热点聚焦 | 教师支持研究中的量化方法

 导   语

教师在学生学习过程中扮演重要角色，对学生的学习心理有着显著的影响。其中，教师支持作用较为明显。它是指教师在学生学习过程中提供的全方位学业指导、情感关怀及物质帮助。教师支持在学生外语学习过程中也是不可或缺的。从学生角度来看，他们能够感知到的外语教师支持的作用更大。教师支持还会与其他因素一起对外语学习产生协同作用；因此，研究它在这个过程中的机制非常必要。

本期栏目聚焦教师支持研究中的量化方法，邀请了国内三个对此有过深入思考的研究团队分享最新的研究成果。刘宏刚教授的团队运用探索性因子分析、验证性因子分析方法设计了“学生感知的英语教师支持量表”，并用其探究了学生英语学习焦虑和坚毅之间的构想关系。杨颖莉教授的团队运用平行中介分析方法探讨了教师支持、动机和学生学习投入之间的路径关系。郭继东教授的团队运用结构方程模型考察了教师情感支持、学生自我效能感和课堂互动之间的影响关系。总体来看，这三个团队提供的四篇文章展示了教师支持研究中常用的量化方法，对教师支持以及其他相关研究具有很好的示范作用。

——北京语言大学  许宏晨

刘宏刚，北京大学博士，苏州大学特聘教授，博士生导师，苏州大学外语教育与教师发展研究所所长。研究领域：外语教师教育与发展、应用语言学。

李晓雪，东北师范大学外国语学院英语语言文学专业硕士生，主要研究方向为外语学习心理。

闫艳，东北师范大学博士，长春师范大学教育学院讲师。研究领域：教育测量与评价。

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论文1：

Liu, H. & Li, X. (2023). Unravelling students’ perceived EFL teacher support. System, 115, 103048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103048.

摘要：

Although studies on teacher support have come of age, research on English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher support remains in its infancy. The lack of in-depth exploration of the inner structure of EFL teacher support limits our understanding of this important aspect of language teaching. Moreover, there are inconsistent findings about whether students of different genders and ages differ in their perceived teacher support. To fill these gaps, this study investigated 1,401 Chinese high school EFL students using the Students’ Perceived EFL Teacher Support Scale (SPEFLTSS). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that EFL teacher support is a tri-factorial structure involving academic, instrumental, and emotional support. An examination of differences in EFL teacher support in terms of gender and age showed that male students perceived significantly higher emotional support than female students did, and senior high school students reported significantly higher general and instrumental support than their junior counterparts. We offer some implications for sustaining and promoting EFL teacher support and propose future directions for EFL teacher support research.

论文2

Liu, H., Li, X., & Yan, Y. (2023). Demystifying the predictive role of students’ perceived foreign language teacher support in foreign language anxiety: The mediation of L2 grit. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2223171

摘要：

Within students’ proximal social environment, the crucial role of their perceived foreign language teacher support in their academic learning has emerged in numerous empirical studies in recent decades. However, little is known about the impact of perceived foreign language teacher support on academic emotions (e.g., foreign language anxiety; FLA). The mediating role of personality (e.g., second language [L2] grit) also remains unknown. To address these gaps, the current study adopted a quantitative approach to investigate the impact of perceived foreign language teacher support on their FLA and the mediating effect of L2 grit. We administered questionnaires to 1,401 Chinese high school students learning English as a foreign language to measure their FLA, L2 grit, and three types of perceived foreign language teacher support – namely, academic, emotional, and instrumental support. Structural equation modelling results indicate that students’ perceived overall foreign language teacher support had a direct positive predictive effect on FLA, whereas three dimensions of teacher support could not directly affect FLA alone. Mediation analysis results reveal that perceived emotional and instrumental support could negatively affect FLA via the complete mediating role of L2 grit. This study offers insights for teachers to improve students’ academic learning experience.

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杨颖莉，对外经济贸易大学英语学院教授，博士生导师，毕业于加拿大麦吉尔大学教育学院。2021、2022年爱思唯尔中国高被引学者（外国语言文学）。

杜晨曦，对外经济贸易大学英语学院在读博士生，研究兴趣为技术辅助学习、教育技术、二语写作和教师发展。

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论文：Yang, Y., & Du, C. (2023). The predictive effect of perceived teacher support on college EFL learners’ online learning engagement: Autonomous and controlled motivation as mediators. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2259879

摘要：Numerous SLA studies have unveiled the effect of perceived teacher support on students’ learning engagement. However, little is known about how motivation mediates the relationship between perceived teacher support and learning engagement in an online learning environment. To address this gap, this study draws on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and two SDT-based models to examine the mediating effects of autonomous motivation and controlled motivation on the relationship between perceived teacher support and online learning engagement. Questionnaires were administered among 504 EFL learners in China. Parallel mediation results revealed that autonomous motivation mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and online learning engagement, while controlled motivation did not. The study validated SDT and two SDT-based models in a Chinese online EFL setting. Pedagogical implications were proposed to enhance EFL teachers’ support and learners’ engagement in online English classes.

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郭继东，博士，杭州电子科技大学教授，硕士研究生导师；主要研究方向为二语习得、应用语言学和心理语言学。

刘晓红，杭州电子科技大学副教授，长期从事大学英语教学与研究工作。

周沫，杭州电子科技大学2020级校优秀毕业生，研究方向为二语习得和心理语言学。

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论文：Zhou, M., Liu, X., & Guo, J. (2023). The mediating effect of self-efficacy between teacher emotional support and interaction engagement in EFL learning. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/01434632.2023.2267033. 

摘要：Interaction engagement is a critical yet under-explored aspect of learning engagement. Although some researchers have touched upon interaction engagement in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, few studies have discussed the influencing mechanism on it. Taking 352 Chinese college students as subjects, this study examined the relationship among EFL learners’ perceived teacher emotional support, self-efficacy, and interaction engagement. It revealed that EFL learners’ perceived teacher emotional support and self-efficacy predict interaction engagement. Besides, self-efficacy plays a mediating role between EFL learners’ perceived teacher emotional support and interaction engagement. Based on the findings, this study suggests that teachers should enhance their emotional support, which will effectively increase students’ self-efficacy, boost their interaction engagement, and thus improve their subjective well-being and academic performance.

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