Pre-service teachers’ narratives: unpacking the complexities of motivation to become EFL teachers

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the experiences of 55 participants enrolled in English-teachers preparation program at Foreign Languages Department at Vinh University in Vietnam and analyzes reflections on their motivation to become EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers. Multiple measures of data with triangulation have been collected from coursework, including reflection essays from 55 pre-service teachers and a semistructured interview with the pre-service teachers. The data are analyzed with thematic analysis and Key-word in context in order to find categories of factors that influence the pre-service teachers’motivation to choose to be EFL teachers. The findings suggest that the incentives making pre-service teachers pursue the career of English teachers consist of personal, professional, and social aspects, in which teachers’ influences - one of the factors of social aspects - has been considered the most dominant factor influencing the desire of pre-service teachers to become EFL teachers. Some pedagogical implications are suggested to improve the strategy of training teachers and career orientation education for students.