A Scrutiny of Spanish and Iranian English Teachers’ Teaching Enjoyment, Teacher Reflection, Psychological Well-Being at Work, Emotion Regulation, and Work Engagement as Predictors of their Motivation

Motivation is a crucial affective factor that influences language teachers’ instructional performance and professional resilience. It plays a key role in shaping their engagement and success across educational settings. This study explored the main factors contributing to motivation among Spanish and Iranian English teachers and compared their motivation levels. Using convenience sampling, 281 Spanish and 231 Iranian English teachers participated. Six validated questionnaires were used to assess teacher motivation, teaching enjoyment, teacher reflection, psychological well-being at work, emotion regulation, and work engagement. The data were analyzed using multiple regression and independent t-tests. Results showed that teaching enjoyment, work engagement, and teacher reflection were the strongest predictors of motivation for Spanish teachers. In contrast, psychological well-being at work, emotion regulation, and work engagement were the key predictors for Iranian teachers. Moreover, Spanish teachers reported significantly higher motivation levels than Iranian teachers. These findings highlight the importance of emotional, cognitive, and reflective factors in shaping teacher motivation across different cultural contexts. The study provides insights for developing teacher education programs that address emotional and psychological needs, aiming to enhance motivation and effectiveness in foreign language teaching environments, especially in English language instruction.