Keywords
positive interpersonal communication
student burnout
teacher immediacy
teacher stroke
How to Cite
Number of views: 2208
Number of downloads: 1184
Abstract
To expand the literature on the rather new concept of student burnout, the present study examined the influence of teacher immediacy and stroke variables on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ experience of burnout. To fulfill this aim, a group of 631 undergraduate EFL students from various universities in Iran answered questionnaires including the Immediacy Behavior Scale, the Student Stroke Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of immediacy and burnout scales demonstrated the validity of the two scales in the Iranian EFL context. Subsequently, Pearson multiple correlation coefficients and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data. It was found that student burnout subscales negatively and significantly correlated with teacher immediacy and stroke subscales. Moreover, the results indicated that teacher immediacy and stroke variables, in combination with their subscales, could predict student burnout. On the whole, it can be concluded that teacher immediacy and stroke concepts, characterized as positive teacher interpersonal communication behaviors enhancing rapport and positive interaction between the teacher and students in EFL contexts, are potential preventers of negative student-related outcomes such as burnout.
Funding
Golestan University under Grant Number 981945
the Editor
the anonymous reviewers
References
Ballester, E. P. (2015). Verbal and nonverbal teacher immediacy and foreign language anxiety in an EFL university course. Porta Linguarum, 23, 9-24.
Berne, E. (1988). Games people play: The psychology of human relationships. Grove Press.
Cakir, S. G. (2015). The effects of teacher immediacy and student burnout on empowerment and resistance among Turkish pre-service teachers. Learning and Individual Difference, 40, 170-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.05.002
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155-159. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.112.1.155
Comadena, M. E., Hunt, S. K., & Simonds, C. J. (2007). The effects of teacher clarity, nonverbal immediacy, and caring on student motivation, affective and cognitive learning. Communication Research Reports, 24(3), 241-248. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824090701446617
Cushman, S., & West, R. (2006). Precursors to college student burnout: Developing a typology of understanding. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 7, 23-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/17459430600964638
Delos Reyes, R. D. G., & Torio, V. A. G. (2020). The relationship of expert teacher–learner rapport and learner autonomy in the CVIF-dynamic learning program. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-020-00532-y
Derakhshan, A. (2021). The predictability of Turkman students’ academic engagement through Persian language teachers’ nonverbal immediacy and credibility. Journal of Teaching Persian to Speakers of Other Languages, 10(21), 3-26.
Dixson, M. D., Greenwell, M. R., Rogers-Stacy, C., Weister, T., & Lauer, S. (2017). Nonverbal immediacy behaviors and online student engagement: Bringing past instructional research into the present virtual classroom. Communication Education, 66(1), 37-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2016.1209222
Dewaele, J.-M., Chen, X., Padilla, A. M., & Lake, J. (2019). The flowering of positive psychology in foreign language teaching and acquisition research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 21-28. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02128
Ellis, K. (2000). Perceived teacher confirmation. Human Communication Research, 26(2), 264-291. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2000.tb00758.x
Estepp, C. M., & Roberts, T. G. (2015). Teacher immediacy and professor/student rapport as predictors of motivation and engagement. NACTA Journal, 59(1), 155-163.
Fallah, N. (2014). Willingness to communicate in English, communication self-confidence, motivation, shyness and teacher immediacy among Iranian English-major undergraduates: A structural equation modeling approach. Learning and Individual Differences, 30, 140-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.12.006
Finn, A. N., & Schrodt, P. (2012). Students’ perceived understanding mediates the effects of teacher clarity and nonverbal immediacy on learner empowerment. Communication Education, 61(2), 111-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2012.656669
Freedman, M. (1993). The kindness of strangers: Adult mentors, urban youth and the new volunteerism. Cambridge University Press.
Freudenberger, H. J. (1974). Staff burn-out. Journal of Social Issues, 30(1), 159-165. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00706.x
Frymier, A. B., Goldman, Z. W., & Claus, C. J. (2019). Why nonverbal immediacy matters: A motivation explanation. Communication Quarterly, 67(5), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2019.1668442
Gabryś-Barker, D. (2016). Caring and sharing in the foreign language class: On a positive classroom climate. In D. Gabryś-Barker & D. Gałajda (Eds.), Positive psychology perspectives on foreign language learning and teaching (pp. 155-174). Springer.
Gholamrezaee, S., & Ghanizadeh, A. (2018). EFL teachers’ verbal and nonverbal immediacy: A study of its impact on students’ emotional states, cognitive learning, and burnout. Psychological Studies, 63(4), 398-409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-018-0467-5
Golombek, P., & Doran, M. (2014). Unifying cognition, emotion, and activity in language teacher professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 39, 102-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.01.002
Gorham, J. (1988). The relationship between verbal teacher immediacy behaviors and student learning. Communication Education, 37(1), 40-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634528809378702
Gourneau, B. (2005). Five attitudes of effective teachers: Implications for teacher training. Essays in Education, 13, 1-8.
Gregersen, T. (2010). Demonstrating affect: The implications of nonverbal immediacy training. In M. Torreblanca, Ch. Abello, R. Chacón & D. López (Eds.), The impact of affective variables in L2 teaching and learning (pp. 67-78). Secretariado de Publicaciones Universidad de Sevilla.
Hair Jr, J. F., Black, W.C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2009). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
Hosseini, S. (2016). EFL teachers’ perceptions of stroke and their application in class: A qualitative study [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
Houser, M. L., & Hosek, A. M. (Eds.). (2018). Handbook of instructional communication: Rhetorical and relational perspectives (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
Irajzad, F., Pishghadam, R., & Shahriari, H. (2017). Examining the stroking behavior of English, Persian, and Arabic school teachers in Iran: A mixed-methods study. International Journal of Instruction, 10(2), 219-236. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2017.10114a
Irajzad, F., & Shahriari, H. (2017). Student socioeconomic status and teacher stroke: A case of female students in Iran. Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education, 8(1), 129-144. https://doi.org/10.1515/dcse-2017-0010
Joe, H. K., Hiver, P., & Al-Hoorie, A. H. (2017). Classroom social climate, self-determined motivation, willingness to communicate, and achievement: A study of structural relationships in instructed second language settings. Learning and Individual Differences, 53, 133-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.11.005
Johnson, Z. D., & LaBelle, S. (2020). Confirmation in the college classroom: The connections between teacher’s use of confirming messages and student’s own communicative behaviors. Communication Research Reports, 37(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2020.1800449
Kelly, S., & Gaytan, J. (2020). The effect of instructors’ immediate behaviors and clarity on student writing apprehension. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 83(1), 96-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490619868822
Kelly, S., Rice, C., Wyatt, B., Ducking, J., & Denton, Z. (2015). Teacher immediacy and decreased student quantitative reasoning anxiety: The mediating effect of perception. Communication Education, 64(2), 171-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2015.1014383
Khajavy, G. H., MacIntyre, P. D., & Barabadi, E. (2018). Role of the emotions and classroom environment in willingness to communicate: Applying doubly latent multilevel analysis in second language acquisition research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 40(3), 605-624.
Li, C., Jiang, G., & Dewaele, J.-M. (2018). Understanding Chinese high school students’ foreign language enjoyment: Validation of the Chinese version of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale. System, 76, 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.06.004
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2, 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1984). Burnout in organizational settings. In S. Oskamp (Ed.), Applied social psychology annual: Applications in organizational settings (Vol. 5, pp. 133-153). Sage.
Maslach, C., & Schaufeli, W. B. (1993). Historical and conceptual development of burnout. In W. B. Schaufeli, C. Maslach, & T. Marek (Eds.), Professional burnout: Recent developments in theory and research (pp. 1-16). Taylor & Francis.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 397-422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
Mazer, J. P. (2013). Student emotional and cognitive interest as mediators of teacher communication behaviors and student engagement: An examination of direct and interaction effect. Communication Education, 62, 253-277. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2013.777752
Mehrabian, A. (1969). Some referents and measures of nonverbal behavior. Behavioural Research Methods and Instrumentation, 1, 213-217. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF0320809
Mercer, S., & Dörnyei, Z. (2020). Engaging language learners in contemporary classrooms. Cambridge University Press.
Mercer, S., & Gkonou, C. (2020). Relationships and good language teachers. In C. Griffiths & Z. Tajeddin (Eds.), Lessons from good language teachers (pp. 164-174). Cambridge University Press.
Mercer, S., MacIntyre, P., Gregersen, T., & Talbot, K. (2018). Positive language education: Combining positive education and language education. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition, 4(2), 11-31.
Mottet, T. P., Frymier, A. B., & Beebe, S. A. (2006). Theorizing about instructional communication. In T. P. Mottet, V. P. Richmond, & J. C. McCroskey (Eds.), Handbook of instructional communication: Rhetorical and relational perspectives (pp. 255-282). Allyn & Bacon.
Myers, S. A., Baker, J. P., Barone, H., Kromka, S. M., & Pitts, S. (2018). Using rhetorical/relational goal theory to examine college students’ impressions of their instructors. Communication Research Reports, 35(2), 131-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2017.1406848
Myers, S. A., Goodboy, A. K., & Members of COMM 600 (2014). College student learning, motivation, and satisfaction as a function of effective instructor communication behaviors. Southern Communication Journal, 79(1), 14-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2013.815266
Namaghi, F. R. (2016). The influence of stroke on “willingness to attend classes” (WTAC) and foreign language achievement: A case of Iranian EFL learners [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
Noorbakhsh, Z., Pishghadam, R., & Saboori, F. (2018). Stroke and gender identity in teacher success: From learners’ viewpoints. Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences, 41(1), 39-48. https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v41i1.7591
Pavelescu, L. M., & Petrić, B. (2018). Love and enjoyment in context: Four case studies of adolescent EFL learners. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8(1), 73-101. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2018.8.1.4
Pishghadam, R., Derakhshan, A., & Zhaleh, K. (2019). The interplay of teacher success, credibility, and stroke with respect to students’ willingness to attend classes. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 50(4), 284-292. https://doi.org/10.24425/ppb.2019.131001
Pishghadam, R., Derakhshan, A., Zhaleh, K., Al-Obaydi L. H. (2021). Students’ willingness to attend EFL classes with respect to teachers’ credibility, stroke, and success: A cross-cultural study of Iranian and Iraqi students’ perceptions. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01738-z
Pishghadam, R., & Farkhondehfal, E. (2017). From navazesh (physical strokes) to navazeh (mental strokes): A look into the concept of stroking in teaching a second language. Journal of Language & Translation Studies, 49(4), 1-4.
Pishghadam, R., & Karami, M. (2017). Probing language teachers’ stroking and credibility in relation to their success in class. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 63(4), 378-395.
Pishghadam, R., & Khajavy, G. H. (2014). Development and validation of the student stroke scale and examining its relation with academic motivation. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 43(2), 109-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2014.03.004
Pishghadam, R., Naji Meidani, E., & Khajavy, G. (2015). Language teachers’ conceptions of intelligence and their roles in teacher care and teacher feedback. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(1), 60-82. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2015v40n1.4
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2014). How big is „big”? Interpreting effect sizes in L2 research. Language Learning, 64(4), 878-912. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12079
Richmond, V. P. (2002). Teaching nonverbal immediacy. In J. L. Chesebro (Ed.), Communication for teachers (pp. 65-82). Allyn and Bacon.
Richmond, V. P., Gorham, J. S., & McCroskey, J. C. (1987). The relationship between selected immediacy behaviors and cognitive learning. In M. L. McLaughlin (Ed.), Communication yearbook (Vol. 10, pp. 574-590). Sage.
Roohani, A., & Esmailvandi, M (2016). A sequential mixed-method analysis of students’ burnout and emotional intelligence. Issues in Language Teaching, 5(1), 135-160.
Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey. In C. Maslach, S. E. Jackson, & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), The Maslach Burnout Inventory: Test manual (3rd ed.). Consulting Psychologists Press.
Schaufeli, W. B., Martínez, I. M., Pinto, A. M., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). Burnout and engagement in university students. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33(5), 464-481. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022102033005003
Schaufeli, W. B., & Taris, T. W. (2005). Commentary: The conceptualization and measurement of burnout: Common ground and worlds apart. Work and Stress, 19, 356-362. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370500385913
Sheybani, M. (2019). The relationship between EFL learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and their teacher immediacy attributes: A structural equation modelling. Cogent Psychology, 6(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2019.1607051
Shirai, S. (2006). How transactional analysis can be used in terminal care. International Congress Series, 1287, 179-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ics.2005.12.052
Stewart, I., & Joines, V. (1987). TA today: A new introduction to transactional analysis. Lifespace.
Violanti, M. T., Kelly, S. E., Garland, M. E., & Christen, S. (2018). Instructor clarity, humor, immediacy, and student learning: Replication and extension. Communication Studies, 69(3), 251-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2018.1466718
Wang, Y., Derakhshan, A., & Zhang, L. J. (2021). Researching and practicing positive psychology in second/foreign language learning and teaching: The past, current status and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. 731721. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.731721
Wang, C., Tseng, W. T., Chen, Y. L., & Cheng, H. F. (2019). Classroom interactions in the target language: Learners’ perceptions, willingness to communicate, and communication behavior. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 29, 393-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-019-00492-y
Xie, F., & Derakhshan, A. (2021). A conceptual review of positive teacher interpersonal communication behaviors in the instructional context. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 2623. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708490
Xie, W., & Curle, S. (2020). Success in English medium instruction in China: Significant indicators and implications. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2019.1703898
Yazdan Pour, H. (2015). Constructing and validating a teacher stroke scale and examining its relationship with burnout [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
License
1.1 The Author hereby warrants that he/she is the owner of all the copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Work and that, within the scope of the present Agreement, the paper does not infringe the legal rights of another person. The owner of the copyright work also warrants that he/she is the sole and original creator thereof and that is not bound by any legal constraints in regard to the use or sale of the work.
1.2. The Publisher warrants that is the owner of the PRESSto platform for open access journals, hereinafter referred to as the PRESSto Platform.
2. The Author grants the Publisher non-exclusive and free of charge license to unlimited use worldwide over an unspecified period of time in the following areas of exploitation:
2.1. production of multiple copies of the Work produced according to the specific application of a given technology, including printing, reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means (reprography) and digital technology;
2.2. marketing authorisation, loan or lease of the original or copies thereof;
2.3. public performance, public performance in the broadcast, video screening, media enhancements as well as broadcasting and rebroadcasting, made available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
2.4. inclusion of the Work into a collective work (i.e. with a number of contributions);
2.5. inclusion of the Work in the electronic version to be offered on an electronic platform, or any other conceivable introduction of the Work in its electronic version to the Internet;
2.6. dissemination of electronic versions of the Work in its electronic version online, in a collective work or independently;
2.7. making the Work in the electronic version available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, in particular by making it accessible via the Internet, Intranet, Extranet;
2.8. making the Work available according to appropriate license pattern Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) as well as another language version of this license or any later version published by Creative Commons.
3. The Author grants the Publisher permission to reproduce a single copy (print or download) and royalty-free use and disposal of rights to compilations of the Work and these compilations.
4. The Author grants the Publisher permission to send metadata files related to the Work, including to commercial and non-commercial journal-indexing databases.
5. The Author represents that, on the basis of the license granted in the present Agreement, the Publisher is entitled and obliged to:
5.1. allow third parties to obtain further licenses (sublicenses) to the Work and to other materials, including derivatives thereof or compilations made, based on or including the Work, whereas the provisions of such sub-licenses will be the same as with the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons sub-license or another language version of this license, or any later version of this license published by Creative Commons;
5.2. make the Work available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, without any technological constraints;
5.3. appropriately inform members of the public to whom the Work is to be made available about sublicenses in such a way as to ensure that all parties are properly informed (appropriate informing messages).
6. Because of the royalty-free provision of services of the Author (resulting from the scope of obligations stipulated in the present Agreement), the Author shall not be entitled to any author’s fee due and payable on the part of the Publisher (no fee or royalty is payable by the Publisher to the Author).
7.1. In the case of third party claims or actions for indemnity against the Publisher owing to any infractions related to any form of infringement of intellectual property rights protection, including copyright infringements, the Author is obliged to take all possible measures necessary to protect against these claims and, when as a result of legal action, the Publisher, or any third party licensed by the Publisher to use the Work, will have to abandon using the Work in its entirety or in part or, following a court ruling in a legal challenge, to pay damages to a third party, whatever the legal basis
7.2. The Author will immediately inform the Publisher about any damage claims related to intellectual property infringements, including the author’s proprietary rights pertaining to a copyrighted work, filed against the Author. of liability, the Author is obliged to redress the damage resulting from claims made by third party, including costs and expenditures incurred in the process.
7.3. To all matters not settled herein provisions of the Polish Civil Code and the Polish Copyright and Related Rights Act shall apply.