Perceived Teacher Support and Agentic Engagement in EFL Learning Among Chinese Non-English Major Freshmen: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Abstract

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), this study examined the relationship between perceived teacher support and agentic engagement among Chinese non-English major undergraduates in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. A total of 287 freshmen from a Chinese university completed validated scales measuring agentic engagement (Guo & Li, 2018) and perceived teacher support (Chi, 2017). Results indicated that participants' overall agentic engagement was at a moderate level (M = 3.21, SD = 0.76), with "self-directed effort" scoring highest (M = 3.58) and "helping teacher with instruction" lowest (M = 2.52). Perceived teacher support was moderately high (M = 4.02, SD = 0.70) and significantly predicted agentic engagement (R = .534, R2 = .286, beta = .534, p < .001). Among teacher support sub-dimensions, autonomy support emerged as the only significant unique predictor in multiple regression analysis (beta = .269, p = .005). Gender differences were nonsignificant across all dimensions, while engineering majors reported significantly higher agentic engagement and teacher support than arts majors. These findings suggest that teacher support, particularly autonomy-supportive behaviors, plays a meaningful role in fostering learners' proactive contributions to the instructional process.