The Interrelationship Among EFL Teachers’ Smart Classroom Management, Their Students’ Learning Approach, Positive Orientation, and Language Learning

Abstract

A successful teacher manages the classroom in a way to meet all the potential challenges. In effect, classroom management skills are the cornerstone of the whole process of successful teaching. This survey-based study assessed the interrelationship among EFL teachers’ smart classroom management (SCM), their students’ learning approach, positive orientation (PO), and language achievement (LA). SCM implies using different strategies including appropriate planning, organization, leadership, and control based on humanistic approaches to education. The population of the study consisted of about 307 Iranian university, institute, and public school students, out of which 279 were sampled. This study used the Persian forms of three questionnaires: Smart Classroom Management Questionnaire (SCMQ), Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) measuring deep approach (D), surface approach (SA), and Positivity Scale (PS). The results obtained via Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) demonstrated that the expected model including the variables under study had a good fit with the data. The results demonstrated that EFL teachers’ SCM positively and significantly influenced the three student-related factors: DA. LA, and PO. LA was positively predicted by DA, while SA had no significant influence on LA. PO positively and significantly impacted LA. It can also be concluded that LA is positively predicted by SCM via its influence on DA and PO. The major implication of the present study should inform teacher educators to incorporate SCM strategies in their programs.

Keywords

• deep approach
• language achievement
• learning approach
• positive orientation
• smart classroom management
• surface approach