A Qualitative Study of EFL Teachers' Emotion Regulation Behavior in the Classroom

Abstract
This study aimed to explore the nature of emotion regulation behavior among EFL teachers. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 EFL teachers teaching general English courses in both private language institutes and public schools in Iran. All interviews, conducted in Farsi, were first transcribed and translated into English. Then, through the use of conceptual content analysis technique, the data were scrutinized for emotion regulation strategies. Overall, five main categories, namely, Teaching Context Preference / Avoidance, Teaching Context Adjustments, Attention Direction, Reappraisal, and Reactive Strategies emerged in the interviews. The emerging categories from the conceptual content analysis corresponded, to a great extent, to the Process Model of Emotion Regulation proposed by Gross (1998).