Index

ABSTRACT

This study basically aims to determine if higher teaching performance in the practicum courses was positively correlated to higher emotional intelligence among male and female ‎student-teachers, who enrolled in the English Department of the Faculty of Education at Hodeidah University. It also investigates gender differences in EI among the third and fourth-year student-teachers, and whether they are aware of the concept of EI and its influence on learning and teaching English. ‎It focuses on a sample of 160 English student-teachers: 60 of them are in the third-year level and 100 are in the fourth year. Out of 160, 30 are males plus 130 females. Bar-On and Parker (2000) 60-item Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I) is used to measure students' EI. Also, student-teachers' end-semester marks in the courses of teaching practicum I & II are used. The findings revealed that the participants are unaware of EI and its significance in the learning/teaching processes. Also, they do have a good level of teaching performance and a quite high level of EI as measured by Bar-On & Parker 60-item EQ-I but ‎no significant correlation found between them. ‎Therefore, EI isn't a significant predictor ‎of the student-teachers' good ‎performance in teaching. Furthermore, gender differences in the student-teachers' EI‎ are so simple and not of great significance. ‎This study helps to raise the instructors' and student-teachers' awareness of EI and its influence on teaching effectiveness. It further recommends that EI could be increased through the inclusion of it as a curricular component.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence (EI), Teaching performance, Practicum, Bar-On&parker emotional quotient inventory (EQ-I) and gender.

DOI: 10.20448/804.4.1.12.28

Citation | Nemah Abdullah Ayash Ezzi (2019). Teaching Performance in Relation to Emotional Intelligence among English Student-Teachers in the Teacher-Education Program in Hodeidah, Yemen. American Journal of Education and Learning, 4(1): 12-28.

Copyright: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Funding : This study received no specific financial support.

Competing Interests: The author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

History : Received: 12 November 2018 / Revised: 8 January 2019 / Accepted: 14 February 2019 / Published: 21 March 2019 .

Publisher: Online Science Publishing

1. INTRODUCTION

Generally, emotions are involved in everything people do: every action, decision and judgement. ‎People normally need to communicate and to be connected with others, so ‎it becomes necessary to be able to navigate one’s own behavior through the network of ‎others. Therefore, emotions can't be separated from thinking in any aspect of life. Emotionally intelligent people recognize this and use their thinking to manage their ‎emotions rather than being managed by them.‎

 More specifically, whenever learning is undertaken, there is an undercurrent of emotions going on with crucial information. Whether it is taken into consideration or not, it is still there. By acknowledging, labeling the emotions related to different aspects of learning, and by working with them, the individual process of learning is mastered, as cited in Trumpešová-Rudolfová ‎: 22.

According to neuroscience, the neural connection between the thinking and emotional centers of the brain can either enhance or inhibit a person’s ability to learn (Davidson, 2000; Adolphs, 2003; Cacioppo and Berntson, 2009) . Studies have also shown that emotions can activate and stimulate the brain for better recall (Cahill et al., 1994; Dalgleish, 2004) and are crucial to sensory development because they facilitate the storage and recall of information (Rosenfield, 1988). Stress and threat cause the brain to downshift; this reduces the opportunity for neuron growth and causes learning to be inhibited (Ornstein and Sobel, 1987). Therefore teachers must understand the emotions of the students and act accordingly. This helps in creating a positive learning environment and motivating students for better performance because howa person learns is as important as what he/she learns. Social neuroscience explains that, when two people interact, their emotional centers ‎impact each other, for better or for worse (Wolpert and Frith, 2004; Cacioppo and Berntson, 2005; Goleman, 2006; Cacioppo et al., 2010) . This means ‎that teachers are able to help students get in better brain states for learning by ‎acknowledging learners’ expectations, hopes, worries and so on, which has a positive ‎effect on how they feel, as mentioned in Jhaa and Singh (2012).‎

For this realization, emotional intelligence (EI) is one of the fundamental elements of any ‎learning. Teachers should understand that they not only educate the mind but also the ‎whole ‎person. To achieve such an intricate task, it is mandatory for them to ‎pay ‎attention to EI as it helps in guiding both teachers and students through the web of human relations ‎and in understanding their own feelings as well as those of others.

Traditional theories dealing with intelligence and cognition while they have paid little ‎or no attention to EI.‎ It seems that EI‎ is still a neglected component of success in life and unpopular in TEFL, so that majority of EFL teachers do not know this concept and its significance and how to develop their students’ EI. ‎However, increased attention has been given to popularize this concept in the last two decades. Yet, there is an evidence, showing that while intelligence remains relatively static, EI techniques can be learned. In the earlier studies, Gardner (1983); Mayer and Salovey (1990) and Goleman (199hasaresearched on social intelligence, but Mayer and Salovey (1990) have been the leading researchers who first used the expression ‘emotional intelligence’ and studied itscientifically. EI, thus, has its significance for learniang a FL so there is a pressing need to throw light closely on it.‎

1.1. What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?

The early Emotional Intelligence (EI) theory, which sometimes referred to as emotional quotient, was originally developed during the 1970's and 80's by the work and writings of the psychologists, namely, Howard Gardner, Peter Salovey, and John Mayer. Later this notion formally became the center of interest with growing emphasis on research over the interaction of emotion and thought in the field of psychology in 1990’s (Salovey and Grewal, 2005). The history of EI originated from the concept of social intelligence. Thorndike in 1920’s viewed EI through the lens of social intelligence and mentioned that social intelligence is the ability to empathize with others and act wisely in human relationships, as cited in Goleman (1998) but his views were not taken seriously until years later. In 1948, emotional thought was considered to be in the realm of intelligence.
No serious attempt was taken in this field until the mid-years of the 1980’s, when Thorndike’s view was born again in the works of Howard Gardner (Goleman, 1998). Gardner (1983) introduced eight different types of intelligence, one of whiche personal intelligence, made way for the extensive development of EI. 

In 1990, Mayer and Salovey, based on Gardner’s view and emphasis on individual differences, introduced their complete model of EI and defined it thoroughly (Bar-On, 1997).

The concept of EI began to appear in the early 1990s. Little was known about this concept in the general public or academia until it was popularized in 1995 by Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. The book captured the attention of the general public, media, and researchers by claiming that EI can be “as powerful, and at times more powerful, than IQ” in predicting how successful one is in life (Goleman, 1995). Goleman (1998) asserts that EI , not IQ, predicts workplace success.

The concept of EI was analyzed and divided by Mayer and Salovey (1997) into two component terms: intelligence and emotion. According to them, the cognitive sphere intelligece, includes functions as: "human memory, reasoning, judgm, nt and abstract thought" and the emotional aspect includes: emotions themselves, moods, evaluations and other feeling states, including fatigue and energy" (Mayer and Salovey, 1997). However, they emphasize that not everything which connects cognition or emotion is related to EI and propose a definition which describes EI as a criterion that refers to “heightened emotional or mental abilities” (Mayer and Salovey, 1997). Mayer and Salovey (1990) in their earlier work, define EI as follows: “ We define emotional intelligence as a subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions”.

There are a number of different definitions of EI in the ‎emotional intelligence psychological literature, but in general, it is defined as the ability to identify, regulate, ‎and manage emotions in the self and in others. ‎The paramount definition is mentioned in Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences,  EI is defined under the aegis of interpersonal and intrapersonal. As an interpersonal attribute, it is defined as ‘the ability to discern other individuals' feelings, beliefs, and intentions; what motivates them, how they work, how to wocooperativelyely with them, ‎while as intrapersonalcompetence, it is the ‘knowledge of self, including the ability to identify one’s feelings, intentions and motivations’ (Sattler, 2001). Mayer and Salovey (1990) define EI as ‘the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions’. Goleman (1995) defines EI in terms of the ability to love and be loved by ‎friends, ‎partner and family members ;‎ EI is ‘being able to motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think ; to empathize and to hope’.

Goleman (1995) defines the notion as follows: “… being able, for example, to reign in emotional impulse; to read another’s innermost feelings, to handle relationships smoothly- as Aristotle put it, the rare skill "to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way", as cited in Goleman (1995). According to Goleman (1995).‎ The major purpose of EI development is focusing on the following:

• Development self-awareness:s : recognizing feelings and being able to express them, recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses, being able to perceive consequences and being able to see oneself in positive but realistic lights.
• Self-regulation and managing emotions: realizing where certain feelings originate from and being able to cope with them, taking responsibility for actions and mistakes and honoring commitments.
• Developing social skills: the ability to understand other people, leadership skills, ability to find solutions and to establish personal relationships, being able to detect people’s feelings and motivations.
• Developing empathy and understanding others’ reactions and emotions, which includes respecting differences, learning to listen attentively and learning to cooperate or resolve a conflict.

Bar-On (1997) suggested that since EI is an important element in one's life showing and predicting success, there is a dire need to measure, operationalize, and quantify this construct. In fact, finding a way to measure and enhance EI seemed to be inevitable. In the year 1997, Bar-On, using his psychological experiences, made his EQ questionnaire which is an appropriate test to measure EI. In his definition, EI ans a ‎"an array of non-cognitive (emotional and social) capabilities, competencies and skills that ‎influence one's ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressu."s".‎ In other words, he believed that EI is the ability to understand emotions and how such emotions influence interpersonal relationships (Bar-On, 2000).

According to Hein (2005) EI is "the mental ability we are born with which gives our emotional sensitivity and potential for emotional management skills that help us maximize our long term health, happiness and survival".
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2010), (EI) is often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), describes a concept that involves the ability, capacity, skill or (in the case of the trait EI model) a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one’s self, of others and of groups.

Thus, it is clear that the aforementioned definitions show that EI has two dimensions of self that are the intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions; in other words, two relations (a) relation with one’s inner self (internal relation) and (b) relation with others (external relation).

1.2.  Importance of Emotional Intelligence for Learniang a FL

Learning a FL language is not easy, some might call it a hard work, as teachers and parents believe that some individuals leaann a SL/FL easily and ‎some with more difficulty so they always have been concerned about student's success in English learning ans a ‎SL/FL, and social adaptation both in and out of the classroom.‎ However, this task is not ‎restricted only to the talented students‎.

Research supports that working with students' emotions will help every student to succeed in learning‎. Most scholars in the field of L2 learning (Dörnyei, 2005; MacIntyre et al., 2009; Imai, 2010; López, 2011) assert that FL learning is emotionally driven. That is to say, FL learners are prone to experience an array of emotions and feelings during this challenging task and often tedious process of learning an L2.

EFL is spoken only in the classroom and learning it demands articulating the sounds well, the ‎correct syntactic use of the language, and the understandable spoken sentences. All this ‎puts much pressure on students to apply English accuratly, and makes English ‎classes generally s toeem threatthe en environment. Therefore, it is important to care for ‎students' emotions (e.g. motivation, fear, anxiety and shyneswhile learninging English for ‎better achievement.‎ Besides cognition, emotions are important in the learning process, consequently, EI  has its role on academic achievement as it has been cited in a number of recent books and reviews e.g. Marquez et al. (2006); Williford (2000)‎ and Mayer et al. (2004).

‎Gates (2000) illustrates that attending to emotions in the classroom enables both student and instructor to manage feelings and provides useful methods to address difficulties that could deter success. Also, Marquez et al. (200demonstratetes that a person’s emotional life has an impact ‎on academic outcomes.

Managing and monitoring emotions ann a FL learning can serve as a facilitating element as well as a progress marker, as it opens the gate to a much higher level of knowledge; to a much higher level of learning, living and being. Therefore, good teachers need to understand what makes a ‎particular student “tick” emotionally, this can be important in helping individual ‎learning, as in Miyagamwala (2015).

López (2011) argues that cultivating emotions can help overcome problems of demotivation created by fear or anger which can potentially endanger FL achievement. She further asserts that evoking emotions enhances learners’ self-esteem and empathy which, in turn, greatly contribute to students’ attitudes and motivation and facilitate language learning. Likewise, Imai (2010) maintains that emotions not only facilitate, filter, or hinder an individual's inner cognitive functioning; they can also mediate development, more specifically, when learning is based the on interpersonal transaction. MacIntyre (2002) asserts that emotions "just might be the fundamental basis of motivation, one deserving far greater attention in the language learning domain",  as cited in Oz et al. (2015).

In a study conducted by Marquez et al. (2006) the link between academic accomplishments and EI was investigated. The study supported the claim that EI boosted social and academic accomplishments in the given setting, which, in this case, was for high school students. The study showed that there is a positive link between EI and the academic and social development of adolescents.

Pishghadam (2009) examined the role of EI in language learning. His study also compared the EI and students’ scores in language skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing, as well as students’ GPA. The findings and the recommendations indicated that a higher level of EQ was a significant predictor of a higher GPA.

The higher level of EQ was also linked to higher scores in language skills, which significantly depend on EI abilities: reading (which depends on stress management, adaptability and general mood), listening (which was linked to interpersonal skills and stress management), speaking (linked to interpersonal and intrapersonal skills), as well as writing (connected to adaptability and stress management).

Currently, the growing interest toward FL learning, particularly English, has ‎made the ‎factors that could influence the learning effectiveness more important and as it is known that ‎there are many factors ‎influence the SL/FL learning process. However, one of the most important ‎factors in FL ‎learning research is the "affect" (i.e. feeling or emotion) that individuals ‎carry while learning English. Thus, knowing more about the influence of EI on ‎EFL learners is getting more important‎‎. It can be argued that the ‎more an English learner possesses EI, the ‎more successful he/she ‎becomes as research indicates that higher levels of EI are associated ‎with a ‎range of positive outcomes of learning.‎

1.3. Importance of Teachers' Emotional Intelligence

Teaching is a complex process that involves teachers, pupils and subject matter in dynamic interaction. In order to perform this role effectively a teacher must be intelligent in using his/her emotion and satisfied with the profession.

Effective teaching and good learning are the two most important factors for success in ‎education. In education, a teacher conventionally brings two things to the ‎classroom that ‎are valuable to the learners. One is knowledge of the subject matter and the other is ‎knowledge ‎of teaching methods i.e. a teacher’s pedagogy, such as how to explain ‎the ‎content being presented, and how to use the teaching materials and so on. But ‎EI is the ‎unrecognized third component of what a teacher has to offer ‎to learners (Mortiboys, 2005) because learning involves struggle, frustration, thrill or ‎excitement (Claxton, 1999). ‎

An effective teacher needs an understanding of individual and group emotions and behavior ‎to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active ‎engagement and the motivation to learn.

Carson (1996) gathered the responses ‎of former students, who graduated over a period of 26 years, about teachers whom ‎they perceived to be most effective. She found that the single quality the students ‎most frequently associated with effective teachers - more often than brilliance and ‎love of subject and even more often than enthusiasm in the classroom - was a special ‎attitude toward students and relationship with them.
Sinche te teacher's personality, behaviour, interest, communication skills, attitude and emotion influence the students' behaviours, a teacher should understand his own emotions and attributes of students in the teaching/learning process.

A teacher needs awareness of his/her feelings, values, attitudes, an awareness of his/her behavior and how others see them (Palmer, 1998). ‎Consistent and ‎constructive feedback from students, colleagues and school authorities ‎facilitates a ‎teacher in better self-evaluation of his/her abilities. Those with good EI have ‎no hesitation ‎in taking feedback from others and then working upon it to continuously ‎evolve their ‎performances.‎
Teachers with high EI competencies are optimistic, adaptable, collaborative, confident, authoritative, open, approachable and enthusiastic (Mortiboys, 2005). They have better communication skills, better abilities for conflict resolution and problem solving, better impulse and self-control and higher self-esteem ‎(Ming, 2003). With higher level of motivation they are more assertive and more responsible and cope better with stress (Salami, 2010).

Teachers' EI has an influence on the students' behavioral patterns. Teachers with high EI have greater interaction ‎with the students and ‎learning more about them and how they can help them to ‎learn well.‎
Hence, the student-teachers must significantly get the highest priority in any plan of education as they are the teachers of future. If they have high EI, this will positively influence their teaching performance as it may be effective. Consequently, this will affect the way they manage their emotions while training, and the way they deal with their students, colleagues and others.

1.4. Practicums in ELT Teacher-Education Programs in the Faculties of Education at Hodeidah University, Yemen.

The constitution of Yemen guarantees access to education for all citizens. The primary focus of the education policy in Yemen is to eradicate illiteracy, make education compulsory for all citizens, and establish programs for teaching and training. There are both formal and non-formal education opportunities in Yemen. The teacher ‎education programs are within the frame of formal education.

There are different strategic plans in different governmental sectors for developing education in Yemen. The English language teacher-education programs are overseen by the Ministry of Higher Studies and Scientific Research and it is this ministry that prepares strategic plans for programs development. In 2006, a five-year strategic plan was announced. Among the aims of strategic plan were: reforming the curricula of the eight state universities, reframing the ministry itself, developing the teaching-learning process, providing all universities with language labs and electronic-system libraries, and encouraging the translation and publication processes (Ministry of Education, 2008). In ELT teacher-education program, 58 required ‎courses are offered during the four years of study.‎ ‎

ELT Teacher-Education Program in the Faculties of Education at Hodeidah University ‎makes up about 20% of the total time and of the theoretical courses such as teaching ‎methods courses (I&II) and Practicum courses (viz. Microteching and Teaching Practice). In those ‎courses, students have to plan and conduct mini-lessons to their peers. Self-reflection and ‎giving feedback are integral components of the teaching practices. ‎Teaching practicum is of two stages and it starts in the second semester of the third year (stage I) and ends in the first semester of the fourth-year (stage II). Stage I consists of microteaching sessions which assist in bridging the gap between theory and practice.‎ Those sessions precede the real practicum in schools and provide pre-service teacher-trainees wia simulated situationons to put the theories that ‎they have learned into practice and to develop confidence and teaching skills while ‎conducting a mini-lesson to their peers (Cruickshank, 1996). ‎In stage II, student-teachers teach selected lessons from the prescribed governmental teaching materials to real learners in real classes of primary or secondary schools. They are assigned to the nearby primary or secondary schools to complete 12 weeks of teaching practice, as in Muthanna (2011). Within ELT education programs, teaching practicum enhances student-teachers’ instructional experiences and ‎offers valuable opportunities for them to develop effective teaching strategies. Students should get 50 as the minimum mark to pass the teaching practicum while 100 is the full mark of each course in the two stages. 

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Despite many studies showing the usefulness of EI in the teaching/ learning ‎environments, ‎very few researchers have explored whether there is any correlation between EI and teachers' effectiveness either in teacher-‎education, or in the EFL contexts, as Brackett and Katulak (2007) avers that only few studies have been conducted to explore ‎this concept in contexts where English is spoken as a second or foreign Language ‏) ‏ESL/EFL).

In the field of study related to EI and teacher effectiveness, mention can be made of eariler studies such as that one was conducted by Vela (2003) who examined the role of EI in the achievement of the first-year college ‎students and the ‎results showed a positive correlation between academic success and ‎higher EI.‎

Haskett (2003) also found a significant link between specific EI competencies, and behaviors ‎of effective teaching in higher education.‎ Hwang (2007) in his study found that only those faculty members who had superior ‎EI competencies like comfort, empathy and self-esteem, tended to ‎perform better in overall teaching effectiveness, as mentioned in Miyagamwala (2015). A study conducted by Penrose et al. (2007) revealed that EI was ‎positively associated with teacher self-efficacy. Based upon this finding, Penrose et al. emphasized that enhancing teacher’s EI may increase efficacy and subsequently lead to ‎improved student achievement.‎

In the study of Jhaa and Singh (2012) that was conducted examinemin the association of predictor variable EI with the criterion variable teacher effectiveness in ‎a total of 250 faculty members from three medical and four private engineering colleges of Uttar Pradesh, ‎India. It revealed a positive correlation between EI and teacher effectiveness. Also, it was found out that gender differencin on the scores of EI and teacher effectiveness was insignificant. Another study conducted by Adeyemo and Chukwudi (2014) in a sample of ‎300 pre-serviteachers:s : ‎200 from the University of Ibadan and 100 from Osun State Universiis in in South-West Nigeria, revealed that EI is a significant predictor of pre-service teachers' teacher effectiveness.

Lately, Hassan et al. (2015) investigated the relationship between ‎EI and ‎teaching effectiveness among lecturers at Universiti ‎Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, ‎Malaysia. They found that ‎the lecturers who achieved overall EI skills score high on ‎teaching ‎effectiveness. They suggested that EI skills play an important role in ‎teaching ‎effectiveness and increase job performance of the lecturers.‎

Yusuf et al. (2015)investigated the level of EI of the student-teachers in relation to their future productivity in a Nigeria University. 321 student-teachers selected randomly frthe om Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin, Nigeria formed the sample. Emotional Intelligence Scale, viz. EIS was adopted collectlet date. The findings revealed that the EI of student-teachers was high. There was a significant difference between EI of male and female student-teachers. An emotional intelligent student-teacher is likely to a be high achiever and become more productive in future irrespective of gender. A study conducted by Jani (2016) to examine the influence of EI on teaching effectiveness among lecturers who are working at a public university in Selangor (Malaysia). It found out that overall EI skilinfluenceces overall teaching effectiveness (β = 0.620, p < 0.01). This study recommends that EI must be possessed by lecturers the in academic professon, because it is an important element that could lead to lecturers' teaching effectiveness as by acquiring the EI skills, lecturers are able to communicate clearly, lead the teaching and learning session effectively, and buia ld great relationship with students.

In a recent study that was conducted by Asrar-ul-Haq et al. (2017) and investigated the impact of EI on teacher's job performance in the education sector of Pakistan, on a sample consists of 166 teachers from universities in the area of central Punjab -Pakistan, it was found that EI has a significant impact on the teacher's job performance. Also, Bala (2017) conduct a research that aimed at studying teacher effectiveness in relation to EI and studying the correlation between teacher effectiveness and EI. Teacher Effectiveness Scale by Kulsum (2000) and EI Scale by Hyde et al. (200 wasere employed. A sample of 200 secondary school teachers was selected on the basis the of random sampling technique. Results indicated that there is a positive and significant relationship between teacher effectiveness and EI among secondary school teachers and the group of secondary school teachers with high EI is more ‎effective than the group of teachers with average or low EI.

Thus, evidence from the literature demonstrated above that positive correlation has been found between EI and teacher effectiveness. Accordingly, the development of EI is a very important step in the teachers' development as emotionally intelligent teachers have better prospects in terms of effective teaching performance and work commitment.

3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBL

Howevervre, the concept of EI has its significance in the learning process, it is stiunknownown and unpopular among the teacher educators and student-teachers in most of the teacher-education programs in EFL settings, as in Yemen. It essentialant to raise the teachers' awareness of EI and its importance for learning a FL, and to suggest ways how to foster its skills via various teaching practices and language learning classes.

The earlier studies were mostly limited to the role of EI in the learning process and in individuals' success in careers. A gap has been felt to study teacher effectiveness or teaching performance and EI among the student-teachers ‎who build the shape of the teachicadreder in future. Thus, there is a pressing need to closely identify the relationship between EI and teaching ‎performance among the student-teachers in teacher-education programs.‎ Therefore, the present study was ‎conducted on selected student-teachers of the Faculty of Education at Hodeidah ‎University to investigate the relationship between the teachiperformanceace and the ‎student-teachers' EI.‎

4. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The present study aims to determine whether higher teaching performance in the practicum courses was positively correlated to higher EI of the ‎student-teachers, who enrolled in the English Department of the Faculty of Education at Hodeidah University. It also investigates gender differences in the EI of the third and fourth-year student-teachers, and whether those students are aware of ‎‎EI and its influence on learning and teaching English.

5. QUESTIONS OF THE STUDY

1. Are the third afourth-yearear student-teachers of English aware of EI and its significance in teaching/learning processes?‎
2.    What is the level of the third afourth-yearear student-teachers' performance in teaching, as indicated by their end-semester marks in Practicum I & II?
3.    Are the third afourth-yearear student-teachers of English emotionally intelligent? In ‎other words, how is their level of ‏ EI ‏ ‎(high or low), as measured by the Bar-On& ‎Parker ‎60-item EQ-I ?‎
4. Is there any significant correlation between third afourth-yearear student-teachers' ‎good teaching performance, as indicated by their end-semester marks in Practicum I & ‎II, and their level of EI, as measured by the Bar-On& Parker ‎60-item ‎ EQ-I ?‎
5. Is there any difference in the third afourth-yearear student-teachers' EI according to their gender? In other words, which gender has higher EI (males or females)?

6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6.1. Participants

This study centers around a sample of 160 English student-teachers, enrolled in the English Department of the Faculty of Education at Hodeidah University. 60 of them are in the third-year level; 8 are males plus 52 females,  and 100 students are in the fourth-year; 22 of them are males plus 78 females. Collectively, ‎30 are males plus 130 females,‎ out of 160 student-teachers.‎

6.2. Research Instruments

The Bar-On and Parker (2000) ‎60-item ‎ Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I) ‎was used to assess student-teachers’ level of EI. Also, the overall end-semestmarks securedred by student-teachers in the courses of Practicum I & II were used an as indicator of their performance in teaching.

6.2.1. Bar-On & Parker ‎60-Item ‎Emotional Quotient Inventory (60-Item EQ-I)

Emotional Quotient Inventory developed and standardized by Bar-On and Parker (2000) has been used in this study. It depends on Bar-On's previous studies on EQ (1997-2000). It is a self-report measure, aims at measuring EI of the students who are above 17 years in age. This tool comprises 60 statements, employs a 5-point response scale with a textual response format ranging from "very seldom or not true of me" (1) to "very often true of me or true of me" (5). Higher the score indicates highhe emotional quotient. Cronbach’s alpha has been calculated to measure the reliability of this scale. It holds 0.73 and this indicates a good value of reliability. Originally, it was used in Jaeeja and Mansour (2015) but adapted and piloted before using it to collect data in this study.

It takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete this inventory. The individual's responses render a total EQ score as well as scores on the following 6 composite scales and 15 subscales Table 1.

*Indicates negative items with reverse scores.

Several reasons has encouraged the researcher to use this tool in her study. They are as follows:

1. This scale has been designed on the basis of some previous studies conducted by Reuven Bar-On who originally prepared it to measure EQ (1997- 2000).
‎2. It is ‎confirmed that this scale h a distinctive credibility and sincere internal harmony aself-credibility.y .
3. It also ha goodood value reliabilityity as the score of Alpha Cronbach’s coefficient is (0 .73).
4. All methods confirm that this scale ha high psychometric characteristicics. Consequently, it can be trusted in its results if it is applied to a sample of youth whose age is above 17.
5. Many schoolars ‎have used it to measure EI, in a set of studies ‎conducted in various settings and countries such as (UK, USA, Canada, India, Israel, Negiria, South Africa..etc.).

6.2.2. End-semester Marks of the Practicum Courses

The researcher got the final computerized records of the student-teachers' end-semester marks of the Practicum courses I & II, from the Computer Unit in the Faculty of Education. These records include the end-semester marks of the third-year students in the course of 'Microteaching', and those of the fourth-year students in the course of 'Teaching Practice'. According to the names of the students in the records, they were given ‎60-item EQ-I. This helped to compare the final marks in the practicums with the scores of Bar-On & Parker ‎60-item ‎EQ-I.

6.3. Data Collection

Data of this study was collected by the researcher herself. The ‎60-item ‎EQ-I was given to the student-teachers during the class-time. It takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete the inventory. ‎The researcher was available among students to answer all theinquiriesies. Names of those students who weavailableale and responded to the inventory are matched with their names in the end-semester ‎records of their marks in the practicums. This helps the researcher to count the true number of the subjects who participated in this study.

6.4. Data Analysis

‎1)‎ Are the third and fourth year student-teachers of English aware of EI and its ‎significance in teaching/learning processes?‎
At the beginning of the Bar-on& Parker ‎60-item ‎EQ-I, the researcher asked the participants whether they have ever come across the concept of EI and its significance in the learning/teaching processes. The question was as follows:

1. Have you ever come across the concept of 'Emotional Intelligence' and its significance in the learning/teaching processes?

It is clear in Table 2 that majority of the student-teachers haven't come across the concept of EI and its significance in the learning/teaching processes as 90% of them selected the response (a) 'No, I haven't'. Thus, we can say that third and fourth student-teachers don't know what EI is and accordingly they are unaware of isignificanceane in the learning/teaching processes.

2. What is the level of the third afourth-yearear student-teachers' performance in teaching, as indicated by their end-semester marks in Practicum I & II?.

To know the level of the third afourth-yearear student-teachers' performance in teaching as evaluated by the teacher-trainers and indicated by the esemesterter marks, the mean, median and mode were calculated. As it is clear in Table 3 the mean of third-year students' final marks is (87.289), the median is (90.00) and the mode is (90.00), while the mean of fourth-year students' marks is (90.17), the median is (91.00) aa nd mode is (94.00). Statistics indicate that student-teachers have good performance in teaching and their level, in Practicum I & II, is obviously high. One may argue that trainers' evaluation is subjective and this may influence their assessment of students' performance, however, the trainers' evaluation isn't arbitrary and depends on a set of criteria such as the trainees' lesson planning, use of teaching methods, English language (i.e. pronunciation, grammar, spelling), presentation of the language, communication strategies & interaction with students and managerial skills.  

3. Are the third afourth-yearear student-teachers of English emotionally intelligent? In other words, how is their level of EI (high or low), as measured by the Bar-On& Parker ‎60-item EQ-I?‎.

To know whether the student-teachers have EI or not, one sample t-test was used. As Table 4 displays that t-test score is (25.136) with (0.001) significance and (77) difference. Statistics indicate that students do have EI. The mean of tstudentsets' scores in ‎60-item ‎ EQ-I was calculated in order to identify the level of the students' EI. It scores (171.705) with (17.743) standard deviation. Thus, it is clear that student-teachers' level of is,s , to some extent, high.

4. Is there any significant correlation between third afourth-yearear student-teachers' good teaching performance, as indicated by their end-semester marks in Practicum I & II, and their level of EI, as measured by the Bar-On& Parker ‎60-item ‎ EQ-I?.

To know whether there is any significant relationship between third afourth-yearear student-teachers' good teaching performance and their EI, Pearson correlation coefficient was applied. As it is shown in Table 5, r scores ‏(0.009)‏ with (.942)  2-tailed significance for third-year students in Practicum I while it scores ‏(0.056-)‏ ‎ with (.628) 2-tailed significance for fourth-year students in Practicum II. Results are less than 0.05 level ‎( r > 0.05) ‎and this indicates that the correlations between the third afourth-yearear student-teachers' good teaching performance and their EI are insignificant. Thus, EI isn't a significant predictor of the third and fourth-year student-teachers' ‎good ‎performance in teaching‎.‎

5. Is there any difference in the third afourth-yearear student-teachers' EI according to their gender? In other words, which gender has higher EI (males or females)?.

Means of the males and females' scores of EI were calculated. Table 6 displays that mean of males' EI scores is (171.55) with (10.29) standard deviation while the mean of females' EI scores is (166.55) with (18.15) standard deviation. These statistics indicate that males have higher level of EI than females. However, the gender difference in EI of males and females is so simple and not of great significance.

To detect heterogeneity of variance between the EI of the female and male students, Levene's test for two independent groups was applied. As it is clear in Table 7,  the value of Levene's test is (2.686) with (0.105) significance and (5.00) mean difference. Thestatisticsics support those in Table 6 and indicate that the difference between the EI of the males and females ‎isn't of great significance.

7. FINDINGS

The present study has reached the following findings;

1. Almost, 90 % English student-teachers (viz. the third afourth-yearear students) ‎don't know what EI is and unaware of its significance in the learning and teaching processes.
2. According to the teacher-trainers' evaluation as indicated by the end-semester marks in Practicum I & II, the teaching performance of the third and fourth year student-teachers is good and they have high level in the practicums as the mean of the third-year students in Practicum I is ‎(87.2893)‎ while the mean of the fourth-year students in Practicum II is (90.17).
3. Student-teachers' EI was measured by Bar-on&Parker ‎60-item EQ-I‎ and their scores indicate that they do have EI, and the level of their EI is, to some extent, high.‎
4. The correlation between the third afourth-yearear student-teachers' good ‎performance in teaching and their EI is found insignificant. Thus,  EI isn't a significant predictor of the student-teachers' good ‎performance in teaching ‎.
5. The gender difference in the third afourth-yearear student-teachers' EI‎ is so simple and not of great significance as its ratio is ‎(2.68) with (0.105) significance and (5.00) mean difference‎ as measured by Levene's Test for Equality of Variances.

These findings are hoped to be useful for both pre- ain-serviceice teachers to compete emotionally in different situations and achieve the teaching/learning goals as desired. They obviously reflect the need for preparing instructional ‎material, for ‎teacher-education programmes, especially at the ‎last two years of the student-teachers' ‎training,‎ in which teaching strategies for EI development are taught.  ‎

8. DISCUSSION

In the current study, it was found that English student-teachers (namely, the third and fourth year students) do have EI and the level of their EI is to soextentten high, ‎as measured by Bar-On&Parker ‎60-item EQ-I and the level of their teachiperformanceace in Practicum I & II is high as well, however, their EI isn't a significant predictor of their good performance in teaching. This finding isn't aligned with the finding reached by some prior studies, e.g. Penrose et al. (2007)‎; Adeyemo and Chukwudi (2014); Yusuf et al. (2015) and Bala (2017)that there is a significant and positive correlation between EI and teacher effectiveness. While the finding that gender difference in the student-teachers' EI scores is so simple and not of gresignificancence, is consistent with the finding of some studies such as Jhaa and Singh (2012). ‎

9. CONCLUSION

According to this study, student-teachers in teacher-education programs should be made aware of EI and its influence in teaching/learning processes as the knowledge of EI will be reflected in their teaching and helps in improving their performance.

Despite the third and fourth year student-teachers of the English Department, in the Faculty of Education at Hodeidah University, are found emotionally intelligent, and do have good performance in teaching, their EI and good teaching performance are not significantly correlated.

However, most of the findings of this study are not found consistent with those of earlier studies, as it was expected, one can't deny the importance of EI for the trainees and the ‎trainers, as well. ‎Their EI should be nurtured and developed as it has an influence on the behavior of their students in future. In Yemen,  EI training must be made a part of ‎ teacher-education programs.

10. RECOMMENDATIONS & IMPLICATIONS

A student-teacher needs to be aware of his/her feelings, values, behavior and how others see them. Such awareness urges him/her to get constant feedback from students, colleagues and school authorities thfacilitatetes a better self-evaluation of his/her abilities. Those with good EI have no hesitation in taking feedback from others and then working upon it to continuously improve their performance.

Student-teachers' awareness of EI can be raised by using various teaching methods and strategies in which they learn how to teach students in a more convenient way and how to face stressful situations while teaching in schools. For example, their  EI can simply be enhanced by involving them in collective tasks and activities, by concentrating on having greater interaction and discussions with them and learning more about them; their dis/likes, interests and the difficulties they face while teaching.

Generally, teacher-training should be made an aid for the student-teachers in which they are taught how to exercise control over their emotions and act in suitable ways raththanhat to react in a negative one. At the university, EI training courses are badly needed to give knowledge relating to the EI roles differentnet situations and contexts, including which kind of problems they might encounter in the schools and how they can cope with them.

Therefore, EI training must be made a part of teacher-training as the inclusion of such training in the curriculum of teacher-education programs will be efficacious in raising EI and reducing emotional and behavioral problems which can interfere with the teaching process. Such EI training should not only depend on adding a new component in the curriculum but should also concentrate on its quality and focus on more interaction between teachers and the EI students.

Howevethe r, inclusion of a component in the curriculum or in a syllabus design in a formal educational setting is usually perceived as difficult, unattainable or unrealistic. On the other hand, it is possible and feasible to incorporate teaching practices, tasks or activities within the framework ohe tf teacher-education program which will focus on the development of EI. For example, it is necessary to create various projects, in order to give student-teachers more information about burnout and how they can overcome it ato understand how they can deal with the problems of the EI students at school.

Also, the findings of this study hoped to be of remarkable help to in-service school teachers of English who are ‎busy to present the language. If one accepts that it is possible to teach EI and enhance it Elias et al. (1997) they will then‎ be able to teach it to their learners who possess a low level of EI. ‎The instruction of EI will enable weak learners to improve their ‎comprehension and production of emotions. English teachers are expected to thoughtfully utilize an ‎education curriculum to promote and reinforce EI so that they can expand the relevant skills (such as understanding ‎personal feelings and others', sympathizing with others and controlling stresses).
Moreover,‎ English textbooks compilers ought to benefit from the techniques and methods which ‎highlight and signify EI. ‎Some of the effective techniques to raise EI are as follows: ‎classroom discussions, emotional self-revelation, designing ‎questionnaires, reading texts of psychology and listening to soft music, as in Fahim and Pishghadam (2007).

Furthermore, teacher educators should be aware of EI and its role in the learning/teaching processes, therefore, they should be trained in EI skills and basic facilities should be provided for ‎the same. ‎They should bear in minds that using EI skills in teaching student-teachers and will consequently enhance EI competencies of their students.

11. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Endless thanks should first go to my husband for his love and encouragement and to my friend Dr.Ikhlas Al-Janaby who helped in analyzing the data of this study‎. I'm also thankful to all English student-teachers who participated in this study.

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