on how to make the tasks more interactive ( +) |
• I try to engage the students more ( +) | |
Job-related factors | Job motivation |
Example | • It gives me this opportunity to learn new things ( +) |
• I was teased by the learners ( −) | |
Job-related factors | Commitment |
Example | • Honesty is the best policy. if I feel morose, I share this secret with the learners while entering the class ( +) |
Stress-coping strategies | Avoidance |
Example | • I whitewash it by having the learners check the vocabulary (− / +) |
• I will shift the answer for the coming session, in other words, I postpone it (− / +) | |
Stress-coping strategies | Emotion |
Example | • I had a monotonous tiring speech while explaining the grammar rules ( −) |
• Feeling anxious, I use baffling words ( −) | |
Stress-coping strategies | Task |
Example | • To make the students cope with their stress, I give them pair quizzes ( +) • I try to use natural language rather than bombastic words ( −) • To increase the learners' motivation, I try to monitor their development each session by asking some questions and giving them some quizzes ( +) |
Smart classroom management | Self-regulation: classroom management |
Example | • To engage the learners and make them enthusiastic, I play videos for them ( +) |
Smart classroom management | Self-regulation: planning and preparation |
Example | • I try to be armed to the tooth to answer students' questions ( +) • I try to expand my vocabulary ( +) • The teachers should have powerful arsenal vocabulary ( +) |
Smart classroom management | Self-regulation: self-monitoring |
Example | • I found deeper truths within myself and tried my best to be resilient ( +) |
Ramifications | Sub factors |
Smart classroom management | Procrastination |
Example | • To screw the learners up, I change the task and I shift it to the task on which I'm keen (− / +) • I try to deviate the learners and focus them on something else, for example pictures (− / +) • I will shift the answer for the coming session, in other words, I postpone it (− / +) |
Ramifications | Operational definition |
|---|---|
Attitudinal factors | The teacher’s disbelief in his or her capability to organize and execute courses of action required to successfully accomplish a specific teaching task in a particular context” (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001, p. 22) |
Example | |
Attitudinal factors | Beliefs concerning personal interest in the profession |
Example | |
Attitudinal factors | Strategies for controlling and regulating affect, mood, and emotions |
Example | • Students’ smiles assuage my anger ( +) |
Attitudinal factors | Goals not to do worse than others as a teacher and not to teach worse than before (Mascret et al., 2014) |
Example | |
Attitudinal factors | Teacher resilience refers to the process of, capacity for, and outcome of positive adaptation as well as ongoing professional commitment and growth in the face of challenging circumstances (Mansfield et al., 2014; Araghian & Ghanizadeh, 2021) |
Example | • To control the class, I try to be resilient ( +) |
Attitudinal factors | Student engagement in school has been operationalized so as the extent to which students are committed to school and motivated to learn. Emotional engagement refers to the extent to which students feel a sense of belonging and the degree to which they care about their classes (Fredricks et al., 2004) |
Example | • It causes me to have shaking voice ( −) |
Job-related factors | Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long-term involvement in situations that are emotionally demanding or stressful. It is a multidimensional construct with three related constructs: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment. (Maslach et al., 1996) |
Example | • I feel emotionally exhausted burnout ( −) |
Job-related factors | |
Example | • It makes my teaching less effective ( −) |
Job-related factors | Gob motivation including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation inspires an employee to purse work-related tasks or goals (Fernet, et al., 2008) |
Example | • Cultural elements made her not feel in her elements ( −) |
Job-related factors | The state or willingness of being obligated or emotionally impelled by teaching as well as the relative strength of the teachers’ identification with the institution (Jo, 2014) |
Example | • I put myself in my learners' position ( +) |
Stress-coping strategies | Avoidance-oriented coping refers to responses designed to avoid dealing with stressful situations, such as distracting oneself with other situations (e.g., shopping) or through interacting with other persons (Endler & Parker, 1990) |
Example | • I put the learners through the mills so as not to ask me irrelevant questions (− / +) |
Stress-coping strategies | Emotion-oriented coping refers to responses directed toward oneself rather than the problem at hand. An individual using this coping style may respond to a difficult situation by becoming emotionally distressed or engaging in fantasy activities (Endler & Parker, 1990) |
Example | • It has a bad impact on my accent; therefore, I feel as if I lost my voice ( −) |
Stress-coping strategies | Task-oriented coping refers to responses directed at either problem resolution or cognitively reframing the meaning of the stressful situation (Endler & Parker, 1990) |
Example | |
Smart classroom management | Classroom management refers to all the things that a teacher does to organize students, space, time, and materials so that instruction in content and student learning can take place (Wong & Rosemary, 2001) |
Example | • To manage time and give variety to different tasks, I use new teaching methods ( +) |
Smart classroom management | The extent to which a teacher has an assigned or self-directed goal, a plan, and a framework for reflection and evaluation to achieve the goal |
Example | |
Smart classroom management | Process of monitoring one’s own performance in teaching and making instructional changes when necessary (Yesim et al., 2009) |
Example | • As a teacher, I agonize over on how to reprimand my students ( +) |
Smart classroom management | Avoidance or delay of doing a task that needs to be accomplished |
Example |
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Goldast, G., Ghanizadeh, A. & Beigi, P.G. EFL Teachers’ Apprehension: a Study of Antecedents and Ramifications. Hu Arenas 6, 521–541 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-021-00235-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-021-00235-w