Motivators and Demotivators to Teach English in Japanese Secondary Schools

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of motivators and demotivators for Japanese teachers of English (JTEs) working in secondary schools. A total of 8 JTEs participated by answering a questionnaire containing 3 open-ended questions (2 were subsequently interviewed). Questionnaire results indicated that participants were influenced by 4 factors (i.e., student attitudes, teacher autonomy, self-evaluation, and relationship with colleagues). The follow-up interviews with 2 of the participants provided additional information on some of these influencing factors. Future research should explore changes in teacher motivation in specific contexts.