The interplay between English teachers’ rapport and immediacy and the students’ academic motivation

Abstract

The teacher-student relationship is not a straightforward activity; however, a shared relationship that comes to fruition in a set of elements can have an impact on it. Among these factors that might affect learners’ academic motivation are teachers’ interaction and immediacy which need to be investigated in different learning contexts; therefore, the current study scrutinized the association between teachers’ rapport and immediacy and learners’ academic motivation. A total number of 304 EFL learners participated in this study. The researchers used two questionnaires (teachers’ interaction & immediacy questionnaire and learners’ academic intrinsic motivation questionnaire) to collect the required data. The results of the analysis demonstrated that there is a strong and positive association between these teachers’ interpersonal variables and students’ academic motivation. The results showed that 61% of variances in students’ academic motivation can be predicted by teachers’ interaction and immediacy. The results also revealed that gender was not a defining factor in the process. The findings emphasized the significant role of teachers and their focus on factors such as students’ needs, fear, power, teachers’ authority, knowledge, and their peers in their classrooms.