International Journal of Research in English Education

This study investigates EFL teachers’ perceptions of ChatGPT as a tool for English language instruction, focusing on its perceived benefits, challenges, and pedagogical implications. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten EFL teachers currently working in different language-related educational centers in Iran. Participants represented diverse educational contexts, including universities, public schools, and private language centers. Thematic analysis of the interview data revealed that while teachers generally expressed positive attitudes toward ChatGPT, recognizing its flexibility, time-saving capabilities, and potential to enhance students’ writing skills and learner autonomy, they also voiced concerns regarding overreliance, inaccuracies, ethical challenges related to academic dishonesty, and limitations in supporting listening and speaking skills. The findings suggest that ChatGPT is viewed as a supplementary educational tool rather than a replacement for traditional pedagogy. Teachers emphasized the necessity of critical supervision, ethical guidelines, and professional development to ensure effective and responsible integration of AI technologies in EFL instruction. This study contributes to the growing body of research on AI integration in education, offering practical insights for teachers, policymakers, and researchers seeking to harness the potential of AI in language learning while mitigating its challenges.

In recent decades, the importance of applying cultural dimension into language pedagogy has received extensive emphasis worldwide. The problem arises when EFL teachers are afraid of referring to cultural notions in their classes just because it seems that they lack sufficient cultural knowledge of the target language. This research study intended to inspect Iranian EFL teachers’ intercultural awareness by evaluating their opinions about the importance of cultural teaching. Sercu et al. (2005) adopted questionnaire was used to gather the anticipated data. The participants were comprised of 102 teachers who were provided with questionnaires in person using hard copies. An interview was conducted as well with participants in order to explore the difficulties they encounter in the way of teaching culture. the collected data were analyzed via statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software. Content analysis was used for analyzing the qualitative data gathered from interview. The results showed that Iranian EFL teachers have favorable opinions about intercultural learning. They were unwilling to implement the intercultural approach to their teaching method because of time constraints, lack of suitable materials, and guidelines. Several implications are emergent from the findings including suggestions for educational policy-makers, material designers, language institutes, and teacher training programs.

Despite the substantial significance of communicative goals in EFL, pragmatic aspects of instruction that are geared towards the learners’ appropriacy still remain less than adequately addressed. Such a niche offers potentials for and stimulates a proliferating body of research. This study aims at examining the effectiveness of explicit vs. implicit pragmatic instruction regarding language performance as output. For the purpose of the study, 120 (60 male and 60 female) EFL learners took part in this project. Error Recognition Tests (ERTs), Discourse Completion Tests (DCTs), role-play, and writing assessments were used for gauging pragmatic output. Two separate 3×2 mixed between-within-subjects factorial ANOVAs were conducted to examine the effects of instruction type, proficiency level, and time (treatment) on pragmatic acquisition. Findings significantly support (a) the overall benefit of pragmatic instruction, (b) the effect of both implicit and explicit instructions with explicit type being more highly influential, (c) the effect of proficiency, and (d) the interaction effect of proficiency and pragmatic instruction on pragmatic language L2 use. Findings bear implications for enriching teaching and learning contexts, deepening theoretical concerns, improving pedagogical practice, and implementing communicative syllabus design. Keywords:

Pragmatic competence, a fundamental component of language ability, involves understanding a speaker’s intended meaning through various communicative functions. Among these functions, speech acts such as refusals and complaints play a crucial role in everyday interactions, allowing interlocutors to convey information and perform social actions. This study examines the production of refusal and complaint speech acts by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, addressing a gap in previous research that has often overlooked the potential influence of learners’ language proficiency, social status, gender, and mother tongue. Through purposive sampling, 120 participants were selected to respond to 10 role-play scenarios designed to elicit refusals and complaints. The data were analyzed qualitatively to identify patterns in speech act production. The findings reveal that most participants favored indirect strategies when expressing refusals and complaints. Moreover, the study found no significant effects of language proficiency, sociocultural background, mother tongue, or gender on how EFL learners produce these speech acts. These results contribute to a better understanding of pragmatic competence in EFL contexts and suggest that these sociolinguistic factors may have less impact on refusal and complaint strategies than previously assumed.

This study scrutinized the probable significant relationships among Iranian EFL learners’ academic self-efficacy, metacognitive reading strategies, and reading comprehension test performance. Relevantly, the significant predicting roles of the learners’ metacognitive reading strategies as well as academic self-efficacy for reading achievement were statistically investigated, increasing the depth of the study. Furthermore, the probable significant differences between the learners’ academic self-efficacy as well as the utilization of metacognitive reading strategies were investigated across three reading proficiency levels. To this end, 100 BA students, majoring in English Language Teaching at Islamic Azad University-Neyshabur Branch-Iran participated. Three standard instruments were employed, including academic self-efficacy and metacognitive reading strategies questionnaires along with the reading comprehension section of a TOEFL test. The study followed a quantitative correlational design. Since the normality of data was proved, the parametric statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, multiple regression analyses, and one-way analysis of variance were employed. The findings demonstrated significant positive relationships among the learners’ reading achievement, academic self-efficacy, and utilization of metacognitive reading strategies. In addition, it was found that metacognitive reading strategies can better predict reading comprehension than the learners’ academic self-efficacy. Academic self-efficacy was also proved as a significant predictor of the learners’ utilization of overall metacognitive reading strategies. No significant differences were proved between three proficiency levels in the utilization of metacognitive reading strategies as well as academic self-efficacy. The findings have some insightful pedagogical implications as well as some useful hints for language teachers and syllabus designers.

Academic writing has emerged as a central area of inquiry among researchers specializing in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing. Utilizing a mixed-methods research design, the current study aimed to explore the mediatory role of digital literacy in the writing improvement of EAP learners in a ChatGPT-supported writing course. Following the administration of the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and digital literacy questionnaire, a cohort of 100 upper-intermediate learners from a non-profit university in Mazandaran, Iran was randomly selected. The participants were then split into two experimental groups (high vs. low digital literacy) and two control groups (high vs. low digital literacy), with each group consisting of 25 participants. The experimental groups received writing instruction that incorporated ChatGPT, while the control groups were taught implementing traditional pedagogical methods devoid of ChatGPT. Data were gathered through pre- and post-writing assessments along with semi-structured interviews. Results from the pre- and post-tests indicated that the experimental groups with either high or low digital literacy exhibited significantly superior academic writing outcomes compared to the control groups. However, no notable disparity was evidenced between the two experimental groups. Analysis of the interviews revealed that ChatGPT contributed greatly to their writing accuracy and fluency, while creating several challenges namely the generation of inappropriate responses and limited access. On implication side, suggestions are offered for prospective EAP students, teachers, teacher educators, and syllabus designers along with a sketch of possible avenues for further exploration.

This study presents a comparative analysis of Competency-Based Language Teaching (CBLT) and traditional English teaching models in the context of Vietnamese regional universities. Drawing on national reforms such as the 2018 General Education Program and the National Foreign Language Project, the research aims to evaluate the pedagogical effectiveness, curriculum orientation, assessment practices, and learning outcomes associated with both models. A mixed-methods design was employed, including surveys with 250 students and 30 instructors across five local universities, supplemented by curriculum document analysis and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA, while qualitative data were thematically coded to uncover key perceptions and implementation challenges. Findings reveal that while traditional models offer structural clarity and familiarity, CBLT demonstrates stronger alignment with 21st-century skills, communicative competence, and learner autonomy. However, challenges such as inadequate infrastructure and limited teacher training hinder full implementation. The study concludes with practical recommendations for phased adoption of CBLT through localized curriculum reforms, faculty development programs, and integration of digital tools.Top of FormBottom of Form