Exploring Indonesian EFL Teachers' Emotional Labor Strategies To Cope With Students' Unwillingness To Communicate

Abstract

Students' unwillingness to communicate (UWTC) has become one of the major challenges in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, as it not only disrupts students' language development but also creates emotional demands for teachers. Despite research on the causes of students' UWTC, limited attention has been given to how teachers manage their emotions when responding to such students' behaviors. Therefore, this study aimed to explore Indonesian EFL teachers' emotional labor strategies to cope with students' UWTC. Employing a qualitative case study design, the study involved three EFL teachers from two senior high schools in Jember selected through convenience sampling. The data were collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews, and analyzed using a deductive thematic analysis method. The findings showed three manifestations of students' UWTC, namely avoidance, performance fear, and shyness. In response to these behaviors, teachers employed two emotional labor strategies, namely surface acting and deep acting. The findings of this study highlight teachers' emotional efforts to create a supportive classroom atmosphere and contribute to a deeper understanding of emotional labor within Indonesian EFL contexts.