Spanish teachers’ perceptions about their positive impact on their students to maintain their interest

Abstract

The shortage of foreign language speakers in the United States has reached alarming levels. While Spanish is the most widely spoken and studied foreign language, it has also been experiencing low enrollments and discontinuation after a short term of study, leading to lack of acquisition of communicative competence, which is essential for fluency in the language. To that end, this mixed-method study, which forms part of a large-scale study on foreign language teachers’ perceptions, investigated Spanish teachers’ perceptions about how they determine if they successfully impact their students to maintain their interest in the language and study it long enough to acquire communicative competence. Findings revealed that the teachers believe that the factors that indicate to them that they have a positive impact on their students to maintain their interest in the language are the students’ interest in their classes and the language, their motivation toward the language, the feedback they provide, teacher–student relationships, and the students’ engagement in classroom activities and academic success. Recommended follow-up studies include an investigation of students’ perceptions to ascertain where the teachers’ and the students’ perceptions coincide and where they differ in order to ensure the successful maintenance of students’ interest in the language.