Review of the Literature Ada Bier Abstract In order to offer a picture of the construct of language teacher motivation, this paper is

Bier. The Motivation of Second/Foreign Language Teachers 
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EL.LE, 3, 3, 2014, pp. 505-522
ISSN 2280-6792
is both a cognitive and a social phenomenon and, as such, it has an inner, 
‘hidden side’ and an outer, ‘social side’. Secondly, if our aim is to conduct 
a thorough investigation of language teacher motivation, we should take 
into consideration 1. the influences of the other components of the ‘hidden 
side’, cognition and affect, and 2. the impact of the ‘social side’ as well, 
represented by instructional context – i.e. the teacher’s relationship with 
students above all – and culture in general.
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One of the main findings in a study by Cheng, Warden, Chang (2005) was the fundamental 
role of cultural context. Indeed, different cultures provide for different motivators or, in 
other words, motivators that are valid in one culture may not be valid in another (in this 
specific case, Western vs. Eastern cultures). 

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