The effects of instructor clarity and non-verbal immediacy on Chinese and Iranian EFL students’ affective learning: The mediating role of instructor understanding

• Published in: Studies in second language learning and teaching Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 71 - 100
• Main Authors: Derakhshan, Ali, Zhang, Lawrence Jun, Zhaleh, Kiyana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne im. gen. broni Kazimierza Sosnkowskiego 31.03.2023; Military Historical Bureau of Lieutenant-General Kazimierz Sosnkowski; Adam Mickiewicz University Department of English Studies; Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
• Subjects: Affective Behavior; affective learning; Communication Skills; Correlation; Course Content; cross-cultural comparison; Cultural Awareness; Emotional Response; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; Foreign languages learning; Interpersonal Communication; Language and Literature Studies; Language Teachers; non-verbal immediacy; Nonverbal Communication; Predictor Variables; rhetorical/relational goal theory; Second Language Instruction; Student Attitudes; Teacher Behavior; Teacher Characteristics; teacher clarity; teacher understanding; Teaching Methods; Verbal Communication; Iran; China; affective learning; teacher clarity; teacher understanding; crosscultural comparison; rhetoricalrelational goal theory; nonverbal immediacy
• ISSN: 2083-5205; 2084-1965
• DOI: 10.14746/ssllt.31733

Drawing on the rhetorical/relational goal theory, this study examined the role of instructor clarity and non-verbal immediacy in affective learning through the mediation of instructor understanding. Data were gathered through close-ended questionnaires from 756 Chinese and 715 Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) students, the factor structure and cross-cultural validity of which were supported via confirmatory factor analysis and testing measurement invariance, respectively. Path analysis results indicated that clarity and non-verbal immediacy positively predicted instructor understanding and affective learning; instructor understanding positively predicted affective learning; and understanding was a significant positive mediator in the relationship of non-verbal immediacy and clarity with affective learning. Except for the positive association of non-verbal immediacy with understanding which was significantly higher for the Iranian group, no significant difference was found between the Chinese and Iranian groups in all other associations, providing empirical support for the role of EFL teachers’ positive interpersonal communication behaviors in EFL students’ affective learning, irrespective of the cultural context.