Influencing Factors of Willingness to Teach among Pre-service English Teachers in Minority Area in China

Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the influencing factors of willingness to teach among the pre-service English teachers (PETs) in a minority area of China. Methods To achieve this, seven PETs were interviewed, and through qualitative analysis of interview data, in-depth exploration of factors affecting the intention to teach was conducted. Results The results are as follows. Firstly, it was found that the career choice of these participants is the result of the influence of both internal and external factors. Secondly, among internal factors, self-perception is the most important factor which include personal interest and personal abilities, but career dedication is insufficient and needed to be cultivated. Also, sense of achievement was found as an influencing factor. Thirdly, among external factors, opinions of others often plays a very important role and profession restriction is sometimes an influential factor. In addition, other external factors are gender roles and job market. Conclusions Based on the data analysis, we get some enlightenment on how to strengthen the willingness to teach of PETs in minority areas.