EFL Teachers

The hidden constructs underlying teachers’ professional identity at a given point of teaching life are presumed to account for their practical qualities. The current study explored the cognitive skills of three groups of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers with scant, moderate, and considerable teaching experience. To this end, a convenience sample, including 382 Iranian EFL teachers from 660 branches of five countrywide English language institutions, participated in a sequential explanatory mixed-method study. In the quantitative phase, a multivariate approach to comparison was adopted, and the three groups were compared in terms of a linear combination of nine subscales representing teachers’ pedagogical knowledge base. As shown by the results, the between-group differences in four of the nine sub-domains yielded a significant between-group gap in the overall level of teacher cognition. These differentiating knowledge areas included knowledge of learning, teaching, classroom management, and professional self. A qualitative follow-up phase was then launched in which a 95-member sample of the participants attended a retrospective interview to delve deeply into the nature of the four differentiating subdomains. The qualitative results divulged the processes and reasons underlying the four differentiating knowledge areas. The findings may have new insights into the exact nature of Iranian EFL teachers’ intellectual peculiarities at different stages of a teaching career.

The present study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between teachers’ sense of burnout and students’ language achievement in their online classes. To this end, 40 male and female English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and 100 EFL learners were randomly selected from both public schools and private language institutes. The Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and MBI-ES questionnaire were employed as the instruments of the present study. The researcher distributed MBI-ES questionnaire among the teacher participants and also used OPT test and gave it to 100 students of each class in order to measure their achievement and their language performance. The present study used Pearson correlation in order to find the correlation between the aforementioned variables. Then, after collecting the data about the two above-mentioned variables, the results revealed that there is no significant relationship between teachers’ sense of burnout and students’ language achievement during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Teacher factors encompass the teachers’ cognitive and affective characteristics that are likely to affect their instructional efficacy. Language teacher immunity is one of the affective factors that determines the teachers’ psychological well-being in their settings. The present study strived to itemize the factors in novice and experienced EFL instructors’ teacher immunity philosophy. To this end, first, the researchers used convenience sampling for selecting 62 EFL teachers including 38 novice and 24 experienced teachers at ten prominent language institutes in Tabriz (Iran) as the participants. Second, they conducted 30-minute interviews with the participants for determining the factors that influenced their TI philosophy using a researcher-developed semi-structured interview protocol. Lastly, they used thematic analysis in order to particularize the main factors in their teacher immunity philosophy. The findings of the study indicated that while the novice teachers considered external support as the main factor in their philosophy, the experienced teachers regarded their internal strength as the decisive factor that influenced their teacher immunity philosophy. The findings may have practical implications for teacher education courses in foreign language contexts.

Professional learning community (PLC) has been a generally recognized model for promoting teacher development, including EFL teachers’ writing assessment literacy, intercultural teaching competence, digital literacy, and so on. However, research on whether the changes in beliefs of teachers engaging in a PLC affects their teaching competence is relatively scant. To fill this gap, the present study investigated the extent to which a PLC with intercultural components changed EFL teachers’ beliefs in intercultural teaching, which in turn affected their intercultural teaching competence. In doing so, adopting an exploratory sequential method, qualitative data from teachers and a questionnaire from students were collected and analyzed through NVIVO 12 and SPSS 26.0. The data analyses revealed significant changes in the EFL teachers’ knowledge construction, motivation inspired by peer interaction, and reflection on intercultural learning and teaching practices. These changes led to the transformations in their beliefs and practices concerning intercultural instruction, although individual orientations were observed in their pedagogical approaches. Furthermore, the study’s findings were supported by evidence of corresponding changes in students’ learning outcomes in the development of intercultural competence. The study highlights the significance of PLCs in enhancing EFL teachers’ intercultural teaching competence and their professional development.

The current study investigates the feasibility of implementing EFL teachers' Individual Development Planning at Iranian public schools. It further explores the underlying reasons for the (imp) possibility of practicing this program and seeks the teachers' suggestions to improve the schools' condition. To this end, data were collected from 180 EFL teachers using a researcher-made questionnaire and a follow-up semi-structured interview. The results of one-sample t-tests revealed a slight possibility following the interviews which indicated 14 underlying reasons for the insufficient grounds at public schools. Participating teachers also argued that equipping a room with necessary technological tools, allocating monetary resources, assigning specific teachers time to practice IDP, taking advantage of head teachers, changing the school administration delegation, and performing advocating cultural acts can provide a ground for IDP implementation. The findings demonstrate the necessity of creating changes by policymakers, school principals, and EFL teachers so that they can all benefit from this program.

Teachers, as the center of the class, can make positive changes in their students' lives; they should be equipped with skills that will allow them to do their jobs effectively. The inclusion of productive immunity (i.e., the procedures that instructors go through to devise protective mechanisms against the effects of undesirable disruptions that might potentially endanger their desire to instruct) as one of these skills gives educators the capability to analyze and immunize their own performance. In light of this significance, it is of the utmost importance to reveal teacher productive immunity and its correlates, particularly in EFL (English as a foreign language) contexts. Regardless, there is a dearth of studies on the possible interplay among teacher immunity, professional identity, anger, grit tendencies, and psychological well-being in Iranian EFL settings. Therefore, the present study aimed to ascertain whether there was a statistically significant connection between the professional identity, anger, grit tendencies, and psychological well-being of Iranian EFL instructors and their immunity. A total number of 394 EFL teachers teaching at public schools (Khorasan Razavi and Khuzestan, Iran) took part in this analysis. The Language Teacher Immunity Instrument (LTII), The Teacher's Professional Identity Scale (TPIS), the L2-teacher Grit Scale (L2TGS), The Teacher Anger Scale (TAS), and The Psychological Well-Being at Work (PWBW) were administered electronically to respondents. The predictive power of teacher immunity was found in data analysis via Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings stress the need of including reflective practices, emotional control strategies, and immune system strengthening in teacher preparation programs.

Teachers have the power to change their students' lives for the better, therefore teachers should be armed with some skills to be effective. Reflective teaching as one of these skills empowers teachers to observe and evaluate themselves. Although research on reflective teaching has a long tradition, little is known about whether it could be a significant predictor of language teacher immunity and work motivation as two important factors determining the success or failure of teachers, particularly in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Thus, the present study aimed at examining the possible association among reflective teaching, language teacher immunity, and work motivation through path analysis. To this end, English Language Teacher Reflective Inventory (ELTRI), Language Teacher Immunity Instrument (LTII), and Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS) were administered to 320 Iranian EFL teachers. Data analysis revealed that teachers with higher reflective teaching practices are more immunized and motivated. Moreover, the significant role of language teacher immunity on work motivation was discovered. The implications of the present study may shed new light on the significance of incorporating reflective approach into teacher development programs as a core subject.

Autonomous learning is a study skill that may be challenging not only to learners with a dependent learning style but also to teachers used to teacher-oriented methodology. However, the considerable shift in the teaching and learning paradigm especially after the 2020 pandemic has made autonomous learning a must-gain skill. This research aimed to explore EFL teachers' perceptions of learner autonomy (LA), their actual practices, and the challenges of LA promotion at Omani secondary schools. It also investigated possible associations between teachers' beliefs about promoting LA and their academic level, gender, and years of experience. Within a convergent mixed-method parallel design, thirty Omani EFL school teachers were selected through convenience sampling to participate in the study. The instruments included teachers’ perceptions questionnaire, classroom observation data, and interviews with teachers. Frequency counts, ordinal regression analysis, and grounded theory were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data. The results revealed that although EFL teachers at Omani secondary schools practice some strategies that promote learner autonomy, these practices are not intentionally and exclusively implemented for LA purposes. Moreover, the results showed some discrepancies between teachers’ beliefs and their actual practices of LA due to some constraints and challenges such as the intensive English curriculum, teachers being overloaded with numerous school tasks besides teaching, learners' limited exposure to English outside the classroom, and teachers' inadequate professional background in the concept, principles, and practices of learner autonomy. No significant association was found between the teachers' general beliefs about LA and their particulars. It may be argued that the concept of autonomous learning and strategies to promote LA should be included as a core component of teacher training programs. By the same token, more self-study and self-assessment practices may be added to the English course materials in schools to help learners develop this essential skill for their higher education.

Teacher autonomy (TA), including its conceptualization and multidimensionality, has received increasing attention in the past two decades. Notwithstanding many attempts to measure TA, teachers’ capacity for self-directed professional action (CSDPA) has remained under-researched. To address this gap, this article delved into the status of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ CSDPA by developing and validating a questionnaire based on TA literature and semi-structured interviews with teachers. Employing exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the factor structures of 300 Iranian EFL   teachers’ responses were examined in terms of their CSDPA. The analysis results yielded five factors regarding teachers’ CSDPA, including their capacities for self-directed instructional and curricular activities, self-directed institutional actions, self-directed teacher learning activities, self-directed assessment and collegial negotiation activities, and self-directed relational and ethical actions. The research outcomes suggest implications for language teachers, institute principals, and teacher educators to attend to teachers’ autonomy as a key feature of their professional action.

Pedagogical competence plays a crucial role in teachers’ qualifications in different contexts. Teachers’ pedagogical competence in teaching different language skills has a great influence on students’ achievement. As a result, having enough information about teachers’ pedagogical competence may determine the quality and efficacy of teaching. Therefore, the present study was an attempt to examine Iranian EFL teachers’ perception of their levels of pedagogical competence in English language teaching. A mixed methods design was utilized for data collocation. The data were collected from 375 EFL teachers in the quantitative and qualitative phases, respectively. The participants were selected through convenience sampling among those who were teaching English at different institutes (N=125), high schools (N=125), and universities (N=125) in Tehran and Khuzestan, Iran. In order to reach the purposes of the current research, the participants were required to fill out one questionnaire, namely English language teachers’ pedagogical competence, and one interview. To analyze the raw data, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Findings revealed that there were not any significant differences among the high school, language institute, and university EFL teachers’ overall means of pedagogical competence. The results of the current study may be beneficial to language institute administrators, EFL teachers, teacher trainers, and materials developers.

This study, contrary to the conventional research on PCK, which attempted to enhance the teachers’ PCK and single out its driving factors, aims to use PCK as an outcome-based lens for evaluating Iranian EFL teachers’ programs. To this end, two current EFL teacher-education programs (i.e., State and Islamic Azad universities on the one hand and Farhnagian Teacher Education University on the other), each with its specific approach to developing EFL teachers’ PCK, were selected. Along with administering a glocally developed and validated PCK questionnaire among 263 student-teachers, this study ran a one-on-one semi-structured interview with 80 student-teachers to capture a crystal-clear evaluation of the outcomes the programs were to cultivate. The results of running qualitative and MANOVA analysis methods showed the student-teachers trained in the program with a more finely-tuned PCK instruction, which was accompanied by four continuous courses of teaching internship, were more cognizant of the role of PCK in their professional development and enjoyed a statistically significant index of developed PCK. Although there existed some similarities between these programs in terms of reviewing high school English course books, evaluation and assessment, and applying technology in teaching English, student-teachers in both programs were not completely aware of different components of PCK, including curriculum design and materials development, language teachers’ technological knowledge, and professional development. The results imply that content knowledge, PCK, and internship should be fettered together. The findings suggest that EFL teachers’ PCK can be applied as an effective lens for delving deeply into teacher training programs.

The current study aimed to investigate EFL teachers’ use of different corrective feedback types in face-to-face and online classes across levels of proficiency, as well as their perceptions of the use of corrective feedback (CF) in their classrooms. To this end, six teachers (three face-to-face and three online) from two language schools were selected as the participants based on convenience sampling. It’s worth noting that in terms of design, the current investigation qualifies as a case study. In an attempt to triangulate data collection, both observation and interview were used as the instruments for data collection. In so doing, each teacher’s class was observed for two sessions, and the interaction between learners and each teacher was audio-recorded. Furthermore, structured interviews were conducted with the participants following observations. The study was guided by Lyster and Ranta’s (1997) and Sheen’s (2011) framework for CF types. As the findings revealed, recast was the most commonly used CF type in elementary and intermediate levels in both classroom modes, as well as the advanced face-to-face class, with the only exception being the advanced online class in which elicitation featured as the most preferred feedback type. Furthermore, the results of the interview data revealed that all teachers had positive perceptions of using CF in EFL classrooms. The findings offer some fruitful implications for EFL teachers who are engaged with face-to-face or online modes of instruction, particularly as they highlight the importance of offering more explicit CF types to bring about more noticing and uptake.

The present study investigated whether individual or collective reflective journals could lead to teachers’ professional development and professional identity (re)construction. To this end, 30 Iranian EFL teachers were selected through convenience sampling. The participants wrote pre-workshop reflective journals individually and collectively and attended a reflective consciousness-raising workshop for eight sessions. The participants were informed about the major tenets of reflection, professional development, and professional identity (re)construction in the workshop. Afterward, they wrote post-workshop reflective journals again individually and collectively. The participants sat follow-up interviews for the researchers to find out which kinds of journals better helped them develop professionally and (re)construct their professional identity. The findings showed that individual reflective journals and collective reflective journals contributed to teachers’ professional development and professional identity (re)construction respectively. The findings might imply that stakeholders involved that is EFL education policymakers, curriculum developers, and syllabus designers hold interactive workshops for pre-service and in-service teachers on reflective journal writing which might lead to both EFL teachers’ professional development and identity (re)construction. Moreover, it is recommended that the decision-makers and senior managers develop systematic checklists addressing those influential factors found in the present study to contribute to teachers’ professional development and professional identity construction.

In tandem with communicative approaches to language teaching, there is a growing understanding in SLA that assessment needs to be integrated into language learning. This contention has led to the development of the Learning-Oriented Assessment (LOA) approach for assessing language skills and aspects in language classrooms. To our knowledge, interventionist studies to improve EFL teachers' LOA-based assessment practices are in their infancy. The present study examined Iranian EFL teachers' perspectives on LOA in language teaching. To this end, the researchers selected 44 EFL teachers in four language institutes in Urmia (Iran) and provided them with tailor-made LOA-based training in 12 sessions for one month. The teachers were informed that LOA procedures are to be adopted and used in their classes. During the following semester, the researchers observed the participants' classes periodically and provided them with comments on their LOA procedures. Following the course, interviews were held with the participants to probe into their perspectives on LOA. Drawing upon thematic analysis, the researchers analyzed the recordings to develop a model for the participants' perspectives on LOA procedures. Development of teacher noticing skills in LOA procedure, its beneficial impact on language learning vis-à-vis traditional testing procedures, implementation challenges, widespread use at all proficiency levels, and the need to develop user-friendly LOA-compatible software and applications constituted the major themes based on the interview data. The findings demonstrate that the participants harbored favorable views on LOA and regarded it to be more efficacious than traditional testing procedures.

While the potential of Dynamic Assessment (DA) and its variants (Computerized Dynamic Assessment (CDA) and Group Dynamic Assessment (GDA)) for EFL classrooms has been recognized, there is a lack of research on its practical implementation compared to the well-established field of Summative Assessment (SA). Thus, the objective of this qualitative study was to investigate the evolving perspectives of EFL teachers concerning the integration of DA and SA within their classrooms. To achieve this, 50 EFL teachers in Iran were recruited through convenience sampling to complete an online open-ended questionnaire. The primary purpose was to explore their familiarity with, perceptions of practicality for, and preferences regarding DA and SA. Additionally, a sub-group of volunteer participants was requested to provide narratives detailing their real-world classroom experiences using DA and SA. Content and thematic analysis of the responses revealed that the majority of participants were familiar with DA, with the most commonly employed type being GDA. While DA was predominantly viewed as a form of feedback, SA was still seen as a more formal means of classroom assessment. Consequently, it is highly recommended that EFL teachers exploit the advantages of both assessment approaches in order to ensure more equitable decisions concerning students' abilities.

This study strived to specify and particularize Iranian medical field specialists and EFL teachers’ predominant and overriding textual interventions, which fall within the ambit of convenience editing. To this end, we required 20 field specialists and 20 EFL instructors to edit the unedited versions of 80 published medical research articles in a way that rendered them apt for publication in quality medical journals. We categorized the obtained data of the edited articles using an editing strategy framework that distinguished four editing micro-strategies and five macro-strategies. The findings revealed that medical specialists and EFL teachers’ micro-editing strategies outnumbered their macro-editing ones. Furthermore, there were significant differences between the editing micro-strategy uses of the above-mentioned groups of the participants. The results highlighted the need for a synergic collaboration between the medical field specialists and the EFL teachers to ameliorate medical articles’ formal, stylistic, and genre-related features and to expedite their publication process. 

The primary objective of this research was to explore how the mindsets and perseverance of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Iran impact their well-being. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), data from 375 EFL teachers, selected through convenience sampling, were analyzed. The results revealed a direct and positive correlation between a teacher's growth mindset and their well-being. Additionally, the study found that the relationship between a teacher's growth mindset and well-being was influenced by their level of grit. These findings suggest that educators can significantly contribute to fostering growth mindsets and perseverance among EFL teachers, thus improving their well-being. Ultimately, this research underscores the importance of these teacher characteristics in enhancing the well-being of EFL instructors and offers practical guidance for educators aiming to support them.