EXPLORING THE FACTORS BEHIND THE LACK OF INTEREST IN TEACHING AMONG INDONESIAN EFL STUDENT TEACHERS: MOTIVATIONS AND IDENTITIES

Rahmi Rahmi

Abstract


Teachers' motivations and identities have been popular topics of discussion among researchers. What has been missing in the discussion, though, is the investigation of the motivations and identities of student teachers who studied at an EFL teaching program but were unmotivated to be teachers. Therefore, this study investigated this missing topic in the Acehnese context in Indonesia. Five student teachers participated in this study. To collect the data, a reflective journal and a semi-structured interview were used. Codes were written, and themes about the student teachers’ motivations and identities emerged. This study showed three key findings. First, the student teachers uninterested in teaching were affected by extrinsic motivations to study in an EFL teaching program. Second, the student teachers progressively accepted their identities as EFL student teachers and shaped their desired and undesired future career identities. Third, fears and hopes fluctuated along with feelings of uncertainty about their future identities.  

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abdullah, M. Y., Al Ghafri, H. M. H., & Al Yahyai, K. S. H. (2019). A Qualitative Study on the Best Motivational Teaching Strategies in the Context of Oman: Perspectives of EFL Teachers. English Language Teaching, 12(3), 57-64.

Adeoye‐Olatunde, O. A., & Olenik, N. L. (2021). Research and scholarly methods: Semi‐structured interviews. Journal of the american college of clinical pharmacy, 4(10), 1358-1367.

Analisti, D. (2021). Professional identity construction of an Indonesian English teacher: A narrative inquiry. Language-Edu, 10(2).

Barkhuizen, G. (2014). Revisiting narrative frames: An instrument for investigating language teaching and learning. System, 47, 12–27.

Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and teacher education, 20(2), 107-128.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2. Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological (pp. 57–71). American Psychological Association.

Dewi, S. S., & Fajri, M. S. A. (2023). Investigating Pre-Service EFL Teachers’ Initial Motivations and Identity Formation: Evidence from an Indonesian University. SAGE Open, 13(4).

Erkaya, O. R. (2013). Factors that motivate Turkish EFL teachers. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 2(2), 49-61.

Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2021). Teaching and researching motivation. Pearson Education Limited.

Dörnyei, Z. (2003). Attitudes, orientations, and motivations in language learning: Advances in theory, research, and applications. Language learning, 53(S1), 3-32.

Fisher, L., Evans, M., Forbes, K., Gayton, A., & Liu, Y. (2020). Participative multilingual identity construction in the languages classroom: A multi-theoretical conceptualisation. International Journal of Multilingualism, 17(4), 448-466.

Flores, M. A. (2020). Feeling like a student but thinking like a teacher: A study of the development of professional identity in initial teacher education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46(2), 145-158.

Galletta, A. (2013). Mastering the semi-structured interview and beyond: From research design to analysis and publication (Vol. 18). NYU press.

Garner, J. K., & Kaplan, A. (2019). A complex dynamic systems perspective on teacher learning and identity formation: An instrumental case. Teachers and Teaching, 25(1), 7-33.

Gholami, K., Faraji, S., Meijer, P. C., & Tirri, K. (2021). Construction and deconstruction of student teachers’ professional identity: A narrative study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 97, 103142.

Imelwaty, S., Abrit, R., & Kemal, E. (2022). The Construction of Pre-service English Teachers’ Identity: Attitudes toward Indonesian English. Langkawi: Journal of The Association for Arabic and English, 178-187.

Kamil, D. (2022). Beyond classroom phenomena: Exploring Indonesian EFL teachers' professional identity metaphors. Issues in Educational Research, 32(2), 555-574.

Karea, S. (2016). Indonesian secondary-trained EFL teachers teaching English to primary-age children: A study of motivational factors and EFL teaching knowledge (Doctoral dissertation, Australian Catholic University).

Kim, T. Y., & Kim, Y. K. (2015). Initial career motives and demotivation in teaching English as a foreign language: Cases of Korean EFLTeachers. Porta Linguarum: revista internacional de didáctica de las lenguas extranjeras, (24), 77-92.

Koran, S. (2015). Analyzing EFL Teachers' Initial Job Motivation and Factors Effecting Their Motivation in Fezalar Educational Institutions in Iraq. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 6(1), 72-80.

Lestari, I., & Arfiandhani, P. (2019, October). Exploring career motivation of Indonesian pre-service EFL teachers. In Third International Conference on Sustainable Innovation 2019–Humanity, Education and Social Sciences (IcoSIHESS 2019) (pp. 63-69). Atlantis Press.

Lomi, A. N. K., & Mbato, C. L. (2021). Investigating Indonesian pre-service English teachers: perceptions and motivations to enter the teaching profession. Journal on English as a Foreign Language, 11(1), 125-151.

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2014). Pre-service teachers’ future-oriented mathematical identity work. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 85, 129-142.

Marschall, G. (2022). The role of teacher identity in teacher self-efficacy development: the case of Katie. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 25(6), 725-747.

Mbato, C. L., & Wijaya, K. F. (2020). Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions on their Identity as Future EFL Teachers. Journal of English Teaching, 6(2), 96-110.

Mukminin, A., Kamil, D., Muazza, M., & Haryanto, E. (2017). Why teacher education? Documenting undocumented female student teachers’ motives in Indonesia: A case study. The Qualitative Report.

Nyakundi, E. N., Raburu, P. A., & Okwara, M. O. (2019). Influence of teacher motivation to academic performance of pupils in primary schools in Kenya.

Olsen, B., & Buchanan, R. (2017). “Everyone wants you to do everything”: Investigating the professional identity development of teacher educators. Teacher Education Quarterly, 44(1), 9-34.

Pillen, M., Beijaard, D., & Brok, P. D. (2013). Tensions in beginning teachers’ professional identity development, accompanying feelings and coping strategies. European journal of teacher education, 36(3), 240-260.

Raharjo, Y. M. R. D., & Iswandari, Y. A. (2019). Professional Identity Tensions and Coping Strategies of EFL Pre-Service Teachers. Journal of English Teaching, 5(1), 26-37.

Rahmi, R. (2023). The impact of religious beliefs among Acehnese EFL pre-service teachers. Jurnal Dedikasi Pendidikan, 7(2), 681-692.

Richardson, P. W., & Watt, H. M. (2018). Teacher professional identity and career motivation: A lifespan perspective. Research on teacher identity: Mapping challenges and innovations, 37-48.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary educational psychology, 61, 101860.

Richards, J. C. (2023). Teacher, learner and student-teacher identity in TESOL. RELC Journal, 54(1), 252-266.

Roohani, A., & Dayeri, K. (2019). On the Relationship between Iranian EFL Teachers' Burnout and Motivation: A Mixed Methods Study. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 7(1), 77-99.

Sinclair, C. (2008). Initial and changing student teacher motivation and commitment to teaching. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 36(2), 79-104.

Song, B., & Kim, T. Y. (2016). Teacher (de) motivation from an Activity Theory perspective: Cases of two experienced EFL teachers in South Korea. System, 57, 134-145.

Stellmacher, A., Ohlemann, S., Pfetsch, J., & Ittel, A. (2020). Pre-service teacher career choice motivation: A comparison of vocational education and training teachers and comprehensive school teachers in Germany. International journal for research in vocational education and training, 7(2), 214-236.

Syahnaz, M., Ramadhani, A. S., & Dewi, U. (2023). Unpacking the Complexities of Teacher Identity: Narratives of EFL Teacher in Indonesia. Language Circle: Journal of Language and Literature, 17(2), 349-356.

Syamananda, P. (2017). Factors Affecting EFL Teachers' Motivation in Thai University: A Case Study of EFL Teachers at Tertiary Level. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 10(2), 120-131.

Tambunan, A. R. S., Hamied, F. A., & Sundayana, W. (2018). EFL teachers’ motivation and competence in an Indonesian context as assessed within the framework of Maslow’s and Herberg’s theories. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(1), 68-78.

Tanjung, F. Z., Musthafa, B., & Wirza, Y. (2021, January). Proficiency and motivation: Foundation of pre-service English teachers’ professional identity development. In 4th Sriwijaya University Learning and Education International Conference (SULE-IC 2020) (pp. 337-344). Atlantis Press.

Tsybulsky, D., & Muchnik-Rozanov, Y. (2019). The development of student-teachers' professional identity while team-teaching science classes using a project-based learning approach: A multi-level analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 79, 48-59.

Upa, Y., & Mbato, C. L. (2020). English teacher identity construction: Indonesian teachers’ motivation and strategies in teaching English for special needs students. PROJECT (Professional Journal of English Education), 3(2), 311

Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., Thorpe, S., & Young, T. (2018). Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. BMC medical research methodology, 18, 1-18.

Wati, H. (2011). The effectiveness of Indonesian English teachers training programs in improving confidence and motivation. International Journal of Instruction, 4(1), 79-104.

Yumarnamto, M. (2019). The career path of an Indonesian EFL teacher: a professional capital perspective. RELC Journal, 50(1), 136-148.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.25134/ieflj.v10i1.9117

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


View My Stats

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.