A Study On The Relationship Between Teacher Support,Learning Motivation And English Academic Achievement Of College Students

Teachers are one of the most important factors that affect students’ academic achievement in education.Supportive behaviors from teachers can satisfy the basic psychological needs of students,which in turn affect students’ learning motivation and academic achievement.Learning motivation promotes studying activities in the foreign language learning process.Students with high motivation are more likely to succeed academically.Studies have shown a correlation between teacher support,learning motivation,and academic achievement,but the exact path of influence remains to be explored.Therefore,based on self-determination theory,this study aims to explore and analyze the relationship between college students’ perception of teacher support,learning motivation and their English academic achievement.By reviewing relevant research at home and abroad and taking into account the teaching practices in the context of higher education in China,this study proposes the following three research questions:(1)What characteristics do students’ perception of teacher support and learning motivation reveal in the process of English learning?(2)How does perception of teacher support inspire learning motivation and influence students’ academic achievement?(3)Does learning motivation serve as mediation between teacher support and English achievement?This study selected 223 non-English major college students from a university in Shandong Province as research subjects.A questionnaire survey was adopted to measure students’ perception of supportive behaviors of English teachers and their level of English learning motivation.CET-4 scores were used to measure students’ English academic achievement.Twelve students were randomly selected for the interview survey.After data collection,descriptive statistical analysis,independent sample T-test,correlation analysis and regression analysis were used for data analysis.Based on the results of this study,the following conclusions can be drawn:(1)Perceptions of teacher support and English learning motivation of non-English majors are above the average level.Among the three dimensions of teacher support,the scores of autonomy support and emotional support are higher,while the score of competence support is relatively lower.In the two dimensions of learning motivation,the score of autonomous motivation is higher,while the score of controlled motivation is lower.There was no gender difference in any of the dimensions except for emotional support and autonomous motivation.(2)Teacher support and its sub-dimensions can significantly predict non-English majors’ learning motivation and English achievement;learning motivation and its sub-dimensions are also significantly positively correlated with students’ English achievement.(3)By constructing a mediation model,the result proves that English learning motivation plays a mediating role between students’ perceived teacher support and English achievement.The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of how students’ perception of teacher support and their learning motivation affect the fluctuation of English academic achievement and provide educational insights for university English teachers and learners.In English teaching,teachers could give more positive support to students to satisfy their basic psychological needs and adopt effective strategies to stimulate and enhance students’ learning motivation.On the other hand,students should respect teachers’ decisions and arrangements and take the initiative to communicate with teachers.At the same time,they should face difficulties in the English learning process with a positive attitude.