Communicative Competence, Learning Motivation, and Classroom Management of University Teachers in China

This study investigates the communicative competence, learning motivation, and classroom management of university teachers in China, aiming to understand their interrelationships and impact on teaching effectiveness. The study aimed to describe the profile of respondents in terms of sex, age, length of service, and highest educational attainment; determine the dimensions of communicative competence in terms of control, high standards, lenience, learner autonomy, warmth, leadership, certainty, and understanding; assess the learning motivation in terms of interest in seeking knowledge, ability pursuit, altruistic orientation, and reputation acquisition; assess classroom management strategies in terms of classroom discipline, organization of the lesson, interaction during the lesson, teacher-student personal communication, and psychological and social classroom environment; lastly, to propose a faculty development program. Surveying 425 university teachers, results indicate that most respondents are female teachers aged 36-45 with doctorate degrees and 6-15 years of service. The results show that teachers with higher levels of communicative competence are more effective in engaging students and maintaining classroom order. Moreover, teachers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations drive their professional development and classroom practices, highlighting the importance of continuous professional development and recognition systems to support these motivations. Effective classroom management strategies are crucial for enhancing learning outcomes and student engagement. Classroom management has a direct impact on student motivation and academic performance. Teachers who implement well-structured and supportive classroom management strategies tend to foster more positive learning environments. Variations in teaching effectiveness are more closely related to teachers’ personal approaches and professional growth than to their age, gender, or length of service. There are significant relationships between communicative competence, learning motivation, and classroom management, highlighting the importance of an integrated approach to professional development. A faculty development program was proposed based on the results of the study.