Lärande och samhälle Kultur, språk, medier
Examensarbete
15 högskolepoängThe Positive Factors of Working as an
English Teacher
De positiva aspekterna av engelskläraryrket
Amina Aknouche
Lärarexamen 270hp Engelska och Lärande 2013-10-31
Examinator: Shannon Sauro Handledare: Björn Sundmark
Abstract
Fewer students apply for and finish the teacher programs in Sweden, and many teachers leave their job. Swedish schools are in need of more teachers, but the teaching profession is today portrayed as unattractive. This research aims to investigate what factors that motivate some students to become teachers and what factors that motivate some teachers, ESL teachers in first hand, to work as teachers, mainly in secondary schools in Malmoe. Three secondary teachers who teach ESL in Malmoe were interviewed and expressed their thoughts about the positive aspects of the teaching job, why they wanted to become and why they work as ESL teachers, and what goals they have in relation to their profession. The research showed that the ESL teachers teach because they feel passionate about the subject they teach and because they enjoy working with children and teenagers. They find the job fun and rewarding, and think that it is challenging, especially when working in a city like Malmoe. It seems as teachers often put the pupils first and do not focus on external rewards, such as salary. Teacher motivation has an impact on student motivation and it is therefore important that teachers remain motivated within their profession.
Keywords: ESL teacher, motivation, the Self-determination theory (SDT), intrinsic
Table of Contents
A b s t r a ct ... 3 1.I n t r o duc t i o n ... 7 1.1Pu r pose a nd r e s ea r ch q u e s t i on ... 8 2.T h eo r y a nd p re v i o us r e s e a r ch ... 9 2.1D e f i n i ng mo ti v a t i on ... 9 2.2Mo ti v a t i on w i th i n d i f f e r e n t do m a i ns ... 10 2.2.1T he S e l f-d e t e r m i n a t i on t heo r y ... 10 2.2.2P s y cho l o g y ... 10 2.2.3Mo ti v a t i on w i th i n t h e te ach i ng j ob ... 11 2.3T o b ec o m e a nd w o r k a s a t e a cher ... 112.3.1E ng li sh te acher s tude n ts a t M a l moe U n i v e r s i ty ... 11
2.3.2W o r k i ng as a te ac h er ... 12 2.3.3R ea c h i ng f or g o a l s ... 1 3 2.4The c i ty o f Ma l moe ... 14 2.4.1P o pu l a t i on a nd i mm i g r a t i on ... 1 4 2.4.2E d uca t i on ... 14 3.M e t h o d o l o g y ... 1 6 3.1The o r y ... 16 3.2I n t e r v i ew s ... 1 6 3.2.1T he i n t e r v i ew ees ... 16
3.2.2 The Purpose of interviews ...17
3.2.3S t r uctu r ed i n t e r v i e w ... 1 7 3.2.4Int e r v i e w p r epa r a t i on ... 1 8 3.2.5T he se l e ct i on o f the i n t e r v i ew ees ... 1 9 3.3E th i c al c ons i d e r a t i ons ... 20 4.T h e r e sul t s ... 2 2 4.1Choos i ng t o b ec o m e a n E n g li sh t e a cher ... 2 2 4.2R eas o ns f or w o r k i ng as a n E SL t e a cher ... 2 3 4.3The i mpo r t a n ce o f the te ach i ng j ob ... 2 5 4.4Mo ti v a t i onal a nd v a l u a b l e f a c t o r s ... 2 6 4.5G oa l s w i th i n t h e p r o f ess i on ... 2 8 4.6Su m ma r y ... 30
5.1T e a ch i ng i n M a l moe ... 31 5.2T e a ch i ng t ee n a g e r s ... 3 3 5.3A p ass i on f or t he sub j e ct ... 3 4 5.4Be i ng a g ood t e a cher ... 34 5.5The mo ti v a t ed E SL t e a cher ... 3 5 5.5.1T he m o t i v at ed t e a cher a nd t h e mo ti v a t ed pup i l ... 3 5 5.5.2Be i ng c ha ll e ng ed a nd f e e li ng s a t i s f i e d ... 3 6 5.6The f r e edom ... 3 7 5.7D i f f e r e n t t ypes o f g oa l s ... 3 7 5.7.1In t ri ns i c v s . Ext ri ns i c a sp i r a t i ons ... 3 8 5.7.2L on g - t e r m a nd sho r t- t e r m g oa l s ... 3 9 5.7.3E ng li sh opens u p doo r s ... 3 9 6.Co nclu s i o n ... 41 6.1The sub j e c t ... 41 6.2The pup il s ... 42 6.3T e a ch i ng i n M a l moe ... 42 6.4F i nal c o m me n ts ... 4 3 7.R e f e r e n c e s ... 4 4 7.1P ri ma r y sou r ces ... 4 4 7.2S ec ond a r y sou r ces ... 4 4 A tt a ch m e n t 1, i nt e r vi e w sch e dule ... 4 8 A tt a ch m e n t 2, t r a n s cr i p t i o n o f i nt e r v i e w wi t h T e a ch e r 1 ... 4 9 A tt a ch m e n t 3, t r a n s cr i p t i o n o f i nt e r v i e w wi t h T e a ch e r 2 ... 53 A tt a ch m e n t 4, t r a n s cr i p t i o n o f i nt e r v i e w wi t h T e a ch e r 3 ... 57 A tt a ch m e n t 5, e - ma il ... 61
1.Introduction
Today, Swedish schools are in need of more teachers. At the same time, fewer students apply for the teacher programs around the country (Lärarförbundet, 2012). In 2011, 19% of the teacher students at Malmoe University who were studying their first year left the program (Arevik, 2012), and in the region of Skane 38 000 teachers have left the teaching job the last two years (Jönsson, 2013). According to research carried out by SCB (Statistiska Centralbyrån), the teacher deficit will continue to grow over the next six to sixteen years. The reasons why students do not want to study to become teachers and why teachers resign from their job are reportedly because of low salaries and the low status (Jönsson, 2013). However, just as important as it is to address the perceived drawbacks with the profession, it is essential to focus on the positive aspects of the teaching profession. After all, there are still many students who study and complete the teacher program, and there are teachers who carry on working as teachers. This study will focus on the positive aspects of the profession. It will in particular focus on ESL (English as a second language) teachers who teach at the secondary level in Malmoe. Malmoe is a city that has and still is going through changes, especially regarding the increase of
population, which partly is due to the amount of asylum seekers that the city
welcomes each year (Malmö stadskontor, 2013). Malmoe is the city where I am born and have lived my whole life. Malmoe University, which is situated in the central part of Malmoe and where the three interviewees studied, offers a teacher program. I will be graduating from Malmoe university in January and hopefully work on a secondary school in the city. For these reasons I have chosen to focus on teaching ESL in Malmoe.
1.1 Purpose and research question
It is relatively easy to find research on factors that make teachers unmotivated. There are numerous articles on the negative aspects of working as a teacher and studies on why students do not want to become teachers (Jönsson, 2013). It is however slightly more difficult to find research on the positive aspects of the teaching profession.
As a future ESL teacher it is unfortunate to see that a profession that I find pleasant in many ways is often portrayed as unattractive by media, and that many teachers and students find the job unpleasant. For me and for other English teacher students, it is interesting to investigate what some practicing ESL teachers enjoy about their job. Since education and school are important factors in our society and affect us all, it is also important for us to understand why the teaching job, which is often portrayed as unattractive, is important for those who teach our children and teenagers. The positive aspects, and not only the negative aspects and the downsides of the teaching job, need to be brought attention, which this research aims to do. Hopefully, the research will make people see the positive aspects of the job and perhaps even attract people’s attention and interest in teaching English as well as other subjects. In addition, it is interesting to investigate why some teachers in Malmoe, a city that has changed in many ways the last years, find their job
motivating, what parts they find challenging, and what they enjoy with working as ESL teachers.
The purpose of this research is to investigate why ESL teachers enjoy working as teachers, what factors they value the most within their job, what they find the most motivating, and what types of goals they have within their profession.
One research question has been formulated for this research. The question is: “What factors motivate some secondary ESL teachers within their profession?”
2.Theory and previous research
This chapter presents different theories on motivation. It also presents previous research on factors that motivate students to become teachers, and research on factors that teachers value the most within their job. Finally, the chapter offers some information about Malmoe, about compulsory schools in the city, as well as statistics regarding population, immigration etc.
2.1 Defining motivation
Oxford Dictionaries define motivation as “a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way” (Oxford University Press). The Cambridge dictionary defines the concept as “enthusiasm for doing something” and “reason for doing something” (p. 809). Motivation can also be described from a psychological perspective and defined as “the force that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors […] what causes us to take action” (Cherry, 2013a). Further, Cherry says that in psychology motivation is normally used to describe why people do certain things in life. Motivation can then be divided into different categories, life domains, and theories.
In this context, motivation is referred to things that make teachers feel good about their job. This is related to reasons why they work as teachers and to goals that they have within their profession.
2.2 Motivation within different domains
2.2.1 The Self-determination theory
There are several types of motivations and these can be applied in multiple
lifedomains. Furthermore, there are theories that study different types of motivation. One of them is called the Self-determination theory (SDT). The theory focuses mainly on factors that motivate people in, for example, their job and their personal life (Deci & Ryan, 2008). According to Vallerand, Pelletier, and Koestner (2008), motivation can be found within many life domains such as work, education, relationships, and health. Deci and Ryan (2008) claim that the SDT focuses on different types of motivation and not only on the overall motivation. Furthermore, the theory focuses on goals that people have, which are examined within different fields. The SDT also divides motivation into different categories, for instance the two categories intrinsic and
extrinsic aspirations, which are described later on (Deci & Ryan, 2008).
2.2.2 Psychology
As previously mentioned, motivation can be explored from a psychological point of view. In the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, William
James came up with five ways of looking at motivation. He divided motivation into the five theories of instinct, incentive, drive, arousal, as well as humanistic theory of
motivation. According to the instinct theory of motivation, the motivations that
human beings have are inborn and lead to certain behaviors. According to the
incentive theory, a person is motivated to do things because of external rewards that
he or she receives by his or her actions. An example of these types of rewards is salary. The drive theory of motivation on the other hand, suggests that people are motivated to do certain things to fulfill specific needs. According to the arousal theory, people are motivated to maintain a high level of arousal. As a consequence,
human beings try to decrease the level when it feels too high and increase it when it feels too low. In the last theory of motivation, called the humanistic theory, James implied that people have different things that make them feel motivated due to different needs that they wish to fulfill. (Cherry, 2013a)
In psychology, motivation can be divided into the two categories extrinsic and
intrinsic motivation. Like the SDT, where there are the two categories intrinsic and
extrinsic aspirations, extrinsic motivation is defined as things from the outside that motivate human beings, such as rewards. Intrinsic motivation is defined as something from the inside of people that makes them feel motivated, such as personal
satisfaction after having achieved something. (Cherry, 2013b)
2.2.3 Motivation within the teaching job
Teacher motivation has a great impact on students’ learning (Czubaj, 1996). Czubaj (1996) argues that the more motivated a teacher is the more motivated students are and the more they learn. The writer adds that, due to that, it is important that teachers remain motivated. This they will be able to do by understanding the concept of motivation and what it is that motivates them (Czubaj, 1996). Muhammad and Farid (2011) claim that studies show that it is important that teachers are highly motivated since this has an impact on the teaching, the pupils’ learning, and therefore also on their knowledge and results.
2.3 To become and work as a teacher
2.3.1 English teacher students at Malmoe University
In 2011, Sundmark carried out a study with the purpose of investigating mainly why teacher students at Malmoe University want to become English teachers. The group of students consisted of 42 individuals. The study showed that a majority of the
students wanted to teach English because of a passion for the English language and culture, which according to the students is an important aspect. The teacher students believed that a good teacher is someone who loves the subject he or she teaches. According to Sundmark, the subject of English has become a subject of both
language and culture. A majority of the students said that they would like to become English teachers because of the cultural experiences that the subject gives them, among other things. It is both a matter of cultural experiences in terms of books and music, and a possibility to discover other cultures around the world through
communication. Sundmark argues that English has become an international
language. One of the reasons why the participating students wanted to become
teachers in English was because of the possibilities it could give to travel and work in different countries. (Sundmark, 2011)
However, the reasons why students study to become English teachers are not only a matter of the language, the culture, and the subject itself. It is also a question of working as a teacher and just a teacher, regardless of the subject they teach. The study showed that the students thought that an important part of being a teacher is to be a role model. They explained that as teachers they wish to influence their students in a positive way and actually matter to them. (Sundmark, 2011)
2.3.2 Working as a teacher
Another study that examines why teachers, and not teacher students or only ESL teachers, work as teachers and what factors they value within their job, was carried out by the two graduate students Joakim Altervall and David Ivarsson in year 2007 at the teacher program at Malmoe University. The study showed that an important reason why the teachers who took part in the study work as teachers and enjoy their profession is because they feel passionate about the subject they teach. They also expressed that another valuable reason was that they get to work with young adults. Further, the teachers claimed that they value the freedom that teachers have. They enjoy the variation and the freedom that teachers have to choose between different working methods and different approaches. Another significant factor is the
challenges that the teaching job provides. The teachers explained that the job itself is challenging and sometimes difficult, which is motivating. (Altervall & Ivarsson, 2007)
2.3.3 Reaching for goals
In 2012, Beltman, Mansfield, and Wosnitza conducted a study in Australia on teacher motivation. According to the researchers, there is a teacher deficit in Australia, like in Sweden, and many teachers feel unmotivated. A lot of teachers resign from their jobs, and fewer students want to study to become teachers. In the research, Beltman et al. looked at factors that motivate graduating teacher students and related these to goals that they had within the teaching profession. The purpose of the research was to bring forward the positive factors of the teaching job. (Beltman et al. 2012)
In 2011, Chon and Low studied teacher students’ thoughts about the teaching job. The researchers mainly looked at factors that motivate students to study to become teachers. The research showed that the two most common factors that motivate teachers into becoming and working as teachers are the so called intrinsic and altruistic factors. Intrinsic factors refer to a desire of personal growth, while altruistic factors refer to the desire of working with children and contributing to society. (Chon and Low, 2009)
Furthermore, Beltman et al. (2012) argue that “goals are important for enhancing and sustaining motivation” (p. 23). As previously mentioned, the SDT does not only focus on factors that motivate people, but also on goals that people have, as well as their aspirations. The SDT focuses on long term goals and divides goals into the already mentioned intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations. Intrinsic aspirations consist of for example personal development, life goals, and affiliation. Extrinsic aspirations on the other hand refer mainly to wealth and fame (Deci and Ryan, 2008).
2.4 The city of Malmoe
2.4.1 Population and immigration
At the turn of the year 2012/2013, Malmoe had 307 600 inhabitants. The last 28 years, the number of population has increased every year, and, in comparison to the seventies and eighties when the number decreased, the number continues to increase. From December 31:st 2011 to December 28 2012, the population increased with approximately 4740 inhabitants and almost every district in the city increased their population. The main reason for the increase is the increase of asylum seekers, mainly from Iraq and Syria. In 2008, almost 6000 people who moved to Malmoe moved from foreign countries, and between the years 2000 and 2009, the immigration was the contributing factor to the increase of population in the city. Around 31% of the population in Malmoe, that is about 95 700 people, are born abroad. Studies also show that newly arrived immigrants often settle down in areas where a high amount of their own compatriots already live (Malmö stadskontor, 2013). Statistics, from 2012, show that 41%, that is 123 531 of the inhabitants, have an immigrant
background (Malmöstad, 2012). The inhabitants represent 170 countries, and in 2012 the amount of immigrants increased with 2600. The number of inhabitants who have a foreign background has increased in almost every city district the last few years (Malmö stadskontor, 2013).
2.4.2 Education
Besides the number of asylum seekers that Malmoe receives, the city (Malmö stad) also welcomes asylum unaccompanied minors (Malmöstad, 2013a). The number of children has increased the last years, and between the years 2011 and 2012 there was in particular an increase of pupils in compulsory schools between the age of six to fifteen (Malmö stadskontor, 3013). There is an amount of around fifty secondary schools in Malmoe (Malmöstad, 2013b) and each child has a right to study his or her mother tongue in school (Malmöstad, 2013c). There is a total amount of 180 mother
tongue teachers in the compulsory schools of Malmoe who teach around 1000 pupils in 40 different languages (Malmöstad, 2013d).
These numbers show that Malmoe is a multicultural city where almost half of the population has an immigrant background. The number of inhabitants increases each year, particularly due to the increase of asylum seekers. Compulsory schools offer mother tongue courses and around 1000 children study their mother tongue in school.
In September 2013, Sydsvenskan published an article saying that insults occur daily in compulsory schools in Malmoe (Westerberg, 2013). Between the years 2010 and 2013, Malmoe was the city in Sweden where the highest number of
harassment was reported, right after Stockholm and Gothenburg (Kerpner, 2013). In 2011, Skolinspektionen received 46 reports of offensive treatments from schools in Malmoe (Skolinspektionen, 2012a), and the first six month of 2012 the amount was 22 (Skolinspektionen, 2012b).
3.Methodology
3.1 Theory
Since a part of my research project involves investigating the factors that motivate ESL teachers, I studied the concept motivation, a number of articles that define the concept, that give different aspects of what motivation can mean, and different examples. To discuss the positive factors of working as an ESL teacher, I looked at previous research carried out in Sweden, mainly in Malmoe, and in other countries. The researchers investigate why teachers, ESL teachers among others, work as teachers, why students want to become teachers, what factors that motivate them, and what goals they have in relation to their profession.
3.2 Interviews
To answer my research question, I conducted three interviews in English with three ESL teachers who work at three different schools. The interviews took place at three different secondary schools in Malmoe between the 4th and the 8th of October.
3.2.1 The interviewees
The persons being interviewed were Teacher 1, Teacher 2, and Teacher 3. Teacher 1 has worked as a teacher for almost twelve years. She graduated from the teacher program at Malmoe University in 2002 and has taught ESL at the school where she currently teaches since 2008. The second teacher, Teacher 2, graduated from Malmoe University this summer. She was hired at the school where she teaches today in August, but has worked part time as a substitute for a couple of years. Teacher 3
studied courses, mainly at Malmoe University, to become an English and Swedish teacher. She has been working in Malmoe since she started teaching in 2006.
3.2.2 The purpose of interviews
The reasons for doing interviews were mainly because interviews can be adapted to the answers that the researcher receives from the interviewees. There can be a couple of follow up questions, and if either a question or an answer is unclear, the
interviewer and the interviewee can ask questions to one another to make sure that they have understood each other correctly. Thus, there is a lower risk for
misunderstandings and misinterpretations in interviews, in comparison to questionnaires. (Bell, 2008)
Further, the purpose of conducting an interview is to gain an understanding of the interviewee’s feelings and thoughts and put yourself in his or her situation (Hatch, 2002). This is particularly relevant since one of the purposes of this research is as mentioned to understand some teachers’ thoughts about their profession, what factors they enjoy, and why and what it is that motivates them.
Even though questionnaires can be better since they give a wider
representation, I thought that interviews were more appropriate than questionnaires for this context. It is mainly because I did not want to collect any statistics but listen to three ESL teachers’ thoughts about their profession and get an understanding of their feelings and ideas.
3.2.3 Structured interview
A researcher can choose between two different types of interviews, either a
qualitative interview, or a structured interview. In a qualitative interview, the
questions are open and can differ depending on the interviewee. In addition,
qualitative interviews are often combined with observations (Johansson & Svedner, 2001). Since there were no observations in this research, and because an interview schedule was prepared in advance, the interviews that I conducted were structured. According to Hatch (2002), it is called structured because it is the researcher who
leads the interview, which takes place at a certain time and is often recorded. A structured interview can also be called a semi structured, an in-depth, or a formal interview. It is semi structured because even though there are prepared questions, these can be developed during the interview, and there can be follow up questions. It is in-depth since the interview is designed in a way to go “deeply into the
understandings of the informants” (p.94). It is called formal mainly as a way of distinguishing it from the so called informal interview, because the event is planned, and because the purpose is to gather information from the person being interviewed. For a formal interview, the questions are prepared in advance, though questions can be added or developed during the interview (Hatch, 2002).
The questions, which are found in attachment 1, are all related to the
research question, except from the first two which were only used as an introduction to gather some information about the teachers and their background. The teachers were asked why they wanted to become ESL teachers and why they teach today, what they find motivating within their profession, what they value the most, and what goals they have in relation to their job.
3.2.4 Interview preparation
For the interviews, I used standardized questions (see attachment 1), which are a type of formal questions. When using these, the researcher wishes to compare the answers from the interviews with one another, which I wished to do. In addition, there are not as many follow up questions as there are in a “regular” structured interview (Hatch, 2002). Before the interview took place, twelve ESL teachers at six randomly chosen secondary schools in the central part of Malmoe were sent an e-mail (see attachment 5). The purpose was to find three teachers who would consider participating in the interview. I wanted to interview three teachers who worked at three different schools, since the schools in Malmoe can differ depending on the neighborhood they are situated in. However, since I did not want, and do not think that I should have, let the teachers represent their workplace, the name of the areas and the schools are not mentioned in the results.
The e-mails that the teachers received (see attachment 5) stated that the purpose of the interview was to find out what they like with working as English teachers. They were informed that the interview would be recorded and that it would be used for my research project at the teacher program at Malmoe University this semester. The teachers were also told that the interview would take approximately half an hour. This information is according to Johansson and Svedner (2001) seen as valuable information and something that the interviewee should be informed about in advance. After a couple of days, three ESL teachers at three different schools in three different neighborhoods, though situated in the central part of Malmoe, responded. I chose to interview all three of them, and after we had agreed on a date and time, I met them at their workplace to conduct the interviews.
3.2.5 The selection of the interviewees
As previously mentioned the interviewees and their responses can not represent all ESL teachers, all teachers in Malmoe, all secondary schools, a certain district or certain schools in Malmoe. However, to receive answers from different types of ESL teachers in Malmoe, I wished to interview and present and discuss the results from Teacher 1, 2, and 3. They have different amount of years of experience as teachers and even though all three of them studied at Malmoe University, they graduated different years and they are not the same age. For this reason, the various selection of interviewees is ideal. However, even though the teaching profession is dominated by women (Hjalmarsson, 2011) it would be ideal to interview one male ESL teacher. But, since I only got in contact with one male teacher and he did not want to participate in the interview, it came to be that I interviewed women only.
In this way, since the interviewees do not represent the range of ESL teachers in Malmoe, the research is limited. But, one has to bear in mind that the purpose of this research is not to investigate and discuss what ESL teachers in general find motivating within their profession, but to study some ESL teachers motivational factors and connect these to other research on the same area.
3.3 Ethical considerations
When carrying out a research, the researcher is responsible for ethical
considerations. "Vetenskapsrådet" (2002) in Sweden presents ethical guidelines that researchers should follow when carrying out a humanistic or social scientific
research. It is the researcher's responsibility to consider if and to what extent those who participate in the study may be affected by the investigation and what type of negative consequences there might be. The researcher is also responsible for making sure that the participants are protected and that they are aware of their rights, among other things. This is called The demand of the protection of the individual and can be concretized in four general demands, which are imposed on the research. They are called The demand of information, of consent, confidentiality, and use.
(Vetenskapsrådet, 2012)
The demand of information means that the researcher has to inform those who are involved in the research about the purpose of the research. He or she needs to inform them about their part of the project, what terms there are regarding their participation and emphasize that their participation is voluntarily and that they can withdraw their participation whenever they want to. The participants need to be given all the details that can determine if they want to participate or not and this they have to be given in advance, in this case that is before the interviews take place. The demand of consent implies that the participants have the right to be in charge of their own participation. They need to determine how long, on what conditions and when and if they want to take part in the study (Vetenskapsrådet, 2012). Those who were asked to be interviewed were all sent an e-mail with necessary information before the interviews. Those who did not want to participate were not questioned, thus the participation was voluntarily. In addition, the interviewees were able to express their own thoughts in the interviews, their ideas were not questioned in the way that they would feel uncomfortable, forced to say something they did not want to say or obliged to participate in any way.
The demand of confidentiality implies that unauthorized people do not have access to information about the participants. It is the researcher's responsibility to ensure that no one can access the information. The demand of use means that the
information about the participants is to be used only for scientific research purposes (Vetenskapsrådet, 2012). I am the only one who has had access to information about the participants. The interviewees are anonymous and it is impossible, even though they are presented to a small extent in the text, to figure out who they are.
4.The results
In this section, the results from the three interviews are presented and analyzed in a smaller extent. They are analyzed and discussed further in the Discussion section. The transcriptions of the three interviews are found in attachment 2, 3, and 4.
4.1 Choosing to become an English teacher
When asking the teachers why they decided to become English teachers, each one of them expressed the passion that they have for the English language. Teacher 1 said that she has always liked English and that it was an important language in her childhood home. Further, she explained that she lived in the US for a short while when she was younger, and when arriving back she wanted to use the language skills that she had developed during the trip. Teacher 2 also claimed that she has always enjoyed the English language, speaking, and reading in English. Growing up, the English language and the American culture influenced her way of life. Teacher 3, like Teacher 1 and 2, said that she has always been fond of English. Like Teacher 1, Teacher 3 has too lived in the US, as well as in Manchester.
It seems that it is not only the English language in itself that attracted the teachers to become ESL teachers, but also other things that the subject has to offer, such as culture.
Further, Teacher 2 explained another reason for choosing the subject of English.
if you look at it in terms of job I wanted a subject that is
mandatory. To get a job everywhere. English is always required. So that was a contributing factor, I knew that a lot of places would open up if I had English. (Teacher 2)
Since English is spoken in many parts of the world it can, as Teacher 2 claimed, lead to opportunities to expand your knowledge and explore and work at different places around the world.
While Teacher 2 argued that the reason why she wanted to teach was because of the love for the English language, and Teacher 1 said that her father always wanted her to become a teacher and that English was the major reason why she applied for the teacher program, Teacher 3 claimed that there were reasons aside from the subject of English.
teaching fascinates me, how you learn things. I chose teaching from that point of view. The aspect of how you learn and teach, especially languages. (Teacher 3)
Perhaps one would guess that what Teacher 3 explained would be the main reason why most students would like to teach. But in fact, there are plenty of other factors that attract students and teachers more. One of them is the fact that you get to work with children and young adults.
4.2 Reasons for working as an ESL teacher
All three teachers explained why they work as ESL teachers today. While Teacher 3 argued that it has to do with the joy and challenge of working with teenagers and teaching them and herself new things, and Teacher 1 said that she likes to work with students, though she mentioned language as one of the reasons, Teacher 2 talked about the importance of improving the pupils’ language skills.
I enjoy teaching. You constantly learn new things, it’s a good way of gaining new knowledge, getting to know new things, since culture changes all the time. The students bring this into the lessons and I learn by them. When teaching them they teach you. And that’s a challenge, to work with teenagers, but a good challenge. It’s inspiring to work with them because of that. (Teacher 3)
Teacher 1 expressed her thoughts about working with students.
It’s rewarding and fun. It’s always fun to find things that motivate the students. There are different students every year. And the language changes fast. (Teacher 1)
Teacher 2 too emphasized language learning when teaching.
I like the subject, but now it’s not much about what I like but because I want to see the students use the language. And since many of the students are weak in English and Swedish I’m working a lot to enhance the Swedish together with English so they can develop two languages. […] I explain in Swedish and then in English. So they can make themselves understood in the world. (Teacher 2)
If interpreting what Teacher 2 said, one can argue that no matter what language you teach, the purpose is to teach the pupils so they can communicate with other people. In addition, due to the situation in Malmoe where many children have an immigrant background and another language than Swedish as their mother tongue, it might be particularly important to focus on both Swedish and English when teaching ESL.
4.3 The importance of the teaching job
When asking the ESL teachers what factors they consider important within their profession, each of them spoke about the students. Teacher 1 thought that as a teacher you need to prioritize your students and think about what they like and where they are in life. She emphasized the importance of trying to make the lives of the pupils easier and helping them. Teacher 2 also said that it is important to ask the pupils about their lives and take their interests into consideration. She also argued that as a teacher you always have to be patient and persistent. You need to explain things several times and make sure that all the students understand. Teacher 3 on the other hand talked about teaching the students to break codes, so they can develop as people.
That you teach the pupils to break the codes basically, and in language as well. This is how society works, this is how language works. To give them tools, so they can handle things that might seem difficult. So they learn and can do something with that. Those are one of the most important things in
teaching. To teach the pupils to break the codes we have in our society. Especially for those who don't know a lot, who haven't got that from home and have difficulties learning. Teaching as a whole is all about teaching student the codes on how things work, give them the tools to move on. (Teacher 3)
What all three teachers have in common is that they put emphasize on the pupils and the importance of teaching, helping, and listening to them.
Further, the interviewees explained when they feel the most motivated in their job. Teacher 2 feels motivated when the pupils are motivated. She claimed that the students become motivated when they receive an assignment where they get to use their imagination. Then they get excited and want to start working as fast as possible. Teacher 3 also feels motivated when seeing the pupils take on an assignment. She likes to see them be a part of the teaching process, when she initiates something and they take it further. She also feels motivated when she gets something back from the students, which she believes that she does since she gives them a lot. It seems like both teacher 2 and 3 feel motivated when the pupils learn and when they are active and motivated.
Teacher 1 feels motivated when the pupils learn and succeed. The pupils’ success is a motivational factor since she knows that she is a part of the reason why they succeed. Success for her depends on the students and their goals. Another thing that makes teacher 1 motivated is when seeing the pupils laugh and she exclaimed “I love to see them laugh!” (Teacher 1).
The part of the teaching job that Teacher 1 values the most is that she is the one who has the answers and can answer the students’ questions, or find them if she does not already have them. She claimed that it fits her personality perfectly since she likes to be a “miss know-it-all”. Teacher 2 on the other hand, likes to see the pupils change, develop, and improve, both their knowledge and English skills, and their behavior. She also likes working with children and being able to influence them.
To work with children who have another social background than I had when I grew up. I see and learn a lot and grow as a person. They live a different life and want things that I’m not use to. For example they were supposed to write what they wish for. And a boy wrote that “I would wish for me to finish high school” which is something that I didn’t wish for but something I just had to do. And that I get to spread what I know to someone else and hopefully see them use that information. That I get to see that I’m
valuable for someone else, if speaking about myself. That is what’s important for me, to remember that I see them 8 hours a day. I’m important and I always have to watch what I do, what I say. That’s how I grow and develop as a person. It has to do with the children. I love these kids. I love the atmosphere and see the kids from who they are. (Teacher 2)
For teacher 2 it seems that it is rewarding to work with people who come from different backgrounds. Perhaps this is one of the benefits of working in a city like Malmoe. She also enjoys helping and passing on knowledge since it makes her feel good.
Teacher 3 argued that two valuable factors within the job are that you always move and that the job is unpredictable. Regarding moving, she looks at it in two different ways.
Both that you don’t sit down in front of the computer all day but move from classroom to classroom. You constantly meet new people. And then you constantly move forward, every day is a step towards something, so you don’t stand still. I think it’s the concept of moving, and learning new things. (Teacher 3)
Teacher 3 also finds it satisfying that, even though she has a lesson plan, she does not know what will happen.
you can plan what’s going to happen but that there’s no certainty that it will happen. […] To not know what people feel, what they did yesterday, what they will bring. (Teacher 3)
What Teacher 3 said could be a challenge in itself. Even though a teacher does not know what will happen during a lesson, he or she still needs to be prepared and have some kind of lesson plan. At the same as a teacher needs to stick to his or her plan and
make sure that the curriculum for English is followed, the teacher also has to adapt to the current situation. The challenge could be to find a balance between these two.
4.5 Goals within the profession
Finally, the three teachers described what goals they strive for within their profession. All three teachers said that a part of their goal is to see the children succeed and pass their courses. For Teacher 1 this is a short term goal. She wants all student to succeed and explained that success can mean different things depending on the student, what he or she strives for, and what his or her parents strive for. Teacher 2 on the other hand sees this as a long term goal. She said that one of her long term goals is to see the students pass their upcoming courses and see them use their language skills as well as enjoying the English language. Neither Teacher 1 nor Teacher 2 spoke about themselves and how they would like to succeed on a long term. The teachers seem to define their own success depending on the students’ success.
Teacher 1’s long term goal is to work in another place and teach on a higher level, since she would like to use English more in her teaching. Teacher 2 also said that she would like to teach older student, but added that she is happy teaching younger students for now. For Teacher 3 the long term goals are related to the short term goals. She wants to try different teaching methods, study research, and
hopefully improve her teaching skills. She said that this is something that she tries to do and strives for every day. Further, Teacher 3 has two short term goals. First of all, she wants to enjoy herself, since she thinks that this is a given factor if she wants the students to enjoy themselves. Second of all, she, like teacher 1, strives for every student’s success. For her, success means that they all learn something every lesson, even if it is just a couple of words.
Another short term goal that Teacher 1 has is to get all the work done.
I want to have time to prepare the lessons, finish my lesson planning, and plan them the way I want to, the way I planned to.
But sometimes there isn’t time. You have to take things from books, the internet. I want to have time to help every student, sit with each one of them. (Teacher 1)
Finally, Teacher 2 claimed that her short term goals have to do with the pupils and them feeling safe.
make sure everyone comes to school, feel that they have
accomplished something, and not that a day went to waste. That they can feel safe, that no one in school will do them any harm. That the parents can feel safe to send their kids to school, that nothing bad will happen to them. So I’m always out looking, always checking if something has happened. I like this because we develop some trust, they can tell me when something happens or is wrong. […] now I’ve stopped asking and they are still coming to me to tell me things. (Teacher 2)
Once again, the teachers do not focus on themselves but, like Teacher 2, on the pupils, their feelings, and their safety. What Teacher 2 explained is the responsibility that she has as a teacher. It is a responsibility that she has towards both the pupils and their parents. Because of the situation in some compulsory schools in Malmoe, where students and teachers face violence and harassment every day, this might be particularly important. That is that teachers pay attention, that they take their responsibility, and try to prevent and solve conflicts between pupils.
The results show that the three ESL teachers mainly wished to become English teachers because they enjoy the English language and everything that it might provide, such as culture. Reasons why they work as ESL teachers today are mostly the joy and satisfaction of working with young adults, passing on knowledge, providing the students with new knowledge, and seeing them develop and succeed. The teachers seem to find their job motivating and strive for goals within their profession such as improving the pupils’ language skills, both in English and
Swedish, making sure that each pupil learns something every lesson, reassuring that they feel safe, and that they all at least pass their courses.
5.Discussion
In this section, the results from the interviews are analyzed and discussed. They are discussed in relation to previous research and the theories that were presented in the Theory section.
5.1 Teaching in Malmoe
Since Malmoe is a city where the population increases every year, partly because of the amount of immigrants that the city welcomes each year, the amount of pupils increases as well and many of these do not have Swedish as their mother tongue (Malmö stadskontor, 2013. Malmöstad, 2012) The issue of teaching pupils who have Swedish as a second language in relation to conflicts such as violence and
harassment that occur in compulsory schools in Malmoe every day (Westerberg, 2013), is a challenge for teachers, not at least for language teachers. Like Altervall and Ivarsson (2007) claimed, it is the difficulties and the challenges that teachers deal with that they find motivating.
Teacher 2 explained that she feels responsible towards her pupils and their parents that the children are safe in school.
That they can feel safe, that no one in school will do them any harm. That the parents can feel safe to send their kids to school, that nothing bad will happen to them. So I’m always out looking, always checking if something has happened. (Teacher 2)
A challenge that teachers face when working in a city like Malmoe is as mentioned the difficulties regarding violence and harassment that occur daily in schools (Westerberg, 2013). Though some people might see this as a negative aspect of the teaching profession, it is actually positive that you as a teacher have the opportunity to affect your pupils and prevent incidents related to violence and harassment.
Another positive aspect of teaching in Malmoe is the fact that there is a diversity where teachers often teach children from different backgrounds, both social and
national. Teacher 2 argued that she enjoys working with children who have another background, in this case social, than her. Teaching pupils who originate from different countries is in particular a positive challenge when teaching language. Almost half of the inhabitants in Malmoe have a non-Swedish background (Malmöstad, 2012), and about 1000 pupils in compulsory schools study their mother tongue (Malmöstad, 2013d). This means that a high amount of pupils have another language than Swedish as their mother tongue, or that they are bilingual, and in some cases even study their mother tongue in school. As teacher 2 explained, she does not only teach English in her classes but also Swedish, that is she tries to improve the students’ English skills as well as their Swedish. In fact, teachers who teach other subjects than language face the same situation. They too improve their students’ language skills when teaching since teaching often implies reading and producing texts, and discussing, solving problems, and expressing yourself both orally and in writing.
Since Malmoe welcomes asylum unaccompanied minors (Malmöstad, 2013a) as well as asylum seekers (Malmöstad, 2012) who arrive with children, teachers who work in Malmoe have the opportunity to teach their pupils valuable information regarding the Swedish society. Teacher 3 explained that this is particularly important if children do not receive this from home, which they perhaps do not if they and their parents have recently arrived to Sweden (in comparison to if they have lived here a longer while). She said:
You teach the pupils to break the codes basically, /…/ This is how society works /…/To give them tools, so they can handle things that might seem difficult. So they learn and can do something with that. Those are one of the most important things in teaching. To teach the pupils to break the codes we have in our society. Especially for those who don't know a lot, who haven't got that from home /…/. Teaching as a whole is all about teaching student the codes on how things work, give them the tools to move on (Teacher 3).
5.2 Teaching teenagers
One of the reasons why the participants in Altervall and Ivarsson’s study (2007) work as teachers is because they enjoy working with young adults. The English teacher students in Sundmark’s study (2011) chose to study at the teacher program partly because they also wanted to work with teenagers, influence them, and be good role models. In the interview, Teacher 2 said, “I love these kids” (Teacher 2), and Teacher 1 expressed the joy of seeing the pupils lighten up and laugh. Teacher 3 argued that “when you give something you always get something back” (Teacher 3). In psychology, when people do things as a way of contributing to society, to help and work with children, or in this case young adults, it is referred to as an altruistic
factor (Chon and Low, 2009).
Furthermore, Teacher 2 said that within the teaching job “I always have to watch what I do, what I say. That’s how I grow and develop as a person” (Teacher 2). Chon and Low (2009) argue that this is one of the major reasons why teachers enjoy teaching. They relate this to the psychological term of intrinsic factors, which refer to a desire for personal growth (Chon&Low, 2009).
A factor that the previous research that I have presented in the research project does not take in consideration, is the passion for teaching in itself, no matter what subject it is or how old the students are. In the interview, Teacher 2 claimed that she enjoys passing on knowledge and seeing the students develop their own knowledge and language skills. Teacher 3 argued that teaching and learning fascinates her and is one of the reasons why she wanted to become an English teacher. She explained that “teaching fascinates me, how you learn things. I chose teaching from that point of view. The aspect of how you learn and teach, especially languages” (Teacher 3).
5.3 A passion for the subject
Another important reason why many teachers choose the teaching profession, is a passion for the subject, in the interviewees’ case English. All three interviewees explained that the major reason why they wanted to become English teachers was because they enjoyed the English language. Previous research on the area shows that choosing to teach because of a passion for a certain subject or subjects is a common reason. In Sundmark’s study (2011) for example, a majority of the English teacher students at Malmoe University chose to become English teachers because of a passion for the English language and culture. The teacher students expressed that they, like Teacher 2, enjoy the English culture, which for instance implies reading and listening to music in English. Altervall and Ivarsson (2007), who studied factors that motivate teachers, also showed that a reason why the teachers who participated in the study enjoy teaching was because they like the subject they teach. Further, Teacher 1 and 3 said that they lived in the US and in England before deciding to become English teachers. They explained that they felt that they wanted to use the language skills that they had developed during their visit (Teacher 1&Teacher 3). If interpreting this, it could mean that some teachers partly teach because they enjoy the subject they teach and because they feel good at it. It feels good to pass on knowledge that you carry to others, especially to children and young adults.
That teachers, no matter what subject they teach, enjoy their subject is an important factor. The English teacher students in Sundmark’s study (2011) stated that to be able to be a good teacher, you have to love the subject you teach, whether the subject is English or any other subject. Then what is a good teacher, and what are the important factors of being a teacher?
5.4 Being a good teacher
Teacher 1, 2, and 3 argued for what factors they find important within their
profession. For the students in Sundmark’s study (2011), a good teacher is someone who loves the subject he or she teaches. But according to Teacher 3, a teacher needs
to teach the pupils to break codes, and, as a language teacher, the language codes. She finds it important that you give the students tools so they can do things by themselves.
That you teach the pupils to break the codes basically, and in language as well […] this is how language works. [...] So they learn and can do something with that (Teacher 3).
Teacher 1 and 2 on the other hand, find it important that a teacher shows his or her interest in the pupils’ lives. Teacher 2 often asks the pupils what is going on in their lives and tries to be as alert as possible.
It seems that the pupils are the central and most important part in the teaching job, according to the interviewees. Teacher 2 argued that as a teacher, and especially an ESL teacher, you need to be patient and persistent. It is, according to her, the teacher’s responsibility to make sure that every student understands everything. Teacher 1 said that a teacher always has to prioritize the students and repeated several times that it is always about the individual. Teacher 2 explained that she “see(s) the kids from who they are” (Teacher 2).
5.5 The motivated ESL teacher
5.5.1 The motivated teacher and the motivated pupil
While a high amount of teachers in Swedish schools leave the profession (Jönsson, 2013), some teachers still seem to remain motivated to continue teaching. Aside from the previously discussed factors regarding why the interviewees chose to become English teachers and why they work as ESL teachers today, the teachers talked about why and when they feel motivated within their profession. As Czubaj (1996) and Muhammad and Farid (2011) stated, motivation is particularly important within the teaching profession, and teachers need to remain as motivated as possible. Teacher 3 argued that if she enjoys herself in the classroom, the pupils will enjoy themselves.
This can be connected to motivation, and one can claim that a motivated teacher will influence his or her pupils positively and hopefully make them motivated to learn.
But, it can also go the other way around. That is that when the pupils feel motivated to learn, the teacher will feel motivated to teach. In the interview, Teacher 2 claimed that she in particular feels motivated when the pupils are motivated. She explained that she can see when the pupils are motivated, “When I give them an assignment and they get excited about doing it. When it hits home everywhere. That’s what I like. […] then they can’t wait for me to finish my sentence so they can start working” (Teacher 2).
Teacher 3 also explained the importance of the pupils’ motivation and engagement. She said that “When I initiate something and the pupils develop it and take it forward and become a part of the process towards the goal, instead of me leading” (Teacher 3).
5.5.2 Being challenged and feeling satisfied
The teaching job also provides challenges, which some teachers find motivating (Altervall&Ivarsson, 2007). As a language teacher working with young adults, one of the challenges is to keep yourself updated. That is to keep yourself updated both with the language changes and the teenage culture, since both of these change all the time. Teacher 1 expressed her thoughts regarding these types of changes, “to find things that motivate the students. There are different students every year. And the language changes fast” (Teacher 1).
In Altervall and Ivarsson’s study (2007), the teachers said that they find their job challenging and that they sometimes face difficulties, which makes the job challenging and them motivated. Teacher 3 explained that “that’s a challenge, to work with teenagers, but a good challenge” (Teacher 3). She also said that she finds it satisfying not knowing what will happen during a lesson and during the day. She explained that as a teacher you never know what the students will bring to the lesson (Teacher 3).
Some people might also feel satisfied when they see that they mean something to other people, since they want to feel appreciated and needed in one way or another.
Teacher 2 said, “That I get to see that I’m valuable for someone else, if speaking about myself” (Teacher 2). Teacher 1 expressed the positive feeling when seeing the pupils succeed and knowing that she was one of the reasons why the student
succeeded. In psychology, this can be referred to the so called intrinsic motivation. It means that the reason why people feel motivated to do certain things is because it makes them satisfied (Cherry, 2013b). That means that when feeling valuable to other people, a person feels some kind of satisfaction.
5.6 The freedom
Something else that the interviewees enjoy with their job is the freedom that they have. Altervall and Ivarsson (2007) stated that the teachers who participated in the research enjoy the freedom they have and the variation there is within their
profession. This type of freedom can be connected to what Teacher 3 said regarding the possibility of moving around as a teacher. She partly referred to the idea that as a teacher you do not sit on a chair the whole day. You move from classroom to
classroom and meet new people every day, she explained (Teacher 3). In addition, you do not do the same thing each day and each lesson. Some might argue that what a teacher mostly does is to teach. But, if looking at the teaching job from teachers’ point of view, you realize that for someone who wants to meet different people, who enjoys meeting new people, and who likes to move, both physically and mentally, the
profession is a joy in itself. As teacher 2 explained, “To work with children who have another social background than I had when I grew up. I see and learn a lot and grow as a person” (Teacher 2).
5.7 Different types of goals
The SDT focuses on different goals that people have within their profession, among other areas (Deci&Ryan, 2008). It is important that teachers have their own personal
goals, since goals according to Beltman et al. (2012) increase and sustain motivation, and because teacher motivation, according to Muhammad and Farid (2011), has an impact on students’ learning. The SDT divides goals into the two categories intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations (Deci&Ryan, 2008).
5.7.1 Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic aspirations
The goals that the interviewed teachers have are connected to intrinsic aspirations, which mainly refer to personal development. Since extrinsic aspirations refer to for example wealth and fame, this has to do with awards from the outside, for example awards that people wish to receive, or striving for a higher salary. Intrinsic aspirations on the other hand have more to do with personal goals. A person, in this case the teachers, does things because he or she wants to feel good, develop as a person, and learn more, without receiving any awards or confirmation from the outside
(Deci&Ryan, 2008).
The goals that the interviewees talked about did not have much to do with extrinsic aspirations. Instead they described that they would like for the pupils to succeed. Teacher 3 explained that one of her goals is that each pupil succeeds and learns something.
my goal is for the students to succeed. If they don’t succeed I’m not doing a good job. But it doesn’t mean that they have to have the highest grade, but that they learn something. That’s a reason for why I have a starter every lesson, where we start the lesson by learning new words for example. So you can say that you at least learned five new words. That’s something, it’s better than nothing (Teacher 3).
Teacher 1 said, “I love to see the children succeed […] it’s always the individual. Or I mean I want them all to pass. But the grades depend on what the students and their parents strive for” (Teacher 1). Teacher 2 expressed it in a similar way. She said that she wishes “That they will get their grades, I at least hope to help them pass […]. I want them to have a lifelong learning. Another goal is to make them like English” (Teacher 2).
5.7.2 Long-term and short-term goals
The ESL teachers argued for what type of long-term and short-term goals they have within their profession. Teacher 3 did not distinguish these and explained that she wants to improve as a pedagogue by improving her teaching skills, and study and try out different teaching methods. On a longer term she hopes to improve and develop this. But to reach these goals she explained that she has to strive for this every day, so it is a short term as well as a long term goal. She argued that teachers often use old material in their teaching, but that she strives for using new material (Teacher 3). Teacher 1 also discussed material and lesson planning. She explained that she sometimes uses old material, that she does not always have time to plan lessons the way she would like to, but that her goal is to get all the work done. She emphasized the importance of taking time to sit down and talk to each student (Teacher 1). For Teacher 2, the short term goals are also related to the pupils.
to make sure everyone comes to school, feel that they have
accomplished something, and not that a day went to waste. That they can feel safe, that no one in school will do them any harm. That the parents can feel safe to send their kids to school, that nothing bad will happen to them. So I’m always out looking, always checking if something has happened. I like this because we develop some trust, they can tell me when something happens or is wrong (Teacher 2).
Teacher 1 and 2 had basically the same long term goals. They would like to teach on a higher level, where you only teach ESL. Teacher 2 explained that “I would like to use my English more than I do right now. I would love to teach on a higher level where we can speak more fluently and do more analyzing” (Teacher 2). But she finished by saying, “But for now it’s more about the students and if they achieve their goals” (Teacher 2), and it seems that all three ESL teachers focus on the pupils, both on a short term and a long term.
5.7.3 English opens up doors
English has become an international language, and the subject of English has become a subject of both language and culture (Sundmark, 2011). Therefore, it is logical that
those who decide to study English see it as a possibility to work, and in this case even teach, at places all around the world. Sundmark’s study (2011) showed that the English teacher students who participated in the research at Malmoe University, partly chose to become teachers in English because of the cultural experiences that the subject could give them. That is that it can give opportunities to discover other cultures. The students explained that one of the reasons why they chose to study English was because of the possibilities it could give to travel and work in different countries (Sundmark, 2011). This is also one of the reasons why Teacher 2 chose English as one of her subjects. She explained that it had to do with the English language and the opportunities that it could lead to (Teacher 2).
if you look at it in terms of job I wanted a subject that is mandatory. To get a job everywhere. English is always required. So that was a contributing factor, I knew that a lot of places would open up if I had English (Teacher 2).
She then explained that by “a lot of places”, she meant places all over the world. Referring to both Sweden and Malmoe, and other parts of the world (teacher 2).
6.Conclusion
The teaching profession is often portrayed as unattractive and Swedish schools are in need of more teachers. The purpose of this research was to investigate what the positive parts of the English teaching job are, mainly when teaching at secondary schools in Malmoe. I studied research on factors that motivate students to become English teachers, factors that motivate some teachers to teach, and interviewed three ESL teachers.
My research showed that the reasons why most students want to become teachers and why many teachers enjoy their job, are a passion for the subject as well as the challenge and satisfaction of helping, teaching, and working with children and young adults. The goals that the interviewees have today were also related to these two factors.
6.1 The subject
The first important factor of the teaching job is that you get to work with something you feel passionate about. Teaching is actually a broad profession since you can teach in, almost, any subject. When it comes to English, many teachers do not only enjoy the language itself but also the cultural experiences that the subject provides as well as the major possibilities that the language and subject can offer. That is to work at different places, which implies teaching English on different levels and at different schools, and to work at places all around the world.
When working as a teacher you do not only work with a subject that you love, but you also get to pass on your own knowledge to others, in this case young adults.
6.2 The pupils
The interviewees expressed the joy and satisfaction of passing on knowledge and seeing the pupils develop their skills. When the pupils are motivated, the ESL
teachers feel motivated, and they like to see the pupils succeed and to know that they are valuable and important. I mainly related this to intrinsic factors that refer to a desire of personal growth. The joy of working with young adults, and giving
something back to society was also an important aspect, which I referred to altruistic factors.
I referred external awards to extrinsic aspirations and to the psychological term incentive theory of motivation. None of the teachers, neither in the previous research nor in the interviews, referred to these types of awards when describing their motivations and goals. It might be that teachers often think that the pupils are the most important. They seem to put the pupils first, help them as much as possible, and wish the best for each individual. And, as Teacher 3 said, “When giving something you always get something back” (Teacher 3).
6.3 Teaching in Malmoe
Malmoe has been and is still going through changes. The increase of asylum seekers means that many student do not speak Swedish or that they have Swedish as a second language. This, in combination with conflicts in schools that teachers need to handle every day, can be hard for teachers to handle. But, hopefully teachers, in particularly ESL teachers, can see the benefits of working in a city like Malmoe and take on the challenge. ESL teachers have the opportunity to improve their pupils’ language skills, teach them valuable information about the society, prevent conflicts, and influence their students to handle conflicts in the right way.
6.4 Final comments
This research has highlighted some of the positive aspects of the teaching profession, and in particular the English teaching job. Hopefully, this can draw more students to the teaching program, make teacher students think twice before discontinuing their education, and teachers see the positive aspects of their job as well as the importance that they have. We need to value the teachers we have and try to remain and increase their motivation. Children and youths are important in our society, and to give them a good education and provide them with knowledge we need to have good teachers who love their subject and their students and who feel motivated. Malmoe is going through major changes which have a huge impact on the schools. The changes are sometimes portrayed as negative; the increase of asylum seekers, language difficulties, crime, and a tougher environment in schools. But as teachers, we are able to make something of these changes and turn them into something positive. Teachers meet and spend time with children and teenagers every day. Therefore, they have the power to
influence the pupils, show them how society works, what is right and wrong, and how to handle certain situations. ESL teachers have the opportunity to teach students a foreign language which will open up a new world to them, let them communicate with others, and make their voice heard. It is a challenge in itself for teachers to introduce the pupils to the world of language as well as to the society, which often go hand in hand. But, if taking on this challenge, I believe that teachers, as well as others, will see a progress, where children develop as individuals, citizens, and language users. Except from the fact that the pupils develop in different ways, the teachers hopefully develop as human beings when being a part of the students’
