Teacher and student interest, quality of motivation and engagement in content-based EAP classes

The present study sought to investigate if there was a relation among ENG 101/ 102 instructors’ and students’ interest, quality of motivation (i.e., autonomous versus controlled motivation) and students’ engagement in content-based EAP classes. The study was carried out at an English-speaking private university located in Ankara. The participants of the study were 52 freshmen (51% female, 49% male; Mean age = 19.59, SD = 0.5) taking ENG 101 and 102 classes which are compulsory English and essay composition courses.
The results of the hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that students’ interest in the theme of their ENG 101/102 classes was a significant and positive predictor for students’ autonomous motivation as well as their agentic and behavioral engagement. Furthermore, instructors’ perceived quality of motivation in teaching the content of ENG 101/102 classes was significantly and positively linked to students ‘quality of motivation. On the other hand, while instructors’ and students’ interest and enthusiasm in the themes of ENG 101/102 classes were significant and positive predictors of students’ agentic engagement, students’ behavioral engagement was only predicted by autonomous student motivation and student interest in the themes of their class. The implications for practice were provided in the light of the findings.