Language assessment as a source of emotion labour: voices from Nepali EFL teachers

Abstract Despite ample evidence on the impact of emotion labor on English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ burnout and retention, scant attention has been paid to assessment factors in their emotion labor. Thus, this study explored the role of formative and summative assessment practices in teachers’ emotion labor. Thirteen Nepali EFL teachers completed narrative frames and participated in semi-structured interviews. Data analysis using MAXQDA revealed that the teachers experienced significant emotion labor from challenges in meeting parental and school expectations, the strain of assessment and feedback, and balancing the demands of formative and summative assessment. Furthermore, teachers reported excessive stress arising from social pressures for academic success, emotional impacts from fluctuating student performance, and the extensive burden of assessment tasks. The conflict between curriculum demands, assessment practices, and institutional pressures further exacerbated their stress. The findings underscore the need for systemic support to alleviate teachers’ emotional burden and improve assessment practices.