Close to the Heart or Close to the Home? Motivational Factors Influencing EFL Teaching as a Career Choice among Female Arab-Israeli Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine Israeli-Arab pre-service teachers’ motivations for choosing English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching as their future profession. Data were gathered using the adapted Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) scale. Study participants (a cohort of N = 100) responded to a questionnaire of 38 motivational factors that had influenced them to choose English teaching as a future profession when entering education colleges. In addition, 20 of the participants took part in semi-structured interviews. Results revealed that the reasons Arab students become English teachers are based on a combination of intrinsic, extrinsic, and altruistic motivations. As all study participants were women, our results provide an initial indication of what draws Arab-Israeli women to the profession.