EFL university teachers’ perceptions on students’ boredom and its impact on their emotions and teaching practices

Purpose Research on boredom in English as a foreign language (EFL) settings remains limited. While existing studies have examined the impact of teacher-related factors on student boredom, how student boredom influences teachers remains underexplored. This study, therefore, aims to investigate how EFL university teachers are affected by student boredom, with a specific focus on its impact on teacher’s emotions and teaching practices. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a qualitative descriptive design, collecting data through written open-ended questionnaires from 21 EFL university teachers. Findings Teachers reported that boredom is prevalent among Saudi EFL university students, primarily due to the adopted instructional strategies and the nature of the course. Teachers also declared that experiencing student boredom triggered unpleasant emotions, such as frustration and self-doubt. A unique finding was that despite experiencing negative emotional responses, teachers noted that their teaching practices had not been impacted. Research limitations/implications The study has several implications. For instance, the identification of boredom as a prevalent emotion in EFL classrooms highlights the need for English teachers to adopt emotionally sound teaching approaches that foster positive emotions and alleviate negative ones. Additionally, the recognition of student boredom as a trigger for negative emotions in teachers suggests the necessity of providing teachers with training in cognitive reappraisal strategies to support their emotional well-being. Originality/value The study explores how EFL university teachers’ emotions are influenced by student boredom. In so doing, it contributes to teacher emotions research, which has been widely neglected in the ESL/EFL contexts, specifically in Arabian Gulf countries (Chen, 2019b). Furthermore, the study explores how EFL university teachers’ teaching practices are shaped when experiencing student boredom. Until recently, the connection between teachers’ emotions and their approaches to teaching has been unexplored in higher education (Trigwell, 2012), especially in EFL contexts. Therefore, the current study helps explain university teachers’ decisions related to teaching practices, raising awareness of the direct and indirect impact of student boredom.