Language institutes

This study explored the status of professionalism and commitment among Iranian EFL Teachers. In doing so, 136 (86 private-and 50 public-sector) EFL teachers of different ages (25-55) from different schools and institutes in Tehran participated in this study. The participants completed the pertinent instruments (i.e., Teachers’ Professionalism and Organizational Commitment Questionnaires). Moreover, out of 136 participants, 40 EFL teachers were interviewed. The results showed that both professionalism and commitment along with their subcategories were rationally high among EFL teachers. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between EFL teachers’ professionalism and commitment. Besides, the content analysis of interviews indicated that professional teachers were committed to their teaching and were sensitive to learners’ needs. Likewise, committed teachers were actively looking for professional development opportunities. The results also showed that female EFL instructors had a higher level of professionalism and commitment than their male counterparts. Additionally, the results indicated that EFL instructors in language institutes had a higher level of professionalism and commitment than those in senior secondary schools. The findings can support EFL policymakers, supervisors, managers, and teacher trainers to grasp a better picture of professionalism and commitment in Iranian EFL educational contexts.

English language teaching policies have recently become a growing concern in several countries, including Iran. Whereas several studies have noted the role of explicit policy documents and texts, fewer studies have explored the role of implicit ELT policies. This research investigates the implicit ELT policies embedded in professional practices of selected private English language publishers and institutes in Iran. The study’s qualitative data comprised documents and archival information taken from sources such as official websites, social networking accounts, catalogs, and brochures of eight prominent publishers and eight leading English language institutes. Thematic analysis of the data revealed three aspects of the publishers' activities (Nominal features, Supplementary materials, and Practical features) and four main aspects of professional practices of the language institutes (Overcategorizations, Tests, Teachers, and Coursebooks). The findings suggest that the practices of the leading publishers and institutes might act as implicit policies which would most likely provide directions for other publishers and institutes in the country to pursue and adopt. Thereby, it is suggested that instead of following pre-set accepted agendas, the leading publishers and institutes work creatively to analyze local requirements and respond to the needs of Iranian learners to enhance the status of ELT in the country.

The teacher, his instructional method, and indeed his characteristics are considered to be the decisive factors for the success or failure of education. The current study was carried out to determine the Iranian EFL teachers’ perception of immunity in their occupational contexts, that is in English language institutes and public schools. To achieve this objective, one hundred EFL teachers teaching in public schools (N = 50) and language institutes (N = 50), in Isfahan, were selected through convenience sampling to participate in this study. Then, the Teachers’ Immunity Level questionnaire was administered to them, and they were interviewed as well. The teachers were asked about their perception of immunity in their own occupational setting. All the teachers working in language institutes believed that teachers in these educational centers are suffering from low levels of job immunity. The teachers were also asked about the reasons underlying the high and low levels of job immunity in these two educational contexts. The teachers in language institutes believed that the dearth of monitoring by the government, the large number of unemployed educated people, employers’ greed, and lowering the value of education in the society are among the most important reasons underlying this catastrophe in language institutes. These findings can have some implications for the decision-makers in the Iranian Ministry of Education to provide language institutes with more support and attention with an eye to eliminating the mentioned problems.

Objective: The present study sought to explore EFL teachers’ cognition of rapport establishment and maintenance, as one of the aspects of classroom management, in the context of Iran’s foreign language institutes’ face-to-face EFL classes.Method: The study involved 12 Iranian teachers who taught adult learners. The sample size was determined based on reaching saturation, and the participating teachers were selected through purposeful sampling. The main instrument utilized in this qualitative study was a semi-structured one-to-one in-person interview, which aimed to elicit the participants’ cognition of rapport development. These individual interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically.Results: The findings revealed that the participants believed in the importance of rapport creation for efficient classroom management. Besides, they recommended strategies for establishing rapport with learners, such as familiarization, verbal immediacy, non-verbal immediacy, attention to learners’ emotions, judicious L1 use, playing games, and utilizing social media. Moreover, they held that teachers’ personality traits and communication skills could impact their approach to building rapport.Conclusion: Altogether, the participants had a sound cognition of rapport maintenance as one of the aspects of classroom management. The findings of the current study provide implications for teacher educators, teachers, and institutes’ supervisors.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is affecting various aspects of education and there is a need to consider the consequences of this technological improvement on achievement and attitudes of the most direct stakeholders. Therefore, this study has focused on the effect of AI on teaching English with three key areas of concern: the effect of Chat-GPT-driven materials on learning outcomes, the attitudes of teachers who use Chat-GPT -informed pedagogy, and the students’ attitudes towards Chat-GPT-integrated materials. This study used a quasi-experimental intervention-based research design to achieve the intended objectives. Based on the type of educational institution, the participants were divided into three groups (90 students from Iranian language institutes, 100 students from public high schools, and 100 students from private high schools). Furthermore, fourteen teachers from these institutions shared their viewpoints on the use of AI, particularly Chat-GPT, in developing instructional materials. Pre- and post-tests were administered to check the effect of treatments on each group (based on the syllabus developed for those specific educational institutions). Moreover, two researcher-developed questionnaires were administered among teachers (composed of 27 Likert-Scale items) and students (composed of 23 Likert-Scale items). The obtained results indicated that Chat-GPT significantly improved EFL learners' performance in language institutions. Teachers looked upon AI with favor. This was based on its potential to change the produced educational materials and improve students’ engagement in the learning process. Students, in all three environments, looked positively toward Chat-GPT-driven materials. In short, this study showed the potential for AI to upgrade EFL teaching in Iran.