Survival in today’s competitive marketplace requires constant attentions to acquiring, motivating and satisfying professional employees, as they are the cornerstone of customer satisfaction and loyalty. The proliferation of educational institutions in all areas of learning has made the education and training sector of the economy profitable and highly competitive. The success of these centers of learning depends to a large extent on the knowledge, experience and professionalism of their teaching staff. This study examines the relationship between job characteristics model, satisfaction and internal motivation, using the moderating role of growth need strength on teachers of English Language Institutes in Mashhad, a large city in the northeast of Iran. A questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of English language teachers working at English language Institutes. Statistical tests were performed on a total of 128 usable questionnaires. The findings suggest that critical psychological state variables have mediating role in personal/work outcomes (satisfaction, motivation) and core job dimensions relationships with the moderating role of growth need strength. While growth need strength has a direct impact on critical psychological states and core job dimensions, it has an opposite effect on personal/work outcomes and critical psychological states.

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