Contextual and Educational Dimensions of EFL Teacher Engagement in Second Language Acquisition Research - Paper

Oct 15, 2026

This mixed methods study examined the contextual and educational dimensions shaping Iranian EFL teachers’ engagement with second language acquisition (SLA) theory and research, with the aim of informing second language pedagogy. A total of 132 teachers completed Nassaji’s (2012) questionnaire featuring Likert-scale items and open-ended questions across public and private sectors and across B.A. and M.A. groups. Quantitative results showed significant sector differences, while qualitative responses highlighted attitudes, motivations, challenges, and needs for research-based pedagogical enrichment, skills, access to articles, and handling institutional constraints.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Review of Literature

Teacher Research

Context of Teaching and Engagement

Methodology and Data Collection

Results and Findings

Implications

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 44 Issue 9 | Article 1 | | --- | --- | | 2019
Contextual and Educational Dimensions of EFL Teacher Engagement in Second Language Acquisition Research
Zahra Shafiee
Alzahra University, Iran, [zahra.shafii1001@gmail.com](zahra.shafii1001@gmail.com)
Elaheh Sotoudehnama
Alzahra University, Iran, [esotoude@alzahra.ac.ir](esotoude@alzahra.ac.ir)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte)
Part of the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons | | Recommended Citation Shafiee, Z., & Sotoudehnama, E. (2019) . Contextual and Educational Dimensions of EFL Teacher Engagement in Second Language Acquisition Research. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 44(9) . Retrieved from [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol44/iss9/1](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol44/iss9/1) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol44/iss9/1](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol44/iss9/1) Contextual and Educational Dimensions of EFL Teacher Engagement in Second Language Acquisition Research Zahra Shafiee Elaheh Sotoudehnama Alzahra University, Iran Abstract: This mixed methods study investigated the contextual and educational dimensions of engaging language teachers in second language acquisition (SLA) theory and research to inform second language pedagogy. To this end, 132 Iranian English teachers completed the questionnaire designed by Nassaji (2012) that includes both Likert-scale items and openended questions. The participants had academic degrees in majors related to English language. They constituted two groups of public sector (n=66) and private sector (n=66). Each group was divided in two sub-groups, one with Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) and the other with Master of Arts (M.A.). Quantitative data analyses revealed a significant difference between the perceptions of the participants of public and private sector with B.A andM.A. degrees towards the relevance and usefulness of SLA research, the role of teachers and researchers, and perceiving teacher as researcher. Moreover, analyzing the open-ended questions revealed instances of attitudes, motivations, and challenges experienced by the participants reflecting the need to use SLA theory and conduct research to enrich pedagogical practices, ability to conduct research, access, understanding research articles, and dealing with institutional constraints. The findings have implications for policy makers to encourage practice-oriented research courses and research-oriented practicums across both contexts ofpublic and private sectors. Keywords: Teacher research, Research engagement, SLA Research Introduction The contemporary literature on second language pedagogy emphasizes teachers’professional growth through engaging language teachers in reconciling SLA theory and research with language pedagogy (Borg, 2010, 2015; Lyster, 2019; Nassaji, 2012, 2018). This burgeoning body of literature witnesses long-held debates addressing the divide between SLA theory and second language pedagogy reflecting lack of attention to teacher research (e.g. Borg, 2007, 2009, 2015; Borg & Sanchez, 2015; Çelik, & Dikilitaş, 2015; Lyster, 2019; Marsden & Kasprowicz, 2017; Mehrani, 2015, 2016; Tavakoli, 2015; Yuan, Sun, & Teng, 2016) . These debates result in what Yuan et al. (2016), among others, refer to as the necessity of “a teacher research movement”(p. 220) in the field of English language teaching (ELT), including English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL), and English as an international language (EIL). In addition, the effects of the context of teaching on the instances and quality of this engagement have received scholarly attention (e.g. Celik & Dikilitaş, 2015; Mehrani, 2015, 2016; Nassaji, 2018; Vinogradov, 2015; Yuan et al., 2016). However, Borg and Sanchez (2015) highlight the role of academic

FAQs

What question does the study investigate about EFL teacher engagement?

It investigates the contextual and educational dimensions of how EFL teachers engage with SLA theory and research to inform second language pedagogy.

How were participants organized for analysis?

A total of 132 Iranian English teachers were divided by sector (public vs. private) and by academic degree (B.A. vs. M.A.).

What did the quantitative and qualitative findings reveal?

Quantitative analyses identified significant differences across public/private sectors and degree groups in perceptions of SLA research relevance and usefulness. Open-ended responses revealed attitudes, motivations, challenges, and needs related to conducting research, accessing research articles, and overcoming institutional constraints.

Oct 15, 2026

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