Teaching English Language Journal
ISSN: 2538-5488 – E-ISSN: 2538-547X – http://tel.journal.org
© 2023 – Published by Teaching English Language and Literature Society of Iran
Please cite this paper as follows:
Boojari, A., Moradkhani, Sh., & Weisi, H. (2023). Efficacy of L2 teacher education programs:
A comparison of public and private sectors in Iran. Teaching English Language, 17(2), 39-68.
https://doi.org/10.22132/tel.2023.369483.1409
Research Paper
Efficacy of L2 Teacher Education Programs: A
Comparison of Public and Private Sectors in Iran
Aida Boojari
MA Graduate, Department of English Language and Linguistics,
Faculty of Humanities, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Shahab Moradkhani1
Associate Professor, Department of English Language and
Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, Razi University, Kermanshah,
Iran
Hiwa Weisi
Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Linguistics,
Faculty of Humanities, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Abstract
The study is an attempt to evaluate and compare teacher education programs
(TEPs) in Farhangian University and private language institutes in Iran. The
data were collected from 142 Iranian EFL teachers through a questionnaire
and focus group interviews. The results of multiple independent samples t-
tests showed that teacher educators in private language institutes performed
better in preparing teachers compared to teacher educators in Farhangian
University, while no considerable difference was found in the other five
subscales of the TEPs (i.e. program structure, program courses, psychology
and cognition, professional development, and knowledge base), and the
overall teacher education programs in Farhangian University and private
language institutes; nonetheless, teachers in private language institutes
recorded higher mean scores in all the subscales than their counterparts from
Farhangian University, indicating that private language institutes performed
1 Corresponding author: s.moradkhani@razi.ac.ir
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slightly better in preparing EFL teachers. Additionally, based on the
interview data, various categories of suggestions were developed for
improving the TEPs from several aspects including the length of the
programs, teacher educators, content knowledge, practice-based education,
reflection and professional development, and program courses. The
implications for L2 teacher education, policymakers, and teacher educators
are discussed, along with some suggestions for additional research.
Keywords: EFL Teachers, Farhangian University, Language Institutes,
Teacher Education Programs
Received: March 17, 2023
Accepted: July 16, 2023
1. Introduction
Students all across the world deserve to be taught by qualified teachers.
There is no doubt that teachers are considered to be at the center of the
academic system that the success of the system depends on them.
(Soodmand Afshar et al., 2017). In the past, there were some beliefs that
everyone can teach, or at least, they believed that knowing a subject is the
sole key prerequisite for teaching it (Darling-Hammond, 2000). There was
also a misconception about the role of teachers in class that they have to
stand in front of the class, lecture a textbook, and administer an exam at the
end of the term. However, previous studies revealed that teachers are required
to have specific skills, characteristics, and knowledge including content
knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge (GPK), pedagogical content
knowledge (PCK), and even technological pedagogical content knowledge
(TPACK), which refers to learning how to demonstrate English learning
materials and project-based content using appropriate pedagogy and
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) technology (Liu &
Kleinsasser, 2015). Besides, teachers are supposed to build a good rapport
with students, have a sense of humor to break the ice in the classroom, and
Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2 41
Boojari et al.
provide a relaxed atmosphere for learners (Chen, 2012). More importantly,
they are supposed to show professional attitudes and values in their
profession as they must be good role models for students (Pham, 2022).
Taking on these roles requires a high level of training and preparation for
teachers before they enter the classroom.
Considering the importance of training teachers, L2 Teacher Education
Programs (TEPs) are intended to offer teachers diversity of teaching
techniques and skills to help them meet the requirements of the profession.
Gholami and Qurbanzada (2016) believed that "these programs act as the
building blocks of teachers' knowledge regarding their understanding of
teaching and learning theories" (p. 6). In spite of the pivotal role in preparing
teachers, these programs are not mainly designed to meet the needs of
teachers (Tajik et al., 2019). Therefore, according to Peacock (2009), in order
to train qualified EFL teachers, all TEPs must be subjected to critical review
so that their quality and imperfections can be identified, suggestions for
improvements made, and ultimately, an efficient and comprehensive training
program produced. To this end, various studies have been conducted around
the world in recent years to assess the effectiveness of TEPs held for pre-
service teachers (De Dios Martinez Agudo, 2017; Faez &Valeo, 2012; Karim
et al., 2019; Yook & Lee, 2016). Different studies regarding the evaluation of
TEPs have been also conducted in the context of Iran (Ganji et al., 2016;
Masoumpanah et al., 2017; Tajik et al., 2019), but the number of these
studies is few. Besides, EFL teachers are typically dissatisfied with the TEPs
they participated in and they believe that they are not fully prepared for their
teaching profession. Furthermore, no comparative studies were conducted to
evaluate these programs separately and determine which program best suits
the needs of the teachers. Considering the shortcomings mentioned before,
the current study explores the effectiveness of L2 teacher education programs
in preparing pre-service EFL teachers by investigating the content and
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structure of the TEPs offered in public and private sectors in Iran. More
specifically, this study aims to discover whether teachers who have attended
the TEPs in the private sectors are different from those in the public sectors
in terms of their preparation for teaching. As a result of conducting the
present study, a vivid picture of the content and structure of the TEPs will be
depicted, along with some recommendations for enhancing the quality of the
TEPs, making the importance of this study even more clear.
2. Context of the Study
The study was conducted in private language institutes that provide
English courses for EFL learners as well as intensive teacher training courses
(TTCs) for student teachers with degrees in English or other majors. The goal
of this project was to provide student teachers with classroom teaching
techniques, pedagogy, classroom management, and ways of building a good
rapport with students (Ganji et al., 2016). Additionally, Farhangian
University is a public teacher training university in Iran with more than 98
branches and about 95000 enrolled student teachers. It provides teacher
education programs for various majors including Teaching English as a
Foreign Language (TEFL) (Tavazoei & Razmjoo, 2021). Undergraduate
TEFL student teachers are educated at Farhangian University for four years.
This university, whose curriculum is developed under the supervision of the
Ministry of Education, offers a wide range of courses including general
courses, general English courses, Islamic educational courses, training
courses, and specialized courses in teaching language skills, and assessment.
Besides, Farhangian University provides several practical courses and
classroom observations in which student teachers are required to attend the
schools in order to complete their education (Masoumpanah et al., 2019).
3. Literature Review
3.1 Teacher education/training programs
Training teachers professionally is vital to create a more efficient
educational system and, as a result, to raise the standard of education for
Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2 43
Boojari et al.
students. In one of the studies, Darling-Hammond et al. (2005) discussed the
effect of teacher education programs on student teachers’ preparedness. They
compared certified teachers with those who had not met any training
requirements in Texas and it was confirmed that teachers holding standard
certification were more efficient than other non-certified teachers in
simulating student achievement gains. As regards the critical role of L2
teacher education programs in preparing teachers, several researchers have
investigated the TEPs from diverse aspects (Ackan, 2016; Arslan & Gulden,
2018; Coskun & Daloglu, 2010; Karakas, 2012; Masoumpanah et al., 2019).
Such investigations, for the most, incorporated the impact of employing the
TEPs on pre-service teachers and pointed out the structure and content of
these programs by focusing on their various aspects and suggesting
modifications depending on the TEP under review. Presented here are the
studies that have been conducted to examine these programs.
3.1.1 Practice-based education
Practical experience has always been part of a well-planned teacher
education program. Studies have shown that TEPs that allow trainees to put
the theories of language teaching into practice have a greater influence on
teacher quality. Faez and Valeo (2012) investigated the impact of TEPs on
novice teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) in
Canada, with novice teachers' perceptions of being prepared for teaching
increasing after learning from experience and teaching in actual classrooms.
In addition, examining the TEPs in one of the universities of Myanmar, Chaw
and Kopp (2021) realized that having practicum courses in the TEP allowed
student teachers to combine theory and practice, and helped them develop
their professional skills and their interest in teaching. Likewise, Arslan and
Gulden (2018) explored the effect of TEPs held in Turkey on EFL teachers.
The results revealed that practicum experience improved student teachers’
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confidence while entering the real classrooms, and they were less anxious to
manage the class. Masoumpanah et al. (2017) similarly stressed the value of
practical training. According to the obtained results on investigating the
TEFL program at Farhangian University, both teacher educators and student
teachers felt that the TEP should place a strong emphasis on teaching skills
development and practice. The findings of the study by Tajik et al. (2019)
regarding the TEPs conducted in three various private language institutes in
Iran suggested the same findings that the training programs failed to provide
teachers with actual teaching practice opportunities and they were dissatisfied
with the plethora of theories presented in teacher preparation programs.
3.1.2 Teacher educators
In addition to the importance of providing a balance between theory and
practice, the effectiveness of TEPs is thought to be significantly influenced
by teacher educators. Yuan and Hu (2018), examining the effectiveness of
teacher educators in the TEP of China, argue that effective teacher educators
are like 'fountains of knowledge' (p. 4) that support teachers’ professional
development. Besides, the study noted that language teacher educators must
provide useful theories and approaches to help student teachers acquire and
integrate the knowledge they learn during teacher education courses.
Additionally, having well-trained, motivated, and knowledgeable teacher
educators on hand to help student teachers whenever needed was mentioned
in the study by De Dios Martinez Agudo (2017), which investigated the
English TEPs in Spain. Likewise, Peacock (2009) evaluated the TEPs offered
by a university program in Hong Kong. Having collected the data from
students and teachers through interviews, questionnaires, and essays, he
found that teacher educators were very helpful and they were easy to contact
in this program. On the other hand, the study by Ganji et al. (2018) on the
evaluation of the TTCs in six private language institutes in Iran revealed that
Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2 45
Boojari et al.
teacher trainers were not experienced, certified, and skillful to train other
student teachers.
3.1.3 Program courses/content
A TEP's core components—the program's content and the courses—can
be made to be of a higher quality if they are selected with consideration for
the needs of student teachers. In the study by De Dios Martinez Agudo
(2017), student teachers expressed dissatisfaction with the Spanish TEP
course content since it placed a greater emphasis on pedagogical competence
than managerial skills and linguistic proficiency. Moreover, evaluating the
TEPs offered by a university program in Hong Kong, Peacock (2009)
reported that the TEP under investigation was stronger regarding pedagogic
competence than linguistic proficiency and classroom management skills.
Karim et al. (2019) explored student teachers’ perspectives regarding the
content of TEPs in Bangladesh. As the results indicated, the majority of
student teachers affirmed that pedagogic competence was coupled with
English proficiency and management skills in this program. They also stated
that the content of the program was up-to-date and relevant to their needs.
Along the same lines, teachers in Farhangian University voiced their opinions
in the study by Gholami and Qurbanzada (2012). They contended that some
courses which are irrelevant to teaching, such as literature or translation, must
be replaced by other courses that are. It was recommended in a different
study by Ganji et al. (2016) on the TTCs offered by private language
institutes that the course contents include practical and up-to-date teaching
techniques to equip teachers for dealing with the common challenges of
teaching in classrooms.
3.1.4 Reflection and professional development
Nowadays, it is generally accepted that reflection is a crucial part of TEPs
throughout the world (Farrell, 2018) since it heightens teachers' awareness of
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teaching and facilitates deeper knowledge. This also helps teachers to think
about their teaching and make better decisions. Therefore, any educational
system must foster teachers' higher-order thinking skills (Namaziandost et al.,
2022). This concept was prioritized in a study by Coskun and Daloglu (2010)
on the evaluation of TEPs conducted in Turkey, and they found that student
teachers were motivated to reflect on their teaching experiences and receive
feedback from their peers.
Action research is also another technique for teachers to reflect on their
teaching as it helps them examine their teaching methods, think critically,
and attempt to improve their methods in order to better meet their students'
needs (Dehghan & Sahragard, 2015). However, it appears that some
programs do not consider the matter of reflection. In a study by Tajik et al.
(2019), teachers at private language institutes claimed that the TTCs they
participated in could not help them reflect on their performance. They
mentioned that teachers' thinking was disregarded and they were assigned
recipes to imitate in the classrooms.
3.1.5 Length of the program
Along with the previously listed aspects of the TEPs, the duration of these
programs is equally significant and should not be neglected. In the study by
Ganji et al. (2018), this issue was raised by the EFL private language teachers
and they voiced their displeasure over the short length of the TEP; they
believed that due to the intensive nature of the courses and lack of enough
time for teaching practice, they could not develop their teaching skills.
Overall, the studies conducted so far concern multiple EFL contexts
around the world, probing teachers’ perceptions regarding the components of
the TEPs they undertook. As such, the necessity of carrying out such an
evaluation in the context of Iran cannot be questioned. Therefore, the
following research questions were formulated in this study:
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Boojari et al.
1. Based on EFL teachers' perceptions, is there any significant difference
in the quality of L2 teacher education programs offered by Farhangian
University and private language institutes?
2. What are EFL teachers' suggestions for improving the
quality/efficiency of such programs?
4. Method
4.1 Participants
At first, 10 teacher educators/trainers (five from Farhangian University
and five from private language institutes) and 10 EFL teachers (five from
each context) were selected using snowball sampling method to be
interviewed for developing a questionnaire. To complete the questionnaire
data, 140 Iranian EFL teachers (64 at Farhangian University and 76 in
private language institutes) who had attended the TEPs were selected using
purposive sampling, a technique that helps the researcher obtain a
representative sample of the population and provides relevant information
about the study (Ary et al., 2018). It should be noted that since the experience
range of EFL teachers could vary, to eliminate any potential disparities
caused by the influence of experience years on the outcomes of the study, the
data were only gathered from the teachers with less than three years of
teaching experience; this cut-off point was adopted from the study by
Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2007), who classified the teachers into two
categories of novices with less than three years of experience and
experienced teachers with more than four years. The participants were
informed that they may be invited to attend an interview session voluntarily.
Furthermore, they were assured that withdrawing from the study at any point
would not be a problem. Table 1 summarizes the background information
related to the participants.
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Table 1.
The Demographic Information of the Participants
Gender Age Experience
Male Female M SD M SD
Farhangian University 33 31 23.76 1.53 1.90 0.90
Private language
institutes
20 56 25.31 3.95 2.19 0.85
4.2 Instruments
A questionnaire was developed to address the first research question of
the study. First, to design this questionnaire, a comprehensive review of the
literature on the criteria of a competent teacher and high-quality teacher
education programs was carried out to obtain the relevant themes. Then,
individual semi-structured interviews with teacher educators and EFL
teachers at Farhangian University and private language institutes were
conducted to identify the requirements of a qualified EFL teacher and a
reliable teacher education program based on their opinions (Appendix A).
After transcribing the interviews and finding the relevant themes, the themes
obtained from the interviews and reviewing the literature were compiled to
reach common themes between the two groups, and finally the questionnaire
was designed. This questionnaire consists of two sections: the first section
includes 48 items assessing respondents’ points of view regarding the teacher
education programs they passed within six subscales: program structure
(eight items), program courses (ten items), psychology and cognition (three
items), professional development (six items), knowledge base (fourteen
items), and teacher educators (seven items). There was also a single item at
the end of the questionnaire that measured teachers’ satisfaction with the
TEPs they had taken. This questionnaire should be answered based on a four-
point Likert scale ranging from (1) 'strongly disagree' to (4) 'strongly agree'
(Appendix B). The second section aimed at collecting participants’
demographic information including age, gender, years of experience,
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Boojari et al.
academic degree, major, the context in which they undertook their teacher
education/training programs, and contact information (for the follow-up
interview). To ensure the validity of the questionnaire, 10 expert teacher
educators were asked to review the first draft carefully and suggest any
revisions. A pilot study was also conducted with 30 EFL teachers from
private language institutes and Farhangian University to identify the possible
problems before implementing the survey. Additionally, to check the
reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's Alpha was run for every single
subscale and the whole questionnaire. The results indicated that the
questionnaire was highly reliable with Cronbach's Alpha of .95.
To address the second research question regarding the qualities of teacher
education programs and to provide suggestions for improving these
programs, a semi-structured focus group interview with two groups of
volunteering EFL teachers from Farhangian University and private language
institutes was conducted. Focus group interviews are considered to be more
beneficial than individual interviews since they provide more comprehensive
information in a short period of time by provoking controversial debates
among the participants (For a sample of the interview questions, see
Appendix C).
4.3 Data Collection and Analysis
The sequential exploratory mixed method design was used in this study
for data collection and analysis. To answer the first research question, 230
questionnaires were distributed among EFL teachers from Farhangian
University and private language institutes by sending the link of the
questionnaire via email or social media such as Telegram and WhatsApp.
Only 140 questionnaires remained after 90 questionnaires were excluded due
to the fact that the participants had not completely responded to the
questionnaire items, had been teaching for more than three years, or had
50 Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2
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undertaken their teacher education programs in a context other than
Farhangian University or private language institutes. Then, the data were fed
into SPSS 26 for further analysis followed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha
and skewness and kurtosis values to ensure the reliability of responses and
normality of distribution, respectively. In the next stage, a series of
independent samples t-tests were conducted to determine the difference
between TEPs in Farhangian University and private language institutes
within each subscale and in the overall program.
To answer the second research question, the EFL teachers who provided
their phone numbers or email addresses for follow-up interviews were invited
for two separate focus group interviews; one with five EFL teachers at
Farhangian University and the other one with five EFL teachers in private
language institutes. These interviews, which lasted for approximately 25-40
minutes, were conducted in Farsi so that EFL teachers felt comfortable
expressing their ideas regarding suggestions to improve the content of the
TEPs they undertook. The interviews were recorded with the prior consent of
the participants and transcribed. Following Merriam and Tisdell’s (2015)
inductive thematic analysis (ITA), a three-stage process of open coding, axial
coding, and labeling was adopted to analyze the focus group interviews. At
first, the transcripts were read carefully and different codes (including a
single sentence to different sentences) indicating useful suggestions for
improving the quality of teacher education programs were extracted. Then,
two researchers held a session in which they discussed the extracted themes
to decide which theme could be the subset of which category. As an
illustration, the following codes were extracted from the focus group
interview in Farhangian University and private language institutes and were
grouped into a single category labeled “reflection and professional
development”:
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Boojari et al.
[A teacher at Farhangian University] I wish we
could have the opportunity for watching our
colleagues in class so that we could assess
our/their teaching performance and find our
weaknesses or strengths.
[A teacher in a private language institute] I think
one of the features of a high-quality TEP is
providing professional development courses for
teachers after their training to help them with the
challenges of the class.
5. Results
5.1 Farhangian University versus Private Language Institutes'
Teacher Education/Training Programs
Table 2 summarizes the descriptive results including Cronbach’s alpha,
skewness, and kurtosis values for the overall scores and the six subscales of
the TEPs for Farhangian University and private language institutes. As the
table illustrates, Cronbach’s alpha values vary from 0.67 to 0.89,
demonstrating that the teachers’ responses to the questionnaire items enjoy a
relatively high internal consistency. In addition, the skewness and kurtosis
values range from -0.56 to 0.48 and from 0.17 to 0.78, respectively,
suggesting that the collected data are normally distributed; therefore, the
assumptions for running t-tests were met. The mean and standard deviation
for the overall scores as well as the six subscales of the programs are also
shown in Table 2. As the table indicates, private language institutes scored
higher in general and in every subscale of the program than Farhangian
University. Therefore, private language institutes provided better pre-service
teacher education programs for student teachers than Farhangian University.
Table 2.
Descriptive Statistics for the Six TEP Subscales
Farhangian University Private language institute
Min Max M SD Min Max M SD
Program structure 1.02 3.17 2.27 .40 1.02 3.44 2.34 .47
Program courses .91 3.54 2.32 .48 1.31 3.44 2.34 .41
Program development 1.08 3.28 2.24 0.49 1.08 3.44 2.28 .42
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Psychology & cognition 0.78 0.30 1.98 0.49 0.78 3.11 2.04 .47
Knowledge base 0.93 3.45 2.50 0.54 1.43 3.59 2.66 .42
Teacher educators 0.88 3.37 2.30 0.53 0.92 3.51 2.52 .49
Overall score 0.80 2.55 1.95 0.36 1.23 2.90 2.01 .30
The results of the t-tests (Table 3) revealed that there was not any
significant difference concerning the overall quality of teacher education
programs of Farhangian University and private language institute: t(140)= -
1.09, p = 0.27; stated differently, both programs behave almost similarly
when it comes to preparing pre-service teachers and prepare student teachers
in the same way. The findings also indicated a statistically measurable
difference between teacher educators at Farhangian University compared to
teacher educators in private language institutes t(140)= -2.51, p = 0.01 with
medium effect size, d = 0.43. In other words, according to the participating
teachers, teacher educators at private language institutes were more qualified
and performed better in preparing teachers compared to the teacher educators
in Farhangian University. No statistically significant difference was observed
in the five remaining subscales of the program (program structure, program
course, psychology and cognition, program development, and knowledge
base), which means that both programs have the same quality in preparing
student teachers considering the five mentioned subscales. As reflected in the
last question of the questionnaire regarding teachers’ perceptions after
attending the TEPs, it is concluded that half of the teachers in private
language institutes (46 out of 76 teachers) and Farhangian University (35 out
of 64 teachers) felt prepared for teaching in the real classroom after attending
the TEPs and believed that the program prepared them for their task.
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Boojari et al.
5.2 Improvements in the Teacher Education Programs
The results of analyzing the interviews yielded six main categories in
which the teachers in Farhangian University and private language institutes
described the TEPs they passed and gave some practical suggestions to
improve these programs. To keep the interviewed teachers’ identities
confidential, pseudonyms were used while quoting them.
Teacher educators. The first category highlighted by almost all
interviewees in the focus group interview was the role of teacher educators in
the TEPs. Both teachers in private language institutes and Farhangian
University believed that teacher educators’ majors must be related to teaching
English.
One of the problems that we had in the TEP we
passed was that the teacher educators who were
teaching us graduated from other majors, for
instance, translation or English literature. It could
be a good idea if their major was related to
teaching English or at least they would pass
CELTA or DELTA courses. (Ali, a teacher at
Farhangian University)
Besides, private language institute teachers emphasized the importance of
holding the TEPs with experienced teacher educators, as Reza commented:
Table 3.
Independent Samples T-test for the Six Subscales and the Overall Scores of Teacher
Education Programs of Farhangian University and Private Language Institutes
t df Sig. (2-tailed) d
Program structure -0.96 140 0.33 0.16
Program courses -0.13 140 0.89 0.04
Program development -0.44 140 0.65 0.08
Psychology & cognition -0.70 140 0.48 0.12
Knowledge base -1.93 140 0.55 0.33
Teacher educators -2.51 140 0.01 0.43
Total program -1.09 140 0.27 0.18
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Unfortunately, our teacher educators were not
experienced enough to train pre-service teachers. I
believed that teacher educators must be
experienced to teach student teachers for this
important job.
Another important aspect that was emphasized by both groups of teachers
was that teacher educators must be updated and encourage student teachers in
using technology in their classes.
Our teacher educators were not updated at all and
they didn’t have up-to-date knowledge regarding
teaching and training student teachers. They didn’t
train us to use technology for teaching in our
classroom. (Sara, a teacher at Farhangian
University)
Finally, regarding the importance of the availability of teacher educators,
it was mentioned that teacher educators must be available during and after the
program to help student teachers and give them feedback.
Content knowledge. The second category has to do with the necessity of
considering the general English proficiency of student teachers before
entering the program. Both groups of teachers reported that it is essential that
student teachers' general English proficiency level be measured before
entering the program and, if necessary, some useful courses be provided to
improve their language proficiency.
It might be a good idea if the TEPs worked on
improving teachers' general knowledge of English
so that student teachers' general English level is
not the same as their students'. (Mahdi, a private
language institute teacher)
Practice-based education. This category was emphasized in both groups of
teachers from different points of view. Farhangian University teachers
complained about not having enough opportunities for practicing what they
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Boojari et al.
had learned in the program theoretically. As Navid (a Farhangian University
teacher) mentioned:
Although the real classroom is different from our
practicum, more teaching opportunities and
practicing the things we learned theoretically were
necessary to help us be familiar with the real
classroom atmosphere and the challenges in
advance. Unfortunately, when we entered the real
classroom, we were like soldiers left on the
battlefield without knowing what to do.
On the other hand, the teachers in private language institutes preferred a
balance between practical and theoretical aspects of the program. They
believed that they had enough practice opportunities, but they did not know
much about the theoretical aspects of the TEPs and language teaching.
In my viewpoint, there should be a balance
between the theoretical and practical aspects of the
TEP. For instance, we knew that showing the
spellings of the new words is the last step in
teaching new vocabulary, but we don’t know the
reason for that. (Ata, private language institute
teacher)
Reflection and professional development. In the fourth category of
improving the TEPs, both groups of teachers reported the importance of
observing different teachers at various levels and peer-watching to evaluate
their own teaching performance. Navid (a Farhangian University teacher)
said:
I wish we could have the opportunity for watching
our colleagues in class so that we could assess
our/their teaching performance and find our
weaknesses or strengths.
Teachers at private language institutes also emphasized the necessity of
holding professional development courses after the program to help teachers
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Efficacy of L2 Teacher ...
overcome the challenges they faced during their teaching and to update their
knowledge. In addition, Farhangian University teachers mentioned that the
TEPs must encourage student teachers to do action research to improve their
teaching methods and their performance. Amir said:
The TEPs must train student teachers to be more
research-oriented and move toward doing action
research. In other words, they must prepare
teachers to pursue learning on their own and
research to improve and update their teaching
knowledge.
Courses/sources/student evaluation. This category focuses on the
necessary courses for the TEPs, the quality of the courses, and the courses
that must be added or removed from the TEPs. Firstly, Farhangian University
teachers noted that the courses used in the TEPs they undertook were
outdated. Secondly, they reported the necessity of some courses for analyzing
and evaluating different course books.
I suppose we could have some courses to evaluate
and analyze the coursebooks for teaching English
so that we could realize which book is suitable for
teaching students with different levels of
proficiency. (Reza, a private language institute
teacher)
Private language institute teachers also emphasized the use of some
courses to teach student teachers how to assess and evaluate learners fairly.
Moreover, Farhangian University teachers noted that some irrelevant courses
must be removed from the curriculum of Farhangian University, and instead,
some other useful courses related to teaching must be added to the program.
Sara said:
Our major is teaching English to students. We
don’t need courses that are useless and irrelevant
to teaching such as the Fundamental
Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2 57
Boojari et al.
Transformation Document of Education
(Aghamohammadi, 2021).
In this regard, private language institute teachers reported the absence of
psychological courses for student teachers so that student teachers learn how
to deal with the problematic learners in the classroom.
Length of the program. The last category entails different opinions from
both groups of teachers regarding the length of the TEPs. Interviews with
Farhangian University teachers revealed that they mostly agreed on holding
an intensive TEP instead of a four-year program. Amir said:
An intensive TEP is much better than a four-
year program as we can see that those courses held
in private language institutes were more successful
in preparing student teachers than our long-term
program.
In contrast, private language institute teachers believed that the duration
of teacher education programs must increase.
In private language institutes, the TEPs are
usually short and because of the time limit, the
stakeholders are forced to hold the program
intensively for long hours. Thus, the student
teachers are usually tired and the program is
ineffective for them. As a result of the time
limitation, the stakeholders have to reduce the
number of practicum sessions. (Hanieh)
6. Discussion
The findings of this study cast light on various aspects of the TEPs at
Farhangian University and private language institutes to determine whether
they differ and to find the program that best prepares EFL teachers for their
careers. This aim was achieved by comparing and evaluating these programs
and resulted in six different categories of suggestions for improving them.
Peacock (2009) also endorses the importance of evaluating the TEPs to make
these programs more efficient, and, as a result, to prepare more qualified
teachers. The results of the t-tests also indicated that teacher educators in
58 Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2
Efficacy of L2 Teacher ...
private language institutes performed better in preparing teachers compared
to teacher educators in Farhangian University. Similarly, Yuan and Hu
(2017) highlighted the effectiveness of EFL teacher educators in supporting
teachers’ professional learning and development. Additionally, the results of
the study by Masoumpanah et al. (2017) and Gholami and Qorbanzada
(2012) on the TEPs in Farhangian University corroborate the findings of our
study in that teachers in these programs felt that the program did not meet
some of their educational needs and there should be some improvements
regarding their courses, practicum, and classroom observations.
The analysis of the qualitative phase also yielded six themes. Concerning
the first theme (i.e., teacher educators), the results suggested that teacher
educators were not updated, experienced, knowledgeable, and available to the
teachers during or after the program. This finding is supported by the results
from Ganji et al.'s. (2018) study, in which teachers believed that their teacher
trainers in private language institutes were not experienced, certified, and
skillful to train student teachers. On the other hand, this finding concurs with
the results of the study by Agudo (2017), who claimed that the teacher
educators in the TEPs of Hong Kong and Spain, respectively, were
knowledgeable, experienced, and available to student teachers whenever
needed. Prior research, however, did not pose the issue of teacher educators'
certificates. A novel finding was that teachers in both contexts suggested that
teacher educators’ majors be related to teaching English, or they be DELTA
or CELTA-certified.
Regarding the second theme, it was recommended that the linguistic
proficiency level of student teachers be taken into consideration together with
the other crucial competencies, and some helpful courses be provided to
improve the linguistic proficiency of student teachers if their level of English
proficiency is not satisfactory. In some ways, this result corresponded to the
Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2 59
Boojari et al.
findings of the study by Agudo (2017) in that the participants of the TEP in
Spain agreed that managerial and pedagogical competence were prioritized
over English proficiency. Moreover, the study by Peacock (2009) on
evaluating the TEPs in Hong Kong confirms these findings as student
teachers felt an imbalance in terms of their linguistic, managerial, and
pedagogic competence due to the emphasis placed on pedagogy rather than
the other two facets.
Considering the third theme, practice-based education, although both
groups of teachers discussed its significance, the Farhangian University
teachers believed that more teaching practice and observation opportunities
and less theory should be provided in the curriculum. In contrast, the teachers
in private language institutes noted that the TTCs provided them with enough
teaching practice and that a balance should be maintained between the
theoretical and practical aspects by not focusing excessively on either aspect.
These findings are supported by numerous studies in the literature in that they
all emphasized the need for having a balance between the theoretical and
practical aspects of the program (Agudo, 2017; Akcan, 2016; Arslan &
Gulden, 2018; Chaw & Kopp, 2021; Coskun & Daloglu, 2010; Faez &
Valeo, 2012; Ganji et al., 2016; Karakas, 2012; Masoumpanah et al., 2017;
Masoumpanah et al., 2019; Tajik et al., 2019).
Reflection and professional development comprise the fourth obtained
theme in this study. According to both groups of participants, student
teachers must be encouraged to reflect by assisting them to do action
research. The significant role of reflection was highlighted in the study by
Nguyen and Hang Ngo (2018) as the most effective technique for teachers.
Dehghan and Sahragard (2015), and Kitchen and Stevens (2008) also echoed
the positive role of doing action research in teachers’ performance in their
studies.
60 Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2
Efficacy of L2 Teacher ...
The length of the program, the fifth theme, was controversial among both
groups of teachers as they were not satisfied with the length of the TEPs they
passed. Private language institute teachers thought their program was very
intensive and its duration should be extended. Ganji et al. (2018) also
addressed the same issue in their study in which the program was criticized
by teachers at private language institutes because of its limited duration.
Conversely, Farhangian University teachers considered their program to be
very long and they suggested that a one-year program could be more helpful
for them.
Finally, the last theme (i.e., the courses/sources) was raised by both
groups of teachers as they believed that the programs were out of date and
teacher educators did not incorporate updated sources in these programs.
These results are consistent with the results of Ganji et al. (2016) on the
coursebooks of the TTCs in private language institutes that were not up-to-
date and could not meet their needs for teaching English. Contradictory to
these findings, the study by Karim et al. (2019), exploring EFL teachers'
perception towards the TEPs in Bangladesh, revealed that the content of this
TEP was up-to-date and relevant to student teachers’ needs, and flexible for
teachers in using different teaching approaches. In addition, the teachers in
Farhangian University believed that some irrelevant courses to teaching
English should be removed from the program. This finding somehow is
matched with the findings of the study by Gholami and Qurbanzada (2012) in
that the teachers stated that some irrelevant courses such as literature or
translation should be removed from Farhangian University’s TEP. A new
finding of the present study was that teachers in both contexts proposed the
idea of providing some courses for evaluating and analyzing the coursebooks.
Besides, the teachers in private language institutes pointed to the necessity of
Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2 61
Boojari et al.
having psychology courses for student teachers to help them deal with the
challenges of the learners.
7. Conclusion
The present study revealed that the TEPs in Farhangian University and
private language institutes were not significantly different in terms of the
overall program and the five subscales of program structure, program
courses, psychology and cognition, professional development, and
knowledge base. The only statistically measurable difference was observed
regarding the teacher educators of private language institutes that performed
better in preparing student teachers than Farhangian University teacher
educators. A striking finding of this study was that although there was no
significant difference between the TEPs in private language institutes and
Farhangian University, the mean scores of the overall program and the five
subscales in private language institutes were higher than those in Farhangian
University indicating that private language institutes provided a slightly
better program than Farhangian University. Besides, some useful suggestions
were offered to raise awareness in L2 policymakers in Farhangian University
and private language institutes, EFL teachers, and teacher educators
regarding the teacher education programs and to help them modify the
curriculum and the syllabus of the programs based on teachers’ needs, to
improve the shortcomings observed, and to boost their strengths. As a result,
the prospective student teachers will be provided with a high-quality teacher
education program which will make them better teachers for the students.
More importantly, since the results of this study provided insights into the
TEPs and as these programs are considered significant all around the world,
the findings of this study are likely to have implications for improving
teacher training programs in other countries.
62 Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2
Efficacy of L2 Teacher ...
The present study is limited in terms of the years of teaching experience
of the participants to minimize the impact of different years of teaching
experience. Furthermore, this study was carried out only based on the EFL
teachers’ perspectives, which means that teacher educators’ and
policymakers’ opinions regarding the teacher education programs in
Farhangian University and private language institutes were not considered in
this research process. Moreover, in light of the fact that longitudinal studies
provide in-depth insight into the nature of these programs, it is recommended
that future studies be conducted using qualitative or longitudinal studies that
examine both Farhangian University and private language institutes'
programs over time. Future studies can also explore and compare these two
programs based on teacher educators' and policymakers' opinions. Finally, it
is suggested to replicate the study using further data collection sources such
as official documents mandating how teacher education programs should be
administered and field observation of these programs.
Acknowledgments
We should express our sincere gratitude to all teacher educators and EFL
teachers who kindly participated in various phases of this study.
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Appendix A. Semi-Structured Interview for Teacher educators and EFL
Teachers
1.What characteristics a good L2 teacher must have?
2.What requirements/standards should be taken into account in screening initial
entry into L2 teacher education programs? What qualities should applicants
possess to be eligible to attend such programs?
3.In what ways does a teacher education program influence L2 teachers’
competencies?
4.What features/standards are necessary for a good L2 teacher education program?
5.If you had the authority to modify the L2 teacher education program you have
passed/ are running, what amendments would you make?
Appendix B. Exploring Teacher Education/ Training Program
Questionnaire
Items
In the teacher education/training program that I undertook,...
Program Structure
1.I became familiar with the program objectives at the outset.
there was enough opportunity for teaching practice.
3.there was enough opportunity to observe experienced teachers' classroom
performance.
4.there was enough opportunity for developing my critical thinking skills.
66 Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2
Efficacy of L2 Teacher ...
5.there was enough opportunity for developing my problem-solving skills.
6.I became familiar with the basic principles of English as a lingua franca (the idea
that native speakers of English should not be regarded as norms for language
learning).
7.I became aware of the effects of ideology and policy on teaching.
8. I was exposed to up-to-date course books and resources.
rogram courses/modules
every offered course/module helped me in teaching.
2. suitable courses familiarized me with different linguistic components of English
(for example, phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax).
3. there were suitable courses/modules on how to use technology in language
teaching.
4.there were enough courses/modules to sufficiently cover all necessary subjects
related to language teaching and learning.
5.a good portion of courses/modules focused on improving my language
proficiency.
6.a relatively adequate portion of courses/modules focused on the relationship
between psychological constructs (e.g. motivation, learning styles and strategies,
personality types, etc.,) and language teaching/learning.
7.a sufficient number of courses/modules focused on developing teacher-like
personality traits among pre-service teachers.
8.a sufficient portion of courses/modules helped me learn how to assess or develop
a curriculum.
9.I could properly develop my intercultural competence (which refers to a range of
cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills required to appropriately communicate
with people of other cultures).
10. a sufficient number of courses/modules helped me develop my rhetorical skills
(the ability to speak and deliver information/knowledge to students effectively).
Psychology and cognition
1.increasing pre-service teachers’ motivation for teaching received appropriate
focus.
2.the teacher education program took care of the emotions and well-being of pre-
service teachers during the program.
3.pre-service teachers had opportunities to collaborate and share their language
teaching/learning experiences.
Professional development
1.I had the opportunity to explore my future professional needs.
2.I received enough care for my professional teacher development within the
teacher education program.
3.I learned how to pursue my professional development independently upon
graduation.
4.I learned to critically examine the teaching philosophies/ideologies underlying my
teaching practice.
5.I understood how to reflect on my teaching practices and evaluate myself.
Teaching English Language, Vol. 17, No. 2 67
Boojari et al.
6.the teacher education program encouraged me to explore how my past learning
experiences as a student influenced my teaching-related beliefs.
Knowledge base
1.I acquired adequate training in classroom management skills (for example,
establishing rapport with students, dealing with problem-making students, and
managing class time and teaching pace).
2.I learned how to deal with contextual constraints (for example, lack of teaching
facilities and large class sizes) to minimize their negative impact on language
teaching/learning.
3.I learned how to develop good lesson plans.
4.I learned how to teach oral skills (listening and speaking).
5.I learned how to teach written skills (reading and writing).
6.I learned how to teach different linguistic components (i.e., vocabulary, grammar,
and pronunciation).
7.I learned how to deal with students’ language-related errors.
8.I discovered how students’ individual differences (for example, their learning
styles and strategies) would influence their language learning.
9. I learned how to design reliable and valid language tests.
10.I learned how to engage in small-scale research to improve my teaching.
11.I discovered how to properly use students’ mother tongue as a pedagogical tool.
12.I learned how to critically evaluate/analyze teaching materials.
13.I learned how to assess students' progress during the course.
14.I learned how to assess students’ language ability at the end of the course.
Teacher educators
1.the teacher educators/trainers gave feedback that helped me improve teaching.
2.the teacher educators/trainers had an acceptable level of English proficiency.
3.the teacher educators/trainers had enough theoretical knowledge about language
teaching.
4.the teacher educators/trainers’ instructions were in line with the realities of
classrooms.
5.the teacher educators/trainers were approachable to pre-service teachers during
the program.
6.the teacher educators/trainers were good professional role models for pre-service
teachers.
7.the teacher educators/trainers taught the courses/modules in a dialogic manner
(as opposed to a lecture-based approach) by appropriately engaging pre-service
teachers in the course/module activities.
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Final remarks
Overall, the teacher education program I undertook properly prepared me for my
teaching career.
If you like, you can elaborate on your response.
Appendix C. Focus Group Interview Questions for EFL Teachers
1.In your opinion, what improvements can be made to the courses/modules of
the teacher education/training program you undertook?
2.How do you think we can improve the content of the teacher education
programs to equip teachers with the pedagogical skills they need?
3.What is your suggestion to amend the teacher educators’ role or the efficacy of
teacher educators in the teacher education program you undertook?
4.In terms of the course books/resources used in the teacher education
program, do you see the need for improvement? If yes, how do you improve that?
5.In general, what suggestions do you have to make the teacher
education/training programs more useful?
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