Are foreign language teaching enjoyment and motivation two sides of the same coin?

Abstract

Abstract Positive psychology (PP) plays a crucial role in second language (L2) education. A positive psychological state in teachers leads not only to higher-quality instruction delivery but to personal well-being. Foreign language teaching enjoyment (FLTE), a recently conceptualized notion of positive L2 teaching emotion, has received a burgeoning interest in L2 teaching research. However, FLTE remains far from being fully understood in that the overreliance on quantitative methods has veiled how it is interconnected with other psychological variables and how it is experienced by teachers. This study aimed to explore L2 teachers’ enjoyment and motivation through the lens of PP with reference to Broaden-and-Build theory. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate 63 Japanese secondary teachers of English regarding their FLTE and self-determined motivation. The results from the questionnaire data showed that FLTE was significantly positively correlated with autonomous motivation driven by internal-related factors and negatively with amotivation. Furthermore, demographic factors had limited effects only on autonomous motivation. Semi-structured interviews shed light on how enjoyment and motivation were engendered by teacher-internal and -external factors. The study concluded that these psychological cogwheels were dynamic, emphasizing the important implications of teachers experiencing PP. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also highlighted.