Construction and validation of Iranian EFL teachers’ teaching motivation scale

Abstract

During the last few decades, motivation to learn English has become an interesting research area. However, the studies on EFL teachers’ motivations for choosing teaching as their career, to the present date, are scanty. The present study was an attempt to construct and validate a teaching motivation scale for EFL teachers. In the qualitative results phase, the main motivations for selecting teaching were extracted and categorized into motivational types: intrinsic and extrinsic. Results of quantitative phase showed that the developed method enjoyed an acceptable construct validity. The findings can be used by teacher trainers and organizations involved in recruiting EFL teachers.

Keywords:

• EFL teachers
• motivation
• teaching motivation
• motivation scale

Public Interest Statement

Teacher motivation has been studied in different contexts since a couple of decades ago. The present study explored types of teachers’ motivations. The explored motivations were worded and measured carefully. The main findings were summarized in a scale which was validated. This scale can be used in pedagogical settings for recruiting teachers, more importantly teachers of English as a foreign language. In other words, one can deeply understand teachers’ motivations for selecting teaching as their own profession. The researchers of the other fields of education can also use parts or all components of this scale to see whether candidates for teaching in schools and pedagogical settings have all or some types of motivations or not. As motivation is a key aspect of teachers and it has some instructional consequences, the developed scale can be used by schools and universities which have high intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for teaching.

1. Introduction

The success of any profession depends on its efforts to employ highly efficient members (Travers, 1999). Teaching is no exception in this respect, as its success as well as that of any pedagogical program is believed to lie, to a significant extent, with the people doing it, i.e., the teachers (Alexander & Fuller, 2005; Sanders & Rivers, 1996). Along this line of thought, there has recently emerged a substantial theoretical and practical shift of emphasis, mostly in mainstream education, toward acknowledging that teachers are among the principal components of any successful pedagogical program and that they are said to be the educational system’s principal resources (Wayne & Youngs, 2003). In line with the emphasis levied on the significance of teachers, results of a plethora of studies on teacher education have provided ample of empirical evidence indicating that teachers greatly influence student achievement and play a significant role in enhancing the students’ achievement outcomes (Ferguson, 1991, 1998; Sanders, 1998, 2000).

Figure 1. Scree plot of the extracted components.

Teachers also play significant roles in the students’ learning achievement (Suryanti Tambunan, Abdul Hamid, & Sundayana, 2016). It is of much significance to bear in mind that the role of teachers is not only to teach but also to motivate students. In the studies done by Atkinson (2000); Bernaus, Wilson, and Gardner (2009); Guilloteaux and Dörnyei (2008), it was found that teachers’ ability to motivate students greatly depends on how they motivate themselves. In the same vein, Dörnyei and Ushioda (2011) argued that when teachers are motivated, it is possible for their students to be motivated in the teaching and learning process as well. In other words, teacher motivation is an important factor which can contribute to the students’ attitude, motivation, and achievement in the second/foreign language.

As Dörnyei (2001) believes, “without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the most remarkable abilities cannot accomplish long-term goals, and neither are appropriate curricula and good teaching enough on their own to ensure student achievement” (p.65). The review of the related studies shows that there has been a plethora of studies exploring L2 motivation, investigating its complex nature and how it might affect the L2 learning process (to name just a few, Clément, 1980; Gardner, 2007; Oxford & Shearin, 1994; Ushioda, 2009).

Despite the significant role which teachers play in the students’ success on the one hand and their motivation to teach, on the other hand, little attention has been paid to the EFL teachers’ motivation. There have been some publications discussing the nature of the motivation for teaching although it has been interchangeably used for related issues: such as stress and burnout and teacher job satisfaction (Dinham & Scott, 2000; Evans, 1998; Zhang & Sapp, 2008). Some quantitative and qualitative research on teacher motivation has been done, but EFL teachers’ motivation has not been explored yet. In other words, little research has been done to explore why EFL teachers prefer to teach and to stay motivated in teaching.

The present study is an attempt to explore the factors which led to Iranian EFL teachers’ motivation for teaching and staying motivated to teach English at language institutes. More specifically, it is an attempt to explore the factors which lead to the EFL teachers’ teaching motivation. It will also estimate the psychometrics of the scale including internal consistency and construct validity of the EFL teachers’ teaching motivation skill. More specifically the following research questions are raised:

1. What are the main motivational factors for Iranian EFL teachers?

2. To what extent, does the developed motivation scale for EFL teachers have the required psychometrics, construct validity and internal consistency?

2. Review of the related literature

Different researchers have investigated motivation in different contexts for several decades (Butz, Stupnisky, Peterson, & Majerious, 2014; Chemolli & Gagné, 2014; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011). Review of the related studies shows that behavior psychology has affected the early theories of motivation (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011). However, during the second half of the 20th-century revolution in cognitive psychology also affected the theories of motivation (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011). Atkinson’s theory of achievement motivation, as one of the most influential theories related to cognitive psychology, laid great emphasis on avoidance from failure and the need for success (Maehr & Sjogren, 1971). Another cognitive theory is attribution theory which asserts that people try to know about the main causes of their failures and successes and try to determine whether the causes were external or internal. Additionally, attribution theory analyzes a person’s influence on the causes which determine the consequences of an event and determines whether the causes are permanent or not (Waterworth & Carless, 2012). The third socio-cognitive theory is self-efficacy theory developed by Albert Bandura. In the same line with self-efficacy theory, self-worth theory developed by Covington asserts that people, when they face with negative feedback or failure and in competitive contexts, are motivated to show a sense of worth and personal value (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011; Sullivan & Strode, 2010). Another related theory is goal-orientation which is concerned with the reasons as well as the ways people achieve different goals rather than what people try to achieve (Kaplan & Maehr, 2007). These motivation theories have been used in general education as well as teaching foreign languages.

EFL teachers’ motivation as a significant component influencing students’ performance began to be studied during the 1990s (Clément, Gardner, & Smythe, 1977; Gardner, 2001; Gorham & Millette, 1997; Sakai & Kikuchi, 2009; Tziava, 2003; Wong, 2014). In this regard, Gorham and Millette (1997) investigated the sources of motivation and de-motivation perceptions of teachers and students in their study, and one of the conspicuous findings of their research was that students put the blame on their teachers for their de-motivation due to their teachers’ certain behaviors such as not being knowledgeable, being irresponsible, having no control of material or classroom, having no enthusiasm for teaching and showing negative attitudes toward students. A teacher who shows such kind of behaviors cannot be regarded as a motivated teacher who can also motivate his/her students to be eager to learn. At this point, in order to have better outcomes in foreign language teaching processes, teacher factor should not be disregarded, and studies on EFL teachers’ motivational components should be considered well. To this end, the literature on EFL teacher motivation both in Iranian context and in the world will be reviewed in this section

Kassabgy, Boraie, and Schmidt (2001) conducted a study with 107 EFL teachers in Egypt and Hawai and examined the motivation sources of these teachers with a questionnaire including 72 close-ended and 4 open-ended questions. Through their research instrument (which was also adapted for the current study and the details will be discussed in the Methodology chapter), they questioned the values of the EFL teachers about their jobs and the rewards they get from their jobs. The results suggested that EFL teachers are mostly motivated through the intrinsic factors related to their job. That is, helping their students to learn or having a job in which they can do their best and improve themselves were found to be more important and motivating for EFL teachers than the extrinsic components of the work such as salary, promotion opportunities or job title.

In another study carried out in Greece, Tziava (2003) investigated the factors that motivate and de-motivate 52 Greek EFL teachers who work for private language schools. Her findings coincide with the results of the previous studies by suggesting that Greek EFL teachers appear to be more intrinsically motivated rather than extrinsically and their answers revealed that their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation at work could be increased through the positive effect of the relationships with the students, boss, Ministry of Education and parents. As a negative point, Greek EFL teachers stated that they do not have enough autonomy to carry out their job as they want and they are not a part of decision-making process although they are the primary practitioners of the decisions that are made.

In a more recent study, having the common research aims with the current research, Yau (2010) investigated the motivation of ESL teachers in New Zealand private language schools based on the self-determination theory and intrinsic-extrinsic motivation distinction by means of using both quantitative and qualitative research methods (this study also guided the present study through its research instruments which will be discussed in the methodology chapter). The study findings revealed that intrinsic factors such as personal enjoyment in classes, having a professional challenge and helping students to learn English were again more influential on language teachers than extrinsic factors. Nevertheless, extrinsic factors including management policies and autonomy at work were also found to be as significant factors.

Kumazawa (2013) investigated four novice EFL teachers’ motivation for teaching English in a Japanese context. The questions guiding the study were how four novice teachers’ self-concept changes in the transition period of being a student to becoming a teacher and how self-concept changes affected their motivations. A major finding of the study revealed that ideal selves gradually had less influence on future self-guides of the teachers.

There also exist some studies which focus on only the de-motivating factors on EFL teachers’ motivation. Within this context, Fattash (2012) intended to identify the demotivating factors for EFL teachers at the university level in Palestine with a participant group of 22 teachers while Sugino (2010) examined the de-motivating factors in Japanese language teaching context with the participation of 97 college teachers. Both studies reached similar results by concluding that students’ disruptive behaviors, too much workload, the lack of administrative support, the inadequacies of teaching materials, the content of the curriculum and teachers’ low salaries are de-motivating factors for EFL teachers.

3. Method

3.1. Participants

The study participants consisted of three groups: participants for the qualitative phase and the participants for the quantitative phase. The participants for the qualitative phase consisted of 25 male and female EFL teachers at high schools with more than 10 years of experience. Teachers for the first step of qualitative phases were selected among the teachers at National Zabankadeh of Iran. They were selected through purposive sampling. The second group consisted of 10 and 10 Ph.D. holders and Ph.D. candidates of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). They were selected from TEFL degree holders teaching at some state and non-state universities as well as language institutes in Tehran. The participants were selected through convenience sampling. They were selected to comment on the content validity of the instrument.

The third group of the participants consisted of 120 male and female teachers who were selected through convenience sampling among all those who have been teaching English at National language institute of Iran as well as Safir Language Institute. They were used for the piloting phase of the study. The participants were all aware of the purpose of the study. They were assured that the data would be kept confidentially. The detailed demographic description of the participants is provided in the following table.

3.2. Research design

Research design depends on the nature of the research questions. Due to the nature of the research studies, a mixed-research design (exploratory) was used: qualitative-quantitative. In order to answer the first research question, a qualitative research design (phenomenological method) was designed. Whereas, quantitative research design (survey method) was used to answer the second question.

3.3. Instrumentation

The data of the present study were collected in different phases. The first phase of the study required qualitative instruments which deeply explored the perspectives of the teachers about the motivational factors. Hence, semi-structured face-to-face individual interviews with open-ended questions were conducted to collect the data of the study. Semi-structured interviews helped us understand the phenomenon of motivation from interviewees’ own perspectives with the assumption that the important reality is what people perceive to be. Moreover, open-ended questions helped the researcher to develop a rapport with participants, explored our research questions deeply, elicited information and generate answers which allowed a true assessment of participants’ incentives for becoming EFL teachers. Also, face to face interviewing made understanding participants’ verbal responses via their nonverbal cues possible. The data for the second phase of the study (quantitative) were selected through a Survey. That is, a researcher-developed questionnaire was administered to 120 participants.

3.4. Data collection procedure

This study was carried out in two phases, and each phase consisted of different steps. In the first step, 25 EFL teachers teaching at both private and public language institutes were selected through purposive sampling. They were interviewed, and the main motivational factors were extracted through content analysis of the interviews. The extracted motivational factors were merged and carefully worded by the researchers. In the next step, the carefully worded items were sent to 10 experts in the field of applied linguistics, who were selected through snowball sampling. The items verified by more than 70 % of the experts were kept, and the others were removed from the final scale.

In the quantitative phase, the final draft of the questionnaire was administered to 140 EFL teachers who were selected through convenience sampling at language institutes in which they were teaching. The returned questionnaires with no missing data were coded and checked. The questionnaires with missing data were excluded from the final analysis. In the end, the data were analyzed through running confirmatory factor analysis.

3.5. Data analysis

Different data analysis techniques were applied. For the first phase of the study, content analysis techniques were applied. The interviews with the participants were all conducted in English, the teachers’ major and difficult terminology associated with motivation were explained to the participants in Persian. In order to elicit teachers’ in-depth perceptions, the interviewer allowed the conversation to move on smoothly in a more interactive manner. Each interview consisted of the questions which addressed the reasons for entering into teaching job. Radnor’s (2001) guide to qualitative data analysis was employed for analyzing the data. Interviews are first transcribed, and multiple copies of the transcripts were printed. The transcripts then read for topic ordering to draw out and list topics linked to the original research questions of the study. A second meticulous reading of transcripts helped the researchers identify the explicit and implicit categories which emerge within each topic. The categories were color coded. In case of more than one category in a topic, numeric coding was used. A third reading for content helped to identify quotes that were aligned with each category within the topics. The quotes were labeled according to the categories they represented. The data collected for the second phase of the study were analyzed through descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis.

4. Results

4.1. Results of qualitative phase

Interviews with 25 EFL teachers were content analyzed. The extracted findings were categorized into two categories. Each is explained in details as follows.

4.1.1. Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation consists of two sub-categories: Personal utility and social utility. Personal utility consists of nine subcategories. The sub-categories are presented in the following Table 1

Table 1. Intrinsic motivations for becoming an EFL teacher (Personal utility)

Motivation	Frequency
Having a job that is enjoyable and stimulating	20/80%
Having a job in which I can learn and develop my abilities to my full potential	19/76%
Having a job in which I am relaxed and have peace of mind	18/72%
Having a job that is fun	18/72%
Having a challenging job	16/54%
Having great self-efficacy	20/80%
Having a positive attitude toward EFL	18/72%
Having a desire for bilingual and bicultural competence	15/60%

Table 2. Social utility related intrinsic motivations

Motivation	number
Helping students and those who do not know English to learn English	24/96%
Imparting knowledge	23/92%
Public service	20/80%
Civic duty	20/80%
sense of compassion and patriotism	20/80%
Enhance social justice	19/76%
Shaping the future of children	17/72%
Training good citizens	17/72%
Self-sacrifice	15/60%
Motivating the demotivated LLS	14/56%

Table 3. Extrinsic motivation of the EFL teachers

Job status	22
Job satisfaction	21
Job transferability	21
Job security	20
Feedback to/from colleagues	18
Communications with colleagues	18
Communication/Relations with foreign language speakers	16
Having a chance to work in English speaking countries	15
Having a chance to migrate	14
Having a chance to have a part-time job	14

Table 4. Internal consistency of the scale

Scale component		Alpha
Intrinsic motivation	Personal utility	0.91
	Public utility	0.92
Extrinsic motivation		0.91
Total		0.94

Table 5. KMO and Bartlett’s test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy.		.875
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity	Approx. Chi-Square	6298.534
	Df	378
	Sig.	.000

Table 6. Eigenvalues and variances explained by each component

Component	Initial Eigenvalues			Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings
	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %
1	9.364	33.441	33.441	9.364	33.441	33.441
2	8.237	29.419	62.860	8.237	29.419	62.860
3	5.487	19.597	82.458	5.487	19.597	82.458

Table 7. Component matrix of the scale

	Component
	1	2	3
Having a job that is enjoyable and stimulating			.968
Having a job in which I can learn and develop my abilities to my full potential			.827
Having a job in which I am relaxed and have peace of mind			.681
Having a job that is fun			.875
Having a challenging job			.794
Having great self-efficacy			.749
Having a positive attitude toward EFL			.863
Having a desire for bilingual and bicultural competence			.801
Helping students and those who do not know English to learn English		.79
Imparting knowledge		.87
Public service		.86
Civic duty		.84
Sense of compassion and patriotism		.85
Enhance social justice		.74
Shaping the future of children		.76	−.170
Training good citizens		.83	−.104
Self-sacrifice		.80
Motivating the demotivated LLS		.84
Job status	.837	.42
Job satisfaction	.865	.37
Job transferability	.912	.32
Job security	.890	.34
Feedback to/from colleagues	.867	.35
Communications s with colleagues	.902	.32
Communication/Relations with foreign language speakers	.894	.39
Having a chance to work in English speaking countries	.883	.37
Having a chance to migrate	.911	.35
Having a chance to have a part-time job	.889	.36

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

^a3 components extracted.

One of the intrinsic motivation for Iranian EFL teachers is having a job that is enjoyable and stimulating. They believed that teaching English as a foreign language is both enjoyable and stimulating. That is, why they selected teaching English as their profession. This motivation was repeated by about 80 percent of the participants. The following quotation exemplifies the theme:

While I was learning English, I became interested in English language, and I decided to teach English when I grow up. My teachers’ enthusiasm for teaching also influenced my choice. (p.1)

The second motivation related to the personal utility is the job in which teachers can learn and develop their abilities to their full potential. About 76 percent of the participants argued that through teaching English they could learn more about the English language and through searching in English they could develop their knowledge and grow intellectually. As an example, one of the participants argued:

You know we can learn through teaching, and… there are many books, journals, and papers published in English and only through mastery in English we can read and understand these materials … we can also translate academic findings in Persian. (p.13)

As reported by About, 72% of the participants having a job in which teachers feel relaxed and have a peaceful mind, and a job which is fun are the two reasons for choosing teaching English as a profession. They argued that due to their interest in the English language, they would never feel tired and unhappy and teaching English is joyful and fun to them.

While I am teaching English I really enjoy and never feel tired and exhausted. I do love teaching particularly teaching to kids and young language learners (p. 16)

Teaching English language to kids and young language learners is really fun to me. I feel thrilled when I notice LLs make progress in English language (p. 10)

The next motivation for becoming an English language teacher is the challenging nature of teaching English as a foreign language. They argued that as teachers always need to interact with language learners with different language proficiency levels, and they have to keep updated for their own profession, they need to be challenged and challenge the others’ knowledge. The following quotations exemplify the theme:

Sometimes I need to challenge the students’ knowledge of language learners in my classes and check whether the language learners are satisfied with me or not. I also need to do my best develop my profession through challenging my colleagues, etc. (p. 8)

The participants’ great self -efficacy and ability in teaching English as a foreign language is another reason for choosing teaching English as their own profession. About 80 percent of the language teachers argued that they are able to teach English as a foreign language effectively. They thought teaching English is not difficult for them at all. The following quotations exemplify this code:

Before selecting teaching as my job, I was quite sure that I was born for teaching. I used to teach to my sisters and brothers. At that time I discovered my ability in teaching English as a foreign language.

—I believe in myself as being capable of teaching and managing classroom. That is why I selected teaching English as my profession (p.21)

As reported by 80% of the participants, having a positive attitude toward ELT and desire for bilingual competence are the other two motivations for becoming EFL teachers. The participants argued that their positive attitudes toward English language and literature as well as their desire for bilingual competence influenced their decisions about becoming a language teacher. The following extracts exemplify the themes:

My family and my teachers increased my interest in English and changed my attitude toward English language and culture. This positive attitude motivated me to start teaching at language institutes and high schools.

4.2. Social utility

The second type of intrinsic motivation was coded as social utility (values). This aspect of motivation refers to the intrinsic reasons motivations for contributing to and providing services to the people and society. The main intrinsic motivations related to the social values reported by the majority of the participants are presented in the following table. The detailed explanation of each of these motivations is given in the following sections.

As seen in the above table, 96 percent of the participants argued that helping the students and those who do not want to learn English is one of their intrinsic motivation to select teaching English as their own job. Participants of the study also stated that as they were aware of the significance of English language in the academic life of the students, they felt a responsibility to provide service to those who have to learn English as a foreign language. One of the teachers argued:

As I know the importance of learning English and the role which it plays in society and know that some students are indifferent to learning this language I decided to become a teacher so that I could motivate those who need motivation and support to learner English (p.3)

The second extracted intrinsic motivation which is related to social values in imparting knowledge. Twenty-three (92%) of the participants stated that through teaching they could impart knowledge to the pupils/language learners. That is why they preferred to teach at schools and language institutes. One of the participants argued:

Imparting knowledge is highly recommended and appreciated in my culture, and this can be actualized only through teaching

The next extracted intrinsic motivation related to social values is public service motivation. That is, as they have a desire to serve the public and link their personal actions with the overall public interest, they decided to become teachers. The following quotation exemplifies the theme:

I have always been interested in providing service to the public. Teaching is a job through which students from different social classes receive benefits. If I don’t share in the prosperity of my society, then I am worse off.

Feeling civic duty is another motivation for becoming a teacher. Participants believed that they have a moral commitment to civic affairs and have e an obligation to look after those who need the support of the others. They also believe that it is their responsibility to help solve problems of the other people. The following quotation exemplifies the theme:

I am sure through teaching I have the chance to solve the problems of my fellow citizens, and I feel obliged to look after anyone who needs my support. I also think about solving the problems of students and helping them make progress in the highest form of citizenship.

The sense of compassion and patriotism is another extracted motivation as reported by 20 (80%) of the participants. They argued that they always think about the welfare of the people whether they know or do not know them.

I do really feel sorry for the underprivileged and those who have to quit school just because of lack of access to good teachers. I selected a teaching job so that I help students/LLs pass their English courses and enter into tertiary education programs.

Enhancing and contributing to social justice is the next extracted motivation reported by the majority of the participants (72%). Their main justification was that through raising the students/LLs’ awareness about the inequalities which might exist in a society, they could have a fairer society in which the rate of segregation and discrimination is not very high. One of the participants argued:

I like to use all of my energy to make the world and the society in which I live a more just place. I also believe that the government cannot do much to make society fairer. Therefore, it is our duty as teachers to tell the students how they can avoid inequalities and bring about social justice.

Shaping the future of children and training good citizens are the other two motivations which caused Iranian EFL teachers to become teachers of English. They believed that through teaching to and having interaction with the students inside and outside of the classrooms they can implicitly and explicitly teach them and make their awareness of the characteristics and merits of good citizens and help them make decisions about their future. The following theme exemplifies the theme:

I really like the children my country to be trained well and to be good citizens in future; teachers can really train good citizens through teaching, I can teach children to feel responsible toward society and the other people

Self-sacrifice is another motivation which led to EFL teachers’ decision about choosing the teaching career. They argued that they sacrificed their personal interests or well-being for the sake of the children or students. They argued that through teaching they are giving up their life for the good of language learners. One of the participants argued:

Teaching here means giving up my life, time, and energy to the students, I like it cause I know though I am giving up everything I train good citizens and they do me and the society a favor, in return.

The last extracted motivation reported by the least proportion of the participants is motivating the demotivating LLs. About 56% of the participants stated they decided to become teachers because they are able to motivate the language learners who do not have a positive attitude and good motivation for learning a second language. The following quotation exemplifies the field.

I remember some of my classmates with no reason did not like learning English, and despite their great aptitude and talent, they quitted language classes. That is why I decided to become a teacher so that I can motivate students and LLs in my class to do their best and attempt all language classes

4.3. Extrinsic motivations

The second type of motivations was categorized and coded as extrinsic motivations. They are presented in Table 3.

Job status, satisfaction, transferability, and security are the most frequently reported motivations of Iranian EFL teachers. Regarding job status, they argued teachers in general and English language teachers are recognized as prestigious jobs in my country, and EFL teachers are well recognized in this country. That is why I selected teaching English as my career. As an example, one of the participants argued:

English language teachers are well recognized by the others, and people recognize teaching English as a prestigious in comparison with the other subjects, teaching mathematics and English are highly valued

Job satisfaction was another EFL teachers’ motivation for selecting and continuing this job. Participants argued as they love teaching English they are satisfied and never get tired bored, and exhausted. One of the participants argued:

I am satisfied with teaching language to LLs. Such satisfaction keeps me interested. I am not satisfied with working as employees in the other departments because I have to work 8 hours a day. But teaching does not require long hours of work… so I am very satisfied

Participants also argued teaching job is both secure and transferable. They argued when they are fired from one language institute they can teach at another language institute. They can also transfer to other cities because in almost all cities there are language institutes and each institute needs part or full-time language teachers. The following quotations exemplify the theme.

I knew that there are language institutes in all cities and if I migrate from one city to another I still have the chance of finding a job. That is why I chose teaching as my job.

Teaching job is secure; even if there is no chance for teaching at public schools, I can teach at private language institutes, I can also teach LLs at my house,

Having working relationships with colleagues and giving feedback to and receiving feedback from them are possible through teaching job. The nature of working profession requires interaction with the other colleagues and giving feedback about their job to them as well as receiving feedback from my expert colleagues. They also stated that as they did like having interaction with scholarly committees and discourse communities, they preferred to spend their time teaching to language learners and students. The following quotations exemplify these two themes:

As I like having interactions with and keeping in touch with my colleagues who are experienced in my field I guessed that the best way is to select teaching as my career

Communicating with foreign language speakers through face-to-face meetings or through social networking such as E-mails, Facebook, etc is another teaching motivation. Participants argued that teaching English requires interaction and communication with foreign language speakers through different social media or face-to-face meetings. Therefore, this job gives me this chance to do so. For instance one of the teachers argued:

In order to have motivation for being in touch with foreign language speakers, I selected teaching English at language institutes as my profession. Communication with foreign language speakers increases my general language proficiency … I also learn a lot from foreign language speakers and writers

Having a chance to find a teaching position in other countries is another motivation for Iranian EFL teachers for selecting teaching profession. Participants stated that teaching the English language to non-native speakers of English is a good experience and they might have a chance to find a teaching job in the other countries if they want. The following example illustrates the theme:

Through teaching English language, I can have a chance for finding a teaching job at English/non-speaking countries such as Arab countries or European countries. Some of my friends could find a teaching job at Iranian and non-Iranian schools in other countries

Another motivation of Iranian EFL teachers for selecting teaching is the possibility of migrating to the other countries. They stated that the other countries need labor work and bilingual labor force such as teachers are preferred to non-native speakers of English language. One of the participants stated:

Proficiency in English language and having a certificate in language proficiency tests including IELTS and TOEFL facilitates migration to other countries. Teaching English guaranties language proficiency. In addition, ability in teaching guaranties my earnings in case I migrate.

The last reported extrinsic motivation by Iranian EFL teachers is having a chance to have a part-time job. Iranian EFL teachers believed they, besides having a full-time job, have the chance of being employed as a part-time teacher, the chance which teachers of the other subjects might not have. One of the participants stated:

When I was a student I had an English language teacher who used to teach in different schools and language institutes. From then, I decided to become a teacher

4.4. Quantitative findings

In this part of the study, the results of scale validation are presented. It consists of different sub-parts, presented as follows.

4.4.1. Results of content analysis

The scale consisting of 29 items was sent to a panel consisting of 2 applied linguists, teaching at state universities and having publications on teacher education. All participants were asked to either agree or disagree with each item. Cohen’s kappa coefficient (κ) for each item was calculated. The Kappa coefficient for each item was above 0.7. That is, around 70% of the applied linguists believed that the items were related to teaching motivation. Therefore, the scale enjoyed an acceptable content validity.

4.4.2. Internal consistency of the scale

Cronbach’s alpha for different components of the scale and the whole scale was calculated. Results are presented in Table 4.

As it is shown in the above table, the alpha coefficient for each component and the whole scale exceeded 0.90. Therefore, it could be strongly argued that the developed scale enjoyed acceptable internal consistency.

4.4.3. Results of exploratory factor analysis

Results of exploratory factor analysis including results of KMO and Bartlett’s Test, Initial Eigenvalues of the extracted components, Scree plot and component matrix are presented in the following tables and graph.

As it is shown in the above table, KMO value is 0.87 which means that the sample is adequate for factor analysis.

As it is shown in the above table, three components were extracted which explained 82. 45 percent of the variances. The initial Eigenvalue of the first component is 9.36, and it explains 33.44 % of the variance. The initial Eigenvalue of the second component is 8.23, and it explains 29.41 % of the variance. However, initial Eigenvalue of the third component is 5.48, and it explains 19.59 % of the variance. It is worthy to mention that the components with Eigenvalues of less than one are not presented in this table. To have a visual representation of the extracted components, Figure 1 is presented.

As it is shown in the above Figure, the 28 items submitted to exploratory factor analysis were reduced to only three components with Eigenvalues of 1 and above. The loading factors of the items belonging to each component are presented in Table 7.

As it is shown in the above table, the first component (intrinsic motivations related to personal utility) consists of 8 items. The loading factor of each item is above 0.65, which means that all items belong to the personal utility of the intrinsic motivation. Among the items, having a job that is enjoyable and stimulating and having a job that is fun have the highest loading factors followed by having a positive attitude toward EFL. However, the items having a challenging job and having a job in which teachers have peace of mind have the least loading factors. The results also show that the second component (social utility/intrinsic motivations) consists of 10 items and the loading factors of all items exceed 0.75. That is, all items belong to the construct of this component. Moreover, the results show that the third component (extrinsic motivations) consist of 10 items and all items have high loading factors.

5. Discussion

The present study explored Iranian EFL teachers’ teaching motivation. In so doing, the selected participants were interviewed. The interviews were content analyzed word-by-word. The extracted motivations were coded and categorized. Findings revealed that Iranian EFL teachers have both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.

5.1. Intrinsic motivation of EFL teachers

The intrinsic motivations of the teachers are rooted in either personal or social values. The first two highly reported items were having a job which is enjoyable and stimulating and having a job which teachers can perform to the best of their potential. It can be postulated that these two items are related to professional achievement, growth, or challenge in the job and job happiness and related to the nature of the employment itself.

The above two items were followed by the items “Having a job in which teachers are relaxed and have peace of mind,” ‘having a job that is fun and having a challenging job. These three aspects were also rated by the majority of the participants as important factors, and they also refer to job satisfaction and professional achievement in the job. As these results suggest, the EFL teachers in the present study by attaching a lot importance to the seven items reflecting intrinsic aspects of their job, indicated the significant influence of the intrinsic aspects on the motivation of the teachers. This finding is consistent with the findings of some of the reviewed studies undertaken by researchers of the field (Bumann & Younkin, 2012; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011) who believed that nature of a job is very important to the employees and almost all employees prefer to have a fun, enjoyable, and challenging job through which they can learn to develop their profession and have peace of mind as much as possible. This notion is in line with some of the findings of Seebaluck and Seegum (2013) who in their study revealed that teachers are motivated by communicating with pupils and transferring knowledge, the opportunities they have for enhancing their professional skills, the responsibilities related to a teaching job, and fulfilling their goals.

In addition to the above five employment-related aspects, three intrinsic motivations related to the personal utility of teachers are labeled as employee-related aspects. These items which were rated by more than half of the participant as important were having high self-efficacy, positive attitude toward EFL, and desire for bilingual and bicultural competence. That the self-efficacy of the teachers was rated as an influential factor in EFL teachers’ motivation is reflected in socio-cognitive theory developed by Bandura (1997) who postulated that people with a sense of self-efficacy believe in themselves, and they are motivated to succeed in fulfilling their goals (Bumann & Younkin, 2012; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011).

Results of the study also showed that some of the motivations reported by Iranian EFL teachers were social values. That is, the participants argued that they decided to become EFL teachers so that they could contribute to the society in general and language learners in particular. Participants believed that through teaching English, they could help students and those who do not know English to learn English and can impart knowledge. That is, EFL teachers in Iran are pleased to help students and impart knowledge.

Some entry motivations for entering the teacher profession endorsed by the participants of the present study were also identified by the other studies. For example, “opportunity to teach the students who do not know English” has also been identified by some researchers (Richardson & Watt, 2006; Sinclair, 2008). Previous research by Yong (1999) has also identified the importance of “teaching to the students and imparting knowledge as important factors influencing EFL teachers’ choice of a teaching career.

Shaping the future of children and motivating the demotivated language learners were also found among the findings of some of the studies carried out in the other contexts (e.g., Allard, Bransgrove, Cooper, Duncan, & MacMillan, 1995; Richardson & Watt, 2006; Sinclair, 2008).

Three of the motivations which have social value are sense of compassion and patriotism, civic duty, and public service. These motivations thought not reported in the studies on EFL teachers’ motivations, were mentioned by some of the studies on public service motivation of the employees in public and non-public organizations (e.g., Crewson, 1995, 1997; Kim, 2009a, 2009b; Perry, Hondeghem, & Wise 2010; Vandenabeele, 2007). Therefore, in line with the findings of the present study, it can be argued that EFL teachers’ public service motivations such as pleasure to provide public services and to view teaching as civic duty as well as feeling responsible toward society, people, and the students are the main reasons for selecting teaching as their own career.

Enhancing social justice and training good citizens were the other two social aspects of intrinsic motivations reported by the majority of the participants. It seems that EFL teachers are eager to be agents of change through teaching to the students. This notion is echoing the findings of the studies by several scholars (Bourn, 2015; Tikly & Barrett, 2011) who mainly believe that in different societies around the world, teachers are looked upon as the individuals who can help to bring about positive changes in the lives of people. They are seen as natural leaders who can give advice on various affairs in the community. For example, in many countries in the Global South teachers are seen as key players in securing change within communities

The last stated reason for becoming EFL teachers is self-sacrifice desire. That is, there is the seed of self-sacrifice in EFL teachers to devote their time and energy for the good of the others. This finding has rarely been reported in the related studies. Therefore, this finding can be attributed to the context of the study. As the participants were all selected from a Muslim country, it can be postulated that their religious and ideological perspectives might have shaped such a motivation for selecting teaching as a career.

Generally speaking, it could be stated that the intrinsic motivations endorsed by participants of the present study seem to echo the findings of previous research on teacher motivation carried out across different educational settings and points to the universal nature of teacher motivation (Chong & Low, 2009; Klassen, Al-Dhafri, Hannok, & Betts, 2011; Richardson & Watt, 2006).

5.2. Extrinsic motivations of EFL teachers

In addition to the intrinsic motivations endorsed by participants of the study, 10 extrinsic motivations were extracted. The most frequently cited extrinsic motivations reported by teachers are related to the job characteristics. That is, job status, job satisfaction, job transferability, and job security are extrinsic motivations which influence Iranian EFL teachers’ choice of their career. These findings were also reported by some researchers of the field (Eren & Tezel, 2010; Salı, 2013). In line with these findings, it can be postulated that teaching English is prestigious and valuable, and through teaching English, the teachers are socially recognized. Job transferability is another characteristic of teaching English which highly motivates EFL teachers. That is, as English is taught in almost all cities of the country, EFL teachers have the chance of being transferred to their own favorite cities.

Regarding job security, it can be argued that EFL teachers have the chance of being employed as part or full-time teachers even if they are fired or rejected by language institutes or schools in which they are currently employed. The idea of having a chance to find a vacant position at language institutes is a good reward which EFL teachers receive from teaching career.

Feedback to/from colleagues and communicating with the other EFL teachers are the other extrinsic motivations for EFL teachers. These two motivations were also reported by some other studies (Chong & Low, 2009; Eren & Tezel, 2010; Klassen et al., 2011; Richardson & Watt, 2006; Salı, 2013). Detailed analysis of the interviews with the participants showed that EFL teachers selected teaching as their own career because of the opportunities they have for interacting with the other colleagues and being assessed by the other colleagues. Feedbacks from the other colleagues contributes to teachers’ professional and continuing professional development.

The other rewards which EFL teachers receive from their profession which seem to be particular to the context of the study are opportunities which they have for communicating with speakers of the other languages, migrating to the other countries, having a part-time job, and working a job in the other countries. It seems that these rewards are just particular two teachers of foreign languages particularly English language. In line with the findings, it can be strongly argued that EFL teachers have the chance of having a part-time job due to the demand for EFL teachers in almost all countries in case full-time employment is not possible. Moreover, EFL teachers can easily fulfill the requirement of migration to the other countries due to their proficiency in English language as a medium of instruction and an international language as perceived and recognized by the other countries.

5.3. Model validation

The second research question aimed at validating the developed model. In line with the quantitative findings of the study, it can be argued that the developed model enjoys an acceptable internal consistency (0.92). It can also be added that that the extracted 28 motivations were reduced to three sub-components and all of the items extracted from the interviews with the participants were kept. Two of the components are related to the intrinsic motivations and the last one is labeled thematically as extrinsic motivations. The loading factors of all items were acceptable. Further detailed also verified that the correlation between the items of each factor was statistically significant. In sum, it could be argued the extracted model of teaching motivations is reliable, valid, and fit. Therefore, the findings can also be applied by language institutes based on which they can recruit language teachers with high intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Teacher trainers can also raise the student teachers’ awareness of the rewards which they might receive through teaching ELT. Finally, the developed scale can be used by researchers of the field as validated teaching motivation scale in case they are interested in investigating EFL teachers’ motivation status, antecedents, and consequences.

6. Concluding remarks

In line with the findings of the study, it can be concluded that intrinsic motivations of EFL teachers which are driven from the nature of job such as being enjoyable, fun, challenging, and peaceful greatly influence their career choice. It can also be concluded that teachers’ inner desires such as the desire for bilingual competence and their attitudes towards to EFL and their self-efficacy are indicators of EFL teachers’ teaching motivations. Therefore, it can be postulated that the higher desire for bilingual competence and the more positive attitudes towards EFL the teachers have, the greater their teaching motivation is.

The next conclusion is that internal motivations for contributing to the society, feeling that they are part of the society and have a responsibility to teach those who need and impart knowledge to the others greatly influence their decisions about their prospective job. Moreover, it can be concluded that teaching English is socially recognized can be transferred, and is secure. Finally, it can be mentioned EFL teachers are satisfied with this job and like to interact with the other colleagues, assess their teaching and be assessed by the others, and such features of job persuade them to teach English as either a part or full-time teacher.

Authors’ statement

Goudarz Alibakhshi, assistant professor of applied linguistics, at Allmeh Tabataba’i has been teaching at Universities more importantly teacher training centers since a couple of years ago. He has also published several papers in different journals. He has also co-authored some of the papers and projects undertaken by Behzad Nezakatgoo, the co-author of the present study. The authors’ interest in teacher development and the related areas of teacher performance was a good motive for undertaking research on teacher motivation and motivational strategies which EFL teachers’ use in teaching EFL. The first part of the research is over and the results are published in the present study. The authors have also published papers on ESP teachers and teacher autonomy. Hopefully, they will send their other publications to this journal within the next three weeks.

Description for non- specialist users

Teacher motivation has been studied in different contexts since a couple of decades ago. However, the research on EFL teachers’ motivations for selecting teaching carrier seems to be scanty. The present study explored types of EFL teachers’ motivations. The explored motivations were worded and measured carefully. The main findings were summarized in a scale which was validated. This scale can be used in pedagogical settings for recruiting teachers, more importantly EFL teachers. That is, through using this scale one can get familiar with different types of teachers’ motivation. In other words, one can deeply understand teachers’ motivations for selecting teaching as their own profession. The researchers of the other fields of education can also use parts or all components of this scale to see whether candidates for teaching in schools and pedagogical settings have all or some types of motivation or not. The findings suggested that EFL teachers have both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. This scale can be used as selection test for teaching applicants.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Goudarz Alibakhshi

Goudarz Alibakhshi, assistant professor of applied linguistics, at Allmeh Tabataba’i university has been teaching at Universities more importantly teacher training centers since a couple of years ago. He has also published several papers in different journals. He has also co-authored some of the papers and projects undertaken by Behzad Nezakatgoo, the co-author of the present study. He has also presented several papers in national and international conferences on ELT. The authors’ interest in teacher development and the related areas of teacher performance was a good motive for undertaking research on teacher motivation and motivational strategies which EFL teachers’ use in teaching EFL.

Behzad Nezakatgoo

Behzad Nezakatgoo is an assistant professor at Allmeh Tabataba’i university. He has been teaching to graduate and undergraduate students at this university since a couple of years ago. He has published several papers in international journals.