Trait emotional intelligence and achievement goals in EFL

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the relation of Trait Emotional Intelligence with student achievement goals in the context of English as a Foreign Language. Given the challenging nature of EFL, the importance attached to teachers’ emotions as the basis of a psychologically secure and motivating learning environment and students’ achievement goals as a key concept for positive academic results, the present research sought to fill in a gap in the literature, shed light on the nature of the constructs as well as their potential association and broaden the knowledge base of this field of research thus facilitating Foreign Language teaching and learning. Twenty-seven in-service EFL teachers working in secondary education and their 531 students from various schools in the prefecture of Trikala participated in the present research. The results showed that teachers’ Trait Emotional Intelligence failed to predict which type of goals students would pursue. It was also revealed that students’ Trait Emotional Intelligence positively correlated with mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance and performance-approach goals whereas it negatively correlated with performance-avoidance goals.