Abstract:
Motivation is primordial to the teaching and learning of languages and for a student to be able to achieve the aim of engaging him/herself in learning, he or she must be motivated be it internally or externally. Our study focuses mainly on one external motivational factor which is the teacher. A factor which can subsequently influence other factors. Specifically, we are interested in identifying the types of personality that the teachers of French as a Foreign Language (FFL) have, how their own students perceive them and how these perceptions influence the learning of FFL at the University of Cape Coast. Data was collected from students of FFL at the University of Cape Coast at levels 200, 300, 400 and 19 teachers of FFL were our subject of investigation. Questionnaire using the Big Five Inventory of John and Srivastava (1999) was used for the collection of data. Data was taken during the first 3 months of the 2015/2016 academic year and students who at least had a year study of the Oral and Written Expression course from teachers of FFL at the University of Cape Coast were our target group. Quantitative methods were used to analyze and interpret the data. The results of the study show that the perceptions of the personality of teachers does not really influence the study of FFL though there are still some personality traits which do not enhance learning either. We therefore recommend that research on the subject of motivation be carried out to identify the particular factors which enhance students’ motivation to learn FFL.
