Teacher communication activities relevant to student motivation: Classroom facework and instructional communication competence

Abstract

Relying on an interdisciplinary link between identity management and student motivation research, this study describes teacher communication activities that students in two graduate preprofessional classrooms identified as face‐relevant. Ethnographic methods found 7 instructional communication activities during which students reported feeling one or more of their face needs addressed (i.e., supported or threatened). Findings and extant research are cited to demonstrate the positive motivational consequences of instructor face‐support during these face‐relevant interactions. Results extend previous communication research on motivation, immediacy, and influence in the classroom.

Keywords:

• motivation
• facework
• instruction
• communication competence
• immediacy
• power
• influence