Hungarian pre-service teachers’ motivation to become English teachers: Validating a questionnaire

Abstract

Background and aims

This study sets out to validate a new questionnaire constructed to reliably measure pre-service teachers’ motivation to become English teachers. Recently, language teacher motivation has been an emerging field of inquiry within the field of second language acquisition. However, little attention has been paid to pre-service teachers, many of whom are met by demotivating conditions once they start teaching.

Methods

Likert-type scales were used to collect data. The participants of the study ( N = 51) were pre-service English teachers from Hungary. The main data analysis procedures included principal component analysis, reliability analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, and regression analysis.

Results and conclusions

Thirteen variables proved to be reliably measurable, each having a Cronbach’s α value of >.60. The members of the sample were found to have relatively high levels of motivated behavior as to both English language learning and learning to become teachers. Based on the questionnaire results, an initial version of the internal structure of pre-service English teachers’ motivation is presented; implications and plans for the next steps of the larger research project are outlined.