Emotions in Constructing Teaching Self‐Image: Mediation Models of Chinese University EFL Teachers’ Anxiety and Self‐Efficacy

ABSTRACT

In the field of foreign language education, teacher psychology was much less researched than students, and university teachers especially received minimal attention as recognized competent language users and instructors. However, they could also experience complex emotions deriving from their demands in advanced‐level language teaching and diverse faculty responsibilities. Meanwhile, the control‐value theory sheds light on the potential mediation of teachers’ self‐efficacy beliefs for different anxiety types. Through a survey investigation among 212 university EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers in China, this study profiled their teaching anxiety, foreign language anxiety, and teaching self‐efficacy after exploratory factor analysis and confirmative factor analysis on these measures. Structural equation modeling was then performed to estimate the mediating effects of teaching self‐efficacy on various anxiety facets. The findings were twofold. Firstly, the teachers reported an overall low anxiety level in teaching and English language use. Secondly, the teachers’ teaching anxiety was positively intercorrelated with their foreign language anxiety and negatively with teaching self‐efficacy. The mediation models showed that teachers’ low self‐efficacy would aggravate their teaching anxiety related to uncertain self‐perceptions of teaching competence and professional identity. Based on these major findings, this paper finally proposed implications for university EFL teachers’ emotional support regarding the construction of a positive teaching self‐image.