Teacher-Student Relationship and its Impact on Students’ Attitudes and Achievement The Case Study of Third Year EFL Students at Tlemcen University

Abstract

Teacher-student relationship plays a significant role in the teaching-learning process. However, the establishment of a positive relationship is still a challenging step for both teachers and students. Along this line of thoughts, the present investigation aims at exploring the nature of the relationship between educators and learners, focusing on the most important variables to create a positive relationship between both parts. In addition, it examines the influence of the teacher-students relationship on the teaching-learning process. For this purpose, an exploratory case study was conducted addressing third year EFL students in Tlemcen University. The data collection relied on students‟ questionnaires addressed to forty three informants who were randomly selected, and a semi-structured interview with EFL teachers. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of data revealed the existence of poor relationship between teachers and students that lacks for emotional and social dimensions. Furthermore, results showed that teacher-student relationship influence students‟ behavior in general and attitudes and achievement in particular. The outcomes of this work raise awareness among teachers and students on the basic elements to keep this relationship on a positive framework in order to reach a successful teaching –learning process.