EFL Education in I ran

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in English education in Iran among the younger generation; the ELT industry is flourishing by leaps and bounds in the private sector and attending private English lessons is in vogue. This entry compares public and private EFL education in Iran by drawing on the age at which public and private EFL education starts in Iran, the level of motivation and interest among learners, the system of education and assessment in these contexts, the output of the system, and, finally, the student and teacher recruitment procedures. It will be suggested that more investment is expected to take place in English education in Iran with new language centers opening on a regular basis. Future directions in EFL education in Iran (i.e., the need for more competent teachers and to raise student motivation as well as policy issues on English education) are also discussed.

Perceived versus Measured Teaching Effectiveness: Does Teacher Proficiency Matter?

“…The study was conducted in Iran, where there is a huge interest in learning English as a foreign language (Sadeghi and Richards, 2015). The plan was to include as many language institutes from Urmia (the capital city of West Azerbaijan Province, with its 100+ language schools [Sadeghi and Ghaderi, 2018]) as possible. The language institutes were required to offer courses at the same level (intermediate or advanced levels) and to use the same content taught by different teachers (preferably a mix of high and lower proficiency teachers).…”

Professional development among English language teachers: challenges and recommendations for practice

“…Teachers working in the private sector on the other hand are required to teach well and are strictly supervised. Given the limited number of positions available at both schools and private institutes, recruitment follows certain procedures and is very competitive (Sadeghi and Ghaderi 2018). All this puts a heavy burden on the shoulders of English graduates to compete for a contractual hourly employment, and when faced with inadequate pay rates and unsatisfactory working conditions, most such teachers (especially at private centres) think of leaving as soon as they start their profession, attesting to Farrell (2016) observation that TESOL has become a profession that eats its young.…”