{"title":"Students’ perception of an instructor: The effects of instructor accommodation to student swearing","authors":"Amanda Allard , Amanda J. Holmstrom","doi":"10.1016/j.langsci.2023.101562","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study analyzes how an instructor's accommodation tactic, in response to a student using a swear word, affects students' perceptions of the instructor's similarity and credibility, and how perceptions of similarity and credibility affect students' intrinsic motivation to learn. Sex of the instructor was also manipulated in this study based on literature indicating that an instructor's sex may affect students' perceptions of the instructor's similarity, credibility, and students' intrinsic motivation to learn course material. Participants (<em>N =</em> 396) were randomly assigned to read hypothetical scenarios where either a male or female instructor converged or diverged in response to a student who used the swear word <em>suck</em> or <em>damn.</em> Results revealed that instructors who diverged, regardless of the swear word used, were perceived as more similar to the student than instructors who converged. Also, findings showed that when an instructor converges their communication in response to a student who swears their credibility was diminished. Perceptions of similarity and credibility were positively associated with a student's intrinsic motivation to learn course material, and mediation models revealed that instructors' perceived similarity and credibility mediated the relationship between accommodation tactic and a student's intrinsic motivation to learn. Finally, results indicated that participants reported higher ratings of intrinsic motivation to learn with female instructors than with male instructors.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51592,"journal":{"name":"Language Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Language Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S038800012300027X","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
This study analyzes how an instructor's accommodation tactic, in response to a student using a swear word, affects students' perceptions of the instructor's similarity and credibility, and how perceptions of similarity and credibility affect students' intrinsic motivation to learn. Sex of the instructor was also manipulated in this study based on literature indicating that an instructor's sex may affect students' perceptions of the instructor's similarity, credibility, and students' intrinsic motivation to learn course material. Participants (N = 396) were randomly assigned to read hypothetical scenarios where either a male or female instructor converged or diverged in response to a student who used the swear word suck or damn. Results revealed that instructors who diverged, regardless of the swear word used, were perceived as more similar to the student than instructors who converged. Also, findings showed that when an instructor converges their communication in response to a student who swears their credibility was diminished. Perceptions of similarity and credibility were positively associated with a student's intrinsic motivation to learn course material, and mediation models revealed that instructors' perceived similarity and credibility mediated the relationship between accommodation tactic and a student's intrinsic motivation to learn. Finally, results indicated that participants reported higher ratings of intrinsic motivation to learn with female instructors than with male instructors.
期刊介绍:
Language Sciences is a forum for debate, conducted so as to be of interest to the widest possible audience, on conceptual and theoretical issues in the various branches of general linguistics. The journal is also concerned with bringing to linguists attention current thinking about language within disciplines other than linguistics itself; relevant contributions from anthropologists, philosophers, psychologists and sociologists, among others, will be warmly received. In addition, the Editor is particularly keen to encourage the submission of essays on topics in the history and philosophy of language studies, and review articles discussing the import of significant recent works on language and linguistics.