A Case Study Of English Teachers’ Anxiety In Rural Schools

In recent years,teacher anxiety has become an influential topic in the field of foreign language teacher development.Teacher anxiety not only does harm to the physical and mental health of teachers,but also has a significant negative impact on the development of students.Rural teachers are prone to anxiety since they have worked in a poor environment.At present,most of the research focuses on the anxiety of English teachers in urban schools,and the research on English teacher anxiety in rural schools is rare.To address this gap,this qualitative case study explores the anxiety experiences of four English teachers in rural schools and the influencing factors of their anxiety.Data sources include semi-structured interviews and case documents.The major findings of this study are summarized as follows.Firstly,four English teachers in rural schools experienced anxiety on teaching and anxiety on life.In this study,what English teachers in rural schools felt most was anxiety on teaching,including anxiety on students’ performance,anxiety in the teaching process,and anxiety on extra work.Anxiety on life includes anxiety on interpersonal relationships and living conditions.This finding reveals the multidimensionality of the anxiety of the English teachers in rural schools.Secondly,the influencing factors of English teachers’ anxiety in rural schools include personal,school,and sociopolitical factors.Personal factors refer to teachers’ high expectations towards teaching,insufficient pedagogical competence,and low level of language proficiency.School factors include students’ low proficiency level,parents’negative attitude towards education,unsupportive school management,and heavy workload.Sociopolitical factors consist of economic hardship and the low status of English teachers in rural schools.Based on the above findings,this study provides some implications for teachers,schools,and society.It is suggested that English teachers in rural schools should rationally view anxiety and learn to actively cope with it.Rural schools should provide more training with English teachers and improve the management system.At last,society needs to take measures to improve the status of English teachers in rural schools and give more financial support to them.