Teacher Burnout: A Case Study among EFL Instructors at the English Preparatory Schools at Universities in North Cyprus

Abstract

The job of being an English language instructor is both demanding and challenging. Recently many researchers have been paying attention to determine teachers’ attitudes, burnouts, and self-efficacy towards the subject and to find a relationship between those psychological concepts and certain variables. However, there is not much research done in the field of English language teaching in North Cyprus, Turkey, and in the Middle East regarding EFL teacher burnout and self-efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the perceived levels of burnout among EFL Instructors at the English Preparatory Schools in Girne American University, Near East University and the European University of Lefke in North Cyprus using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Education Survey developed by Friedman. The study, in which 51 EFL instructors participated found that instructors experienced low levels of emotional exhaustion, low levels of depersonalization in relationships with students, colleagues, and others, and a high level of personal accomplishment in their work. An EFL instructor’s age, marital status, work experience, weekly teaching hours, job status, native or non-native status do not seem to influence instructors’ responses on each of the sub-scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. However, variables gender and the university they work to influence their responses related to emotional exhaustion, but they do not influence their responses related to depersonalization and personal accomplishment scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory.