Abstract:
Burnout has been a major concern in the educational settings and it is worth exploring it among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and finding its relationship with other factors, such as emotional intelligence (EI), which may help reduce burnout sources. In this light, this study was designed to a) explore Iranian EFL students’ burnout and EI profiles; b) investigate the relationship between EFL students’ burnout and their EI; and c) examine the extent to which EFL students’ EI competencies could predict their burnout. To these ends, 100 male and female Iranian EFL university students, selected through convenience sampling from two universities (Shahrekord University and Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz), participated in the study and responded to the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and the Bar-On’s Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i). To triangulate the data, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 20 EFL students. Data analysis showed that EFL students had a low level of burnout and were emotionally intelligent at the intrapersonal level. Also, the data from semi-structured interview provided further insight into the quantitative results and explained some personal and organizational factors in relation to EFL students’ burnout. Moreover, bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis revealed a negative relationship between EI and two dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion and cynicism) and a positive relationship between professional efficacy and EI. Furthermore, intrapersonal, general mood, and adaptability components of EI were found to be better predictors of burnout. The findings have implications for language educators in reducing students' burnout.
Machine summary:
A. Student of TEFL, Shahrekord University, Iran Received: February 16, 2016; Accepted: May 20, 2016 Abstract Burnout has been a major concern in the educational settings and it is worth exploring it among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and finding its relationship with other factors, such as emotional intelligence (EI), whichmay help reduce burnout sources.
Student burnout is defined as "a three-dimensional syndrome of emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy" (Schaufeli, Martinez, Pinto, Salanova, & Bakker, 2002, p.
For example, Capri, Ozkendir, Ozkurt, and Karakus (2012), in a correlational study, explored the relationship between students’ general self-efficacy, life satisfaction, and burnout among 354 students from Mersin University.
Besides, Sulea, Van Beek, Sarbescu, Virga, and Schaufeli (2015), in a study of 255 Romanian economic and social science university students, examined the relationship between burnout, personality, and basic need satisfaction.
Besides, factors such as personality (Sulea, Beek, Sarbescua, Virga, & Schaufeli, 2015), self-efficacy (Rahmati, 2015), and life satisfaction (Capri, Ozkendir, Ozkurt, & Karakus, 2012) have been investigated in relation to burnout, but, to the best of the current researchers’ knowledge, few empirical studies, have addressed the relationship between burnout and EI with respect to EFL students.
This finding can help us claim that EFL students with high EI skills, such as intrapersonal, general mood, stress management, and adaptability are more capable of dealing with the demands of stressful situations and managing their emotions effectively (Bastian, Burns, & Nettelback, 2005).