A Study Of The Effect Of Student-perceived Teacher Support On English Achievement In Junior Middle Schools:The Mediating Effect Of Learner Engagement

Teacher support plays a vital role in student learning.Nonetheless,the correlation between student-perceived teacher support,learner engagement,and English achievement in foreign language learning has received inadequate attention from scholars.Therefore,based on Self-Determination Theory(SDT)and the Affective Filter Hypothesis(AFH),this study aims to explore the correlation between student-perceived teacher support,learner engagement and English achievement.Basically,three research questions are addressed: 1)What are the levels of junior middle school students’ English learner engagement and the teacher support they perceive? 2)Are there any differences in English learner engagement among students with different levels of perceived teacher support in junior middle schools? If so,what are the differences? 3)Does learner engagement play a mediating effect between perceived teacher support and English achievement? If it does,what is the characteristic of such mediating effect?The participants of this study are 424 students from a junior middle school in Guangzhou,China.Both qualitative and quantitative methods are adopted,including questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.Both Schaufeli’s Learner Engagement Scale and Ou’s Student-perceived Teacher Support Scale are utilized to gauge the students’ level of engagement and perceived support from their English teachers.The results of the study show that: 1)student-perceived teacher support is at an upper-middle level,with the three dimensions ranging from high to low: emotional support,learning support and competence support.English learner engagement is at an upper-middle level,and among the three dimensions,vigor is at the highest level followed by dedication and absorption.2)There are significant differences in learner engagement between students who perceive different levels of support from English teachers,with students who receive higher levels of teacher support tending to be more engaged in English learning.3)English learner engagement plays a significant mediating effect in the relationship between student-perceived teacher support and English achievement.Among the three dimensions of student-perceived teacher support,learning support has the greatest positive impact on English achievement through the mediating effect of learner engagement,followed by emotional support and ability support.This positive impact is specifically embodied in stronger learning motivation and self-confidence.Based on the above findings,therefore,the study highlights the significance of English teachers in supporting students’ basic psychological needs and providing timely emotional support.It also emphasizes the importance of creating opportunities for students to showcase their abilities and gain a sense of achievement in English learning.Furthermore,the study recommends that teachers increase communication and interaction with students to provide positive feedback to encourage students to become more engaged in English learning.