Teachers in Weld Elghalaba: An Appraisal theory based analysis of teacher-student relationships

Media has become an indispensable part of society. People spend hours watching television and browsing phones. The influence media has on viewers is ongoing and constant. Research places emphasis on the influence media has on viewers, especially films and television drama. Television drama could be very engaging to the extent that they shape the thinking, attitude and beliefs of the audience. Many professions have been the center of attention in films and television drama including teachers. However, the portrayal of teachers in the media has not been widely researched. Hence, the purpose of this research is to examine the portrayal of teachers by analyzing their verbal behaviors using Martin and White’s appraisal model with the exception of the appreciation domain of appraisal. The data selected includes Weld Elghalaba (2019), an Egyptian television series. The series follows the protagonist (Eissa) who is going through difficult times and living conditions. To earn more money, Eissa takes on the job of a history teacher by day and a taxi driver by night. Yet, he resorts to drug dealing when working two jobs does not provide enough money to support his family. The verbal behaviors of teachers are examined in terms of the presence of Martin and white’s (2005) three domains of appraisal: attitude, engagement and graduation in addition to the frequency count of these three domains. The analysis shows that teachers in the television series are portrayed both positively and negatively. Teachers as presented as dedicated individuals who are not afraid to show satisfaction towards the answers provided by students. Teachers are also presented as individuals who care about teaching their students moral lessons. However, they often disagreewith statement provided by students or deny certain requests. Findings may provide insight to teachers and educational institutions on the importance of being prepared for the positive and negative stereotypes and pre-conceived ideas students may develop as a result to media exposure.