Abstract:This quantitative study tested possible relationships between instructors’ immediacy behaviors and student motivation. The participants were 103 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory mathematics classes at a community college located in the Southwestern United States. Data from surveys measuring instructor’s verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors and student motivation were correlated using a linear regression. The results indicate that instructors’ verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors are positively related to student motivation and account for 7.9% of the variance for student motivation. These results have implications for instructors in these classes who may be advised to display more positive immediacy behaviors. Further studies will advance this line of investigation by providing comparative information on student motivation at liberal arts colleges and at major research universities.

Key words: Student motivation; Verbal immediacy; Nonverbal immediacy; Community college mathematics students