What factors influence the levels of motivation and self-efficacy of novice EFL teachers?

Navigating the transition from trainee teacher to classroom practitioner can be challenging and may require much adaptation and flexibility. In an educational climate where committed, quality teachers are often in short supply, the impact of early career experiences on teachers’ motivation and perceptions of self-efficacy is being increasingly recognised. The field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching can often attract teachers who view it as a short-term career option and across the private sector there is significant variation in teaching roles in terms of expectations, support, and duties. For expatriate novice EFL teachers, as well as establishing their identity as educators, they also need to simultaneously acclimatise to a new physical, cultural and social environment. The potent mix of these variables has the potential to influence their motivation and perceptions of self-efficacy, which could in turn affect their commitment and engagement within teaching, and their intent to develop professionally. This qualitative, longitudinal study collected data from five expatriate novice EFL teachers through multiple in-depth interviews, monthly questionnaires and weekly diary entries, seeking a clearer insight into motivation and self-efficacy during the first year of teaching. The study first established the novice teachers’ initial motivations for teaching EFL before observing how their motivation and self-efficacy shifted in response to various stimuli, including pre-service education, contextual factors, social support, and living in a foreign country. Findings first indicated that initial motivations for choosing EFL were predominantly extrinsic in nature, but that intrinsic and altruistic motivation could be developed over time. Once teaching, the impact of different contextual, social, and personal factors not only resulted in varying levels of motivation and self-efficacy over the year, but how the individual teachers cognitively processed these experiences helped shape their sense of teacher identity. Social support and the workplace atmosphere were found to be particularly influential. This study has implications for teacher educators and researchers in highlighting the need to recognise the complex interplay between motivation, self-efficacy, pre-service education, and contextual, social, and personal factors for novice EFL teachers and how they affect the engagement, commitment, and development of novice teachers in this formative stage of their career and beyond.