Teachers’ motivational strategies and student motivation across teaching modalities

Abstract

Blended learning is now widespread, yet little is known about how teacher-driven motivational practices function across face-to-face and online contexts. This study addressed three questions: (1) how teachers’ motivational strategies differ by modality and align with students’ needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness; (2) how these strategies relate to students’ observed engagement and self-reported motivation; and (3) how students’ motivated behaviors vary across contexts. Data were collected from 11 EFL instructors and 352 university students across 22 classes (11 face-to-face and 11 online) through classroom observations, post-lesson teacher evaluations, and situational motivation scales. Face-to-face instruction featured autonomy- and relatedness-supportive practices such as cooperation and peer interaction, while online instruction emphasized competence-supportive strategies including scaffolding and signposting. Across modalities, teachers’ practices correlated positively with both observed engagement and self-reported motivation. However, modality-specific analyses revealed divergence: in face-to-face settings, strategies aligned with higher motivation, whereas in online settings they were often perceived as less supportive, or even demotivating, due to weaker autonomy and relatedness support. These findings show that the effectiveness of strategies depends on how they are perceived within each instructional context.