This book argues that, in line with the tenets of positive psychology in SLA and the rhetorical/relational goal theory, positive teacher-student interpersonal relationships are deemed to be of great significance for empowering students to accomplish favorable academic outcomes and to successfully learn a second/foreign language (L2), whether at its affective, behavioral, or cognitive levels. Therefore, understanding the role of teacher interpersonal behaviors and their effect on students' learning gains in the domain of SLA is of utmost importance, particularly as this line of research is at its nascent stage of development, and, as a result, available empirical evidence is still inconclusive. To address this issue, drawing on the mixed methods design, this book mainly aims to, first, empirically scrutinize the role of “5Cs” positive teacher interpersonal variables (i.e., care, clarity, closeness, confirmation, and credibility) in L2 students' affective, behavioral, and cognitive learning outcomes through the mediation of student-perceived learner empowerment in the L2 context of Iran. Second, it is intended to show how L2 teacher educators, teachers, and materials developers, among other key educational stakeholders, can facilitate the provision of interpersonally rich language learning environments with the ultimate goal of enhancing students' L2 learning.
Author(s): Ali Derakhshan
Series: Second Language Learning and Teaching
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 140
City: Cham
Preface
Contents
1 Overview of the Underlying Frameworks
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Positive Psychology in L2 Education
1.3 Rhetorical/Relational Goal Theory
1.4 Teacher Interpersonal Behaviors
1.5 Positive Interpersonal Relationships in L2 Classes
1.6 Conclusion
2 Review of the Concepts: Theoretical and Empirical Backgrounds
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Care
2.3 Clarity
2.4 Closeness
2.5 Confirmation
2.6 Credibility
2.7 Learner Empowerment
2.8 Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive Learning
2.9 Conclusion
3 Design of the Study
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Aims and Research Questions
3.3 Design
3.4 Setting
3.5 Participants
3.6 Data Collection Instruments
3.7 Data Collection Procedures
3.8 Data Analysis
3.9 Conclusion
4 Results
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Quantitative Results
4.2.1 Validating the Scales
4.2.2 Reliability of the Scales
4.2.3 The Kolmogorov–Smirnov Test
4.2.4 Descriptive Statistics
4.2.5 Inferential Statistics
4.3 Qualitative Results
4.3.1 Factors Contributing to L2 Students’ Empowerment
4.3.2 Factors Contributing to L2 Students’ Learning
4.4 Conclusion
5 Discussion
5.1 Introduction
5.2 RQ1: To What Extent Do “5C” Teacher Interpersonal Behaviors Predict Iranian EFL Students’ Empowerment?
5.3 RQ2: To What Extent Do “5C” Teacher Interpersonal Behaviors Predict Iranian EFLL Students’ Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive Learning?
5.4 RQ3: To What Extent Does Learner Empowerment Predict Iranian EFL Students’ Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Learning?
5.5 RQ4: To What Extent Does Learner Empowerment Mediate the Effects of “5C” Teacher Interpersonal Behaviors on Iranian EFL Students’ Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive Learning?
5.6 RQ5: What Factors Contribute to Iranian EFL Students’ Empowerment?
5.7 RQ6: What Factors Contribute to Iranian EFL Students’ Learning?
5.8 Conclusion
6 Conclusions, Limitations, Pedagogical Implications, and Directions for Future Research
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Conclusions
6.3 Limitations
6.4 Implications
6.5 Directions for Future Research
6.6 Conclusion
Appendix A Teacher Care Scale (TC-S)
Appendix B Teacher Clarity Short Inventory
Appendix C Relational Closeness Scale
Appendix D Teacher Confirmation Scale
Appendix E Teacher Credibility Scale
Appendix F Learner Empowerment Scale
Appendix G Students’ Affective Learning Scale
Appendix H Students’ Behavioral Learning Scale
Appendix I Cognitive Learning Scale
Appendix J The Open-ended Questionnaire
References
