AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS AFFECTING TURKISH EFL TEACHERS

Abstract

There has been a limited number of studies about the motivation of EFL teachers in Turkey. This study aimed to determine the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate Turkish EFL teachers in primary, secondary and high schools in public and private schools in Adıyaman, Turkey. Additionally, the study intended to identify perception of Turkish EFL teachers about sustaining their motivation. Within the stated aims of the study about the research questions, a mixed-methods that used both quantitative and qualitative methods was applied to collect the study's data. The questionnaire was designed by Kassabgy, Boraie and Schmidt (2001) in two sections. The questionnaire was applied to the 174 Turkish EFL teachers in primary, secondary and high schools in private and public in Adıyaman, Turkey. Besides, 10 Turkish EFL teachers replied to semi-structured interview questions and participants were selected conveniently Turkish EFL teachers who participated in the first phase of the study. The research was conducted in the Fall and Spring terms of the 2020-21 academic year. The quantitative data was analysed using SPSS 20 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences), and the qualitative data was applied using content analysis. According to the research finding, Turkish EFL teachers were motivated intrinsically rather than extrinsically. Moreover, ‘Really helping my students to learn English’ was an intrinsic motivation item, and it has the highest mean score among all items and'Job security’ and 'Freedom' were the most important extrinsic motivation factors for EFL teachers in the present study. Lastly; autonomy, salary, touching lives, teacher training, love of the job, development of society, going abroad were factors for sustaining the professional development of Turkish EFL teachers.