Analyzing the Impact of Teacher’s level of Neuroticism on Students’ Motivation in English as a Second Language Learning

Abstract

The present study aims at exploring the role of teacher’s neuroticism in EFL learners’ motivation within the context of second language acquisition to fill an important gap on how teacher personality traits affect language learning outcomes and educational phenomena. Data were collected using standardized and already validated measures such as Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) to gauge EFL learners’ motivation level, the Big Five Inventory (BFI) scale to measure teachers’ level of neuroticism, and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to evaluate language proficiency among 30 Teachers and 50 EFL learners attending St. Mary Higher Secondary School Sahiwal. It has been found that, because of teachers’ high level of neuroticism, EFL learners experience general anxiety in the classroom as a result of the tense and unsupportive atmosphere formed by feedback that is not encouraging, exaggerated criticism, vague or confusing explanations, and lack of understanding which directly impacts students’ motivation by inducing feeling of insecurity, performance anxiety, and loss of self-confidence. Findings indicate that the capacity of EFL learners to learn foreign languages is significantly compromised by low levels of neuroticism in teachers’ behavior, with a high number of learners feeling courage and motivated in the English learning process, therefore calling for greater attention to hiring procedures and teacher training that can better captivate students in class while maintaining motivation at the institutional level.