The Role of Online, Technology-Aided Collaborative Reflective Practice in Triggering and Maintaining Pre-service and Novice Language Teachers' Motivational Resources

Abstract

Collaborative reflective practice (CRP) is considered a social, dialogic reflective procedure to promote language teachers' awareness and help them expand their motivational resources during their profession through online collaboration and reflection. Hence, this research probed into how online, technology-aided CRP initiated and sustained eight pre-service (four females and four males) and 12 novice (six females and six males) Iranian English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers' motivation through a qualitative exploratory study. The data from unstructured interviews and discussion groups were analyzed through inductive thematic analysis. The results of inductive data analysis indicated that pre-service and novice EFL teachers gained various social, cognitive, and affective benefits. Socially, the teachers were interactive, collaborative, and supportive to learn from their peers in shared online learning communities. Affectively, they became more engaged, motivated, passionate, and confident. Cognitively, online, technology-aided CRP contributed to the teachers' flexibility and adaptability. The findings suggest that teacher educators implement this mode of inquiry not only to promote pre-service and novice teachers' professional sustainable development but also to maintain their motivation.