Iranian EFL Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions of L2 Learners’ Motivation within Dörnyei’s Motivational Self System and Kumaravadivelu’s KARDS Models

Teachers’ perceptions play an important role in their teaching carrier as it paves the way for their pedagogy. The present study has tapped into EFL Iranian secondary school teachers’ perceptions of learners’ motivation. That is, starting from Kumaravadivelu’s KARDS model, teachers’ perception of learners’ motivation inspired by Dörnyei’s L2MSS model were investigated. A mixed-method design was employed. In the survey phase, a questionnaire was developed and administered to a sample of 223 respondents based on stratified purposive sampling. The acceptable degrees of CMIN/DF, GFI, RMSER, and CFI indicated the model fitness of motivation. In the narrative phase, 10 EFL secondary teachers gave voice to their opinions on motivation. The results showed (a) among the three components of L2MSS, that is, the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experience, the ought-to L2 self was found to be the most important one; and (b) the five elements of learners’ related factors, the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, L2 learning experience, and positive reinforcement were the components of Iranian model of motivation. Therefore, the teachers’ perception was not up to date enough regarding Dörnyei’s model and some training programs seem desirable. Implications for theory and practice are finally drawn.