Probing the bond between EFL teachers’ emotional literacy skills and professional development

Farhad Ghiasvand; Akbar A. Jahanbakhsh; Maryam Kogani

doi:10.30827/portalin.vi41.27525

Authors

Farhad Ghiasvand Allameh Tabataba i University, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6599-3838
Akbar A. Jahanbakhsh Ministry of Education, Iran
Maryam Kogani Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi41.27525

Keywords:

EFL teacher, emotional literacy skills, professional development, emotions, SEM

Abstract

he emotional side of second/foreign language (L2) education has been widely explored in the past decade. However, the way English as foreign language (EFL) teachers’ emotional literacy (EL) influences their professionalism has remained unaddressed. Against this shortcoming, this study examined the association between EFL teachers’ EL skills and professional development. To do so, two online questionnaires were disseminated among 350 Iranian EFL teachers. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) and correlation analysis revealed that all the five components of teacher EL skills were significantly correlated with teacher professional development, with social skills (r = .419) and emotional awareness (r = .417) having the strongest correlations. Moreover, the results of regression analysis indicated that teacher EL predicted 25.0% of the variance in teacher professional development. Of the components, three significant predictors were detected, namely emotional awareness, social skills, and self-regulation. Emotional awareness was the best predictor (β = .268, p = .000 < .01) that uniquely explained 7.18% of the variance in teacher professional development. Social skills and self-regulation were the other significant predictors of teacher professional development. The study ends in some conclusions, implications, and suggestions for further research on teacher emotions in L2 teaching and professional development.

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Author Biographies

Farhad Ghiasvand, Allameh Tabataba i University, Tehran, Iran

PhD holder of Applied Linguistics at Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran. He obtained his MA and PhD in Applied Linguistics from Allameh Tabataba’i University. He has been a member of the Iranian Elites Foundation since 2016. His areas of interest are language testing and assessment, teacher identity, positive psychology, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). He has published several articles on these areas of research in accredited national and international journals.

Akbar A. Jahanbakhsh, Ministry of Education, Iran

English teacher and university lecturer. He has been working as a freelance researcher, being involved with many research projects as a data analytic consultant. He has published in peer-review journals and his main areas of interest are research methodology, advanced qualitative and quantitative analyses, and meta-analytic research.

Maryam Kogani, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

PhD Candidate of Applied Linguistics, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran. Her areas of interest include second language teacher education and educational psychology.

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