مطالب

Though English Language Teacher Education Programs (ELTEPs) in Yemen offer two technology-related courses for EFL student teachers, they have not rendered a course for CALL as part of their curricula. Therefore, a pioneering initiative of Computer Assisted Language Learning Project (CALLP) was implemented to expose EFL student teachers to CALL concepts and skills. This quasi-experimental study aimed at examining the effect of CALLP on student teachers’ perceived self-efficacy using the EFL student teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)-for-EFL self-efficacy survey (known as TPACK-EFL). The study employed a one-group pre-test-post-test design and a mixed-method approach for collecting data from a sample of 400 EFL student teachers in four public universities across the country. The findings revealed that student teachers’ perceived TPACK self-efficacy significantly increased as a result of CALLP. Furthermore, the participants believed that the technology-related courses offered in their ELTEPs were not enough to prepare them well to use CALL in EFL instruction. Therefore, it was recommended that a CALL course should be integrated into ELTEPs to enhance student teachers’ CALL competency and to make them fit to harness CALL while teaching in the digital era.

For years, effective classroom management and the constraints which affect teachers’ classroom management have been of much concern to both teachers and teacher educators. Despite such paramount importance, this issue has been far less explored in general and the Iranian EFL context in particular. Therefore, the current study employed a phenomenological inquiry to delve into the constraints which set hurdles in the way of effective classroom management. To that end, 20 Iranian EFL teachers from different branches of the same English Language Institute were selected through purposive sampling and interviewed in person to extract thick and in-depth data. The interviews then were transcribed verbatim and their content was inductively analyzed to let frequent themes emerge. Results of the analysis indicated that four major themes, namely ‘institute-related’, ‘learner-related’, ‘teacher-related’, and ‘social-cultural differences’ frequently manifested. It should be noted that each main theme also comprised several sub-themes. Some stakeholders such as teachers and teacher educators could benefit from the findings to promote the quality of EFL teachers’ classroom management.

The current study investigated the Iranian Teaching English as a Foreign language (TEFL) Ph.D. candidates’ (TPCs) professional identity development during the TEFL Ph.D. education program (TPEP). Applying a mixed-method design, the current study used two kinds of instruments: a four-point, Likert-scale, a researcher-made questionnaire on TPCs’ professional identity development, and the semi-structured interviews. First, the survey was mailed to 80 university instructors. Then, to yield an in-depth understanding of how TPCs develop their professional identity, TPCs with more than 10 years of intensive experience were asked to participate in the interview.  Following the quantitative data analysis, the qualitative data obtained through semi-structured interviews were analyzed using descriptive qualitative content analysis techniques. The results indicated that the majority of the participants believed that TPEP caused them to gain social legitimation from their community of practice, to get socialized to their global community, and raised their social status; therefore, they believed that not only professional but also personal development took place. Furthermore, it developed their pedagogical knowledge; however, it created small changes in the likelihood of TPCs’ career advancement and led to a small increase in their job satisfaction and security. The findings of the study can have some pedagogical implications for teacher education programs in that they can be used to emphasize their strengths, eliminate their weaknesses, and incorporate ample opportunities for TPCs’ reflection on their current and aspiring professional identities and improve their performance in classes.