The 5Cs Positive Teacher Interpersonal Behaviors: Implications for Learner Empowerment and Learning in an L2 Context

Description

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. 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