English teacher recruitment in Iran: A compatibility study with the global standards

Abstract

This study aimed at examining the global standards of teacher effectiveness to be employed to evaluate teacher candidates in the English teacher recruitment process. For this purpose, the global standards of teacher effectiveness and the qualities indicative of them were extracted from the documents. Then, the educational managers of thirty English language institutes were interviewed to discover the extent to which theses global standards are considered for teacher selection in the language institutes in Iran. The use of global standards by the language institutes would confirm the fact that they are applicable to the recruitment process. Next, the global standards were used to employ five English teachers in a language institute in Kerman, Iran. The classroom behavior of these teachers was observed by the institute supervisor. Moreover, the perceptions of the recruited teachers’ students were probed by means employing a questionnaire containing the criteria of teacher effectiveness. The results of the study indicated that the educational managers of the institutes approved of the majority of the global standards to be used in the English teacher recruitment process. The perceptions of the students and those of the supervisor also manifested that the recruited teachers are doing their jobs well, which would verify the appropriateness of the criteria used for teacher selection. Based on the results, a framework for English teacher recruitment encompassing the global standards of teacher effectiveness, their definitions, and the qualities indicative of them was suggested.

Keywords:

• Global standards of teacher effectiveness
• Effective English teacher selection
• English teacher recruitment

Public Interest Statement

Respecting the important role teachers play in the educational settings, this study attempted to discover the criteria of teacher effectiveness considered at a global state and implement them in the context of Iran. The results indicated that nine characteristics are required for an effective teacher: being familiar with teaching methods, having a broad content knowledge, having planning and preparation, having classroom management skills, having clarity of presentation, having the ability to develop a rapport, providing a safe environment, being motivating, and having enthusiasm for the job and the students. The results of utilizing these criteria for recruiting English teachers indicated that they can be used in the context of Iran as both the students of these teachers and the institute supervisor were satisfied with the classroom behavior of the recruited teachers. The results of this study can help improve the quality of English language education in Iran.

1. Introduction

Learning the English language has gained popularity among people as it has become a requirement for the present life. Not only is English part of the school and university curriculum, but it is also taught at private language institutes both as a second and a foreign language all around the globe. Quality of education is very important to those who are after language learning. “Teaching quality refers to strong instruction that enables a wide range of students to learn. Such instruction meets the demands of the discipline, the goals of instruction, and the needs of students in a particular context” (Darling Hammond, 2012). The medium of strong instruction is a teacher who is believed to play a pivotal role in students’ learning. The effect of teachers on students’ achievement has been confirmed by several studies (Akiri, 2013; Meroni et al., 2015; Sanders& Rivers, 1996 in Tucker & Strong, 2005). This indicates that special attention should be given to teacher selection and teacher education. The question is what makes an effective teacher.

Numerous studies have been done worldwide in this regard. Scholars in different contexts have explored the perceptions of students and teachers respecting the characteristics of a good teacher, and have reported them. Considering these characteristics when educating, selecting, and hiring teachers can be beneficial. The effective teacher characteristics can be utilized to develop a framework for teacher evaluation to be used when recruiting teacher. Scholars such as Strong (2007) and Danielson (2013) have formerly presented teacher evaluation frameworks. However, they are not specified to English language teachers. Moreover, Danielson’s framework is too broad to be used in the teacher recruitment process due to the limitations of time and teaching scope.

Generally, there seems to be a dearth of studies on language teacher recruitment and the criteria to be taken into account in this process. In the context of Iran, two related studies have been done. Akbari and Yazdanmehr (2014) investigated the steps taken when recruiting English teachers in the private language institutes in Iran, but the details of the required qualities for the teachers were not studied. Khaksefidi (2015) has presented a model of teacher effectiveness based on the ideas of Harmer (Cooper & Mc Intyre, 1998) and the teachers and students who were interviewed, yet, the model was not implemented. To fill the existing gap, this study used the global standards of teacher effectiveness which can be used in the process of teacher recruitment to employ English language teachers, probed the perceptions of the students who were taught by these teachers as well as those of the supervisor who observed the classroom behavior of them, and finally proposed a framework for English teacher recruitment. The framework consists of two categories: pedagogical characteristics and personal characteristics. Each category consists of some subcategories which include the required characteristics for an effective teacher, their definitions, and the indicators of them. It is hoped that using the framework helps to improve the quality of English language education.

This study attempted to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the global standards required for an effective teacher?

2. To what extent are the global standards of teacher effectiveness considered in the English language teacher recruitment in the language institutes in Iran?

3. How do Iranian EFL learners perceive the classroom behavior of the teachers recruited based on the global standards?

4. To what extent are learners’ perceptions and experts’ observations of the classroom behavior of the teachers recruited based on the global standards compatible?

5. To what extent can the global standards required for an effective teacher lead to a framework for English teacher recruitment?

2. Literature review

2.1. Effective language teacher characteristics

Characteristics of effective teachers have drawn the attention of many scholars as they can be helpful to enhance education quality. In some regions, there are some definite standards to consider. For instance, in Rhode Island the following standards are taken into account for a foreign language teacher: broad general knowledge, content knowledge, knowledge of how children develop/ learn, respect for student diversity, critical thinking and performance skills, positive environment, collaborative relationships, effective communication, variety of assessment strategies, professional development and professional ethics (Sullivan, 2004). To investigate the perceptions of administrators and foreign language teachers regarding the considered standards, Sullivan (2004) did a study whose results indicated that they approve of these standards and have a positive view of them.

To identify the characteristics of effective language teachers, some studies have probed the perceptions of teachers and students in this regard. In a large—scale study by Borsh (1996), teachers’ and students’ ideas of what makes a good teacher, were very much the same. Both groups believed in the following characteristics: command of the language, ability to transmit knowledge, fairness to students by showing neither favoritism nor prejudice, and availability to students. Park and Woong Lee (2006) studied three categories of effective teaching namely English proficiency, pedagogical knowledge, and socio-affective skills. It was shown that teachers’ perceptions were different from those of students. While teachers ranked English proficiency the highest, students considered pedagogical knowledge as the most important. Both groups agreed that an effective English language teacher is proficient at reading and speaking, can arouse students’ interest in learning English, and can build students’ self—confidence and motivation.

Babaei Shishvan and Sadeghi (2009) studied Iranian teachers’ and students’ perceptions of a good language teacher. It was shown that being patient, caring, smart, creative, and having positive attitudes towards learners are the characteristics favored by both groups. Wichadee (2010) studied students’ and teachers’ viewpoints on four categories: English proficiency, pedagogical knowledge, organization, communication skills, and socio-affective skills. Both groups believed that possession of communication skills is essential. However, their ideas differed in terms of teacher preparation, teacher’s personality, and teacher’s level of English proficiency. Teachers valued the last characteristic while students valued the first two ones.

Hajizadeh and Salahshour (2014) studied Iranian teachers’ and students’ views of a good language teacher. Interestingly, they had nearly the same ideas of effective English teacher characteristics. They believed that good English teachers have interest in their job and feel responsible for teaching, they have a good command of English, use appropriate teaching techniques, have appropriate evaluation methods, emphasize different language skills especially speaking, have mastery over teaching and are capable of communicating ideas, they respect their students, and have effective class management skills. Another study done by Soodmand Afshar and Doosti (2014) came up with the following qualities: good English teachers encourage participation and involve students in the learning processes, they assign students into groups and incorporate sufficient amount of pair work in the curriculum, they integrate language skills and have a sense of humor.

Mahrooqi et al. (2015) did an investigation in Oman. Teachers and students mentioned several traits to be possessed by an English teacher. They both agreed that an effective English teacher is prepared for the class, speaks audibly and clearly, explains lessons clearly and confidently, has effective classroom management techniques, is enthusiastic about teaching, treats students fairly, has positive attitudes toward students, and can raise students’ interest in English lessons.

Other studies have investigated students’ views. A study by Chen and Sh. (2009) indicated that students think highly of English teachers who build a proper relationship with students, are enthusiastic about teaching, friendly, open-minded, caring and respectful toward students. Chen (2012) did another study to find out the views of another group of students in Thailand. The students acknowledged that a good English teacher has a sense of humor, involves the students in the classroom, cares for the students, respects them, is fair, patient, industrious, and enthusiastic, presents the lesson in a comprehensible way, assigns homework, corrects errors, uses a variety of teaching methods, and provides the students with a pleasant classroom environment.

Miller (1987) determined the characteristics of an effective language teacher within three areas: affective characteristics, classroom management skills, and academic knowledge. According to Miller (1987), good language teachers should have interest in their students, sense of humor, mental health, fairness, creativity, and knowledge of grammar. They should be available to their students and encourage them. In the context of Iran, Soodmand Afshar and Hamzavi (2017) compared senior high school English teachers and private language institute teachers in terms of the characteristics of effective teachers. The characteristics considered were having a good command of aural—oral skills, being disciplined and punctual, being open to criticism, respecting the personality of students, listening to students’ opinions, letting them express themselves, showing interest in students, and learning. The results of the study indicated that private language institute teachers possess these characteristics. The researchers concluded that having more qualified and effective teachers is the reason why students who attend private language institutes are more knowledgeable than those who learn English at high school only.

To sum up, the aforementioned studies on the qualities of effective language teachers have some characteristics in common: having the ability to build a relationship of respect and rapport, having a good command of the language, being able to communicate knowledge properly and present lessons clearly, having a sense of humor, being enthusiastic about teaching, being fair, using a variety of teaching methods, having classroom management techniques, being able to arouse students’ interest in learning the language, providing students with a relaxed and entertaining atmosphere, listening to students’ opinions, and being understanding and caring. Being aware of these characteristics helps language teachers improve and make progress in their careers.

2.2. Existing teacher evaluation frameworks

2.2.1. Danielson’s framework

Danielson (2013) has developed a Teaching Evaluation Instrument to facilitate evaluation, and help evaluators in making clear distinctions between performance levels. This framework was first designed in 1996 and was last edited in 2013. It embodies four domains each consisting of different components followed by some indicators of the considered elements. The main domains and their components are briefly mentioned here.

The first domain is planning and preparation consisting of six components called demonstrating knowledge of content, demonstrating knowledge of students, setting instructional outcomes, demonstrating knowledge for resources, designing coherent instruction, and designing student assessments. The second domain is classroom environment encompassing five components: creating an environment of respect and rapport, establishing a culture for learning, managing classroom procedures, managing students’ behavior, and organization of physical space. The third domain, instruction, includes communicating with students, using questioning and discussion, engaging students in learning, using assessment in instruction, and demonstrating flexibility. The fourth domain is professional responsibilities incorporating two components: reflecting on teaching and maintaining accurate records. Each of the domains and their components are elaborated in Danielson’s framework.

2.2.2. Strong’s framework

Strong (2007) considers five categories each including several components along with indicators of them. The main categories and their components are mentioned below:

Teacher as a person is the first category including the following components: caring, fairness and respect, interaction with students, enthusiasm, motivation, and dedication to teaching. The second category is teacher as a classroom manager and organizer. Components of this category are classroom management, organization, disciplining students, and reflective practice. Organization for instruction is the third category components of which are the importance of instruction, time allocation, teacher’s expectations, and instruction plans. The fourth category is implementing instruction encompassing the following components: instructional strategies, content and expectations, complexity, questioning, and student engagement. The last category is monitoring student progress and potential consisting of components like homework, monitoring student progress, and responding to student needs and abilities.

2.2.3. Khaksefidi’s model of EFL teacher effectiveness

Khaksefidi (2015) considered 19 categories in his model of EFL teacher effectiveness. The first category is named general characteristics of EFL teacher which contains the following components: knowing the subject matter, being patient, being motivating, being ethical, and being able to communicate effectively. The second category is listening skill whose components are going through pre, while, and post stages, providing enough activities, and teaching listening strategies. The third category is reading skills encompassing going through pre, while, and post stages, teaching reading strategies, working on intensive and extensive reading, and using authentic and culturally familiar texts. The fourth category is speaking skill whose components are encouraging students to speak, encouraging students to practice outside the class, providing students with feedback, and engaging students in communication. The fifth category is writing skills including the following components: providing different kinds of feedback such as self, peer, and teacher feedback; emphasizing the organization of writing, and teaching language sub-skills. The sixth category is vocabulary sub-skill which emphasizes teaching vocabulary learning strategies, presenting vocab in context, and focusing active vocab for productive skills and passive vocab for receptive skills. The seventh category is grammar sub-skill containing criteria such as using both inductive and deductive ways of teaching grammar properly and employing suitable various tasks for grammar practice. The eighth category is pronunciation sub-skill entailing familiarity with different accents and dialects of English and mastery of at least one of them, teaching segmental and supra-segmental features of pronunciation, and using the contrastive analysis to predict Iranian learners’ areas of difficulty in pronunciation. The aforementioned categories were related to a teacher’s teaching skills. The rest seem to be related to a teacher’s personal characteristics and other features.

The ninth category is the teacher’s appearance and discipline including the criteria such as considering dress code, being tidy, and being punctual. The tenth category is culture dealing with emphasizing both target and native culture, not taking sides against cultures, and not focusing on intercultural conflicts. The eleventh category is error correction which encompasses employing self-correction, peer correction, and teacher correction respectively, as well as proper use of immediate and delayed error correction. The twelfth category is teacher experience and knowledge emphasizing critical thinking and keeping one’s knowledge updated. The thirteenth category is teacher’s decision making including criteria such as making compromises with students in class management, making the final decision, and making a balance between teacher-centered and student-centered class. The fourteenth category is group work dealing with group formation, selecting the right group members, and encouraging cooperation rather than competition. The fifteenth category is the use of technology focusing on wise use of technology and encouraging students to benefit from technology to do the out of class activities as well. The sixteenth category is lesson plan containing criteria such as making use of written and mental lesson plans and having flexible lesson plans to deal with unpredictable situations. The seventeenth category is testing and evaluation encompassing familiarity with the theories and practices of test making; employing summative and formative assessment; and considering self, peer, and teacher evaluation respectively. The eighteenth category is motivation including the following components: being both motivated and motivating, informing students of the benefits of the task they do, using real-life like activities to give students the feeling of the actual use of the language. Finally, the ninetieth category, the last one, is creativity which is about using creative activities in class and encouraging students to give creative responses.

It is noteworthy that none of the aforementioned frameworks is developed to be used for EFL teacher recruitment. The present study aims at suggesting a framework to be employed when recruiting English teachers.

3. Method

3.1. Participants

Three groups of people in the field of EFL participated in this research: educational managers of language institutes who were in charge of English teacher recruitment, English language teachers, and English language learners.

The first group included 30 male and female educational managers of 30 language schools in four cities in Iran: Kerman, Tehran, Shiraz, and Bushehr. The mean age of them was 35, ranging from 29 to 60, all majoring in English language teaching or English translation, holding M.A or Ph.D. degree.

The second group consisted of 5 male and female English language teachers employed at a language institute in Kerman, Iran. The mean age of the participants was 28. Their teaching experience was 5–8 years.

The third group comprised of 97 intermediate and upper-intermediate English language learners whose mean age was 21. In addition to these students, 20 other ones from the same level of language learning took part in the process of questionnaire piloting. The mean age of these students was 19.

3.2. Instruments

3.2.1. Documents

To collect the required data to answer the research questions several instruments were used. Documents including the books and research papers on effective teacher characteristics were used to discover the global standards of teacher effectiveness.

3.2.2. Interview coding sheet

A coding sheet containing the global standards of teacher effectiveness and their indicators was used in the interviews with the educational managers of the language institutes to find out the factors they consider for English teacher recruitment.

3.2.3. Observation sheet

An observation sheet containing the global standards of teacher effectiveness and their indicators was used to investigate the perceptions of the institute supervisor of the recruited teachers’ classroom behavior. This observation sheet was designed in a 5-point Likert scale form.

3.2.4. Questionnaire

A 53-item 5-point Likert scale questionnaire developed by the researchers was used to discover the students’ perceptions of the recruited teachers’ productivity. The questionnaire was piloted and its reliability proved to be 0.9.

3.3. Procedure

The first research question investigated the global standards of teacher effectiveness. To discover them, a large body of the related documents including books and research papers was reviewed, resulting in several characteristics for an effective teacher. To organize the data, categories entitled effective teacher characteristics were made. Then, the scholars who believe in each characteristic to be a sign of teacher effectiveness were put in the categories. Next, a manual frequency analysis was done to detect the most frequent characteristics. The result of the manual frequency analysis was nine characteristics which were considered as the global standards of teacher effectiveness. These nine characteristics were put into two main categories: pedagogical characteristics and personal characteristics.

The next step was discovering the qualities indicative of possession of effective teacher characteristics. To do so, another review of the documents was done, and the related qualities were extracted.

The final result was nine standards of teacher effectiveness along with their components which are indicative of possession of these characteristics.

The second research question investigated the extent to which the general standards of teacher effectiveness are considered in English teacher recruitment in Iran, which would be indicative of applicability of the global standards to the recruitment process. For this purpose, interviews with the educational managers of thirty language institutes in Iran were done. Prior to the interview, a coding sheet containing the global standards of teacher effectiveness and their indicators was made. The educational managers were asked whether they consider these factors when recruiting English teachers or not. The considered factors were checked on the coding sheet during the interview.

As most of the global standards were agreed by the educational managers to be applicable to the recruitment process, they were used to employ five English language teachers in a private language institute in Kerman, Iran. The recruitment process took place through several stages. First, the applicants filled in an application form and had an interview with the educational manager. Then, they took a mock IELTS. Those who got a band score of 7 were chosen to give demos. The first demo was done in the presence of the educational manager and other applicants, which lasted for twenty minutes. Those whose performance was acceptable gave the second demo. The second demo was done in real classes, which lasted 45 minutes. Finally, five applicants whose performances were desirable at all the stages were recruited. To evaluate the teachers’ performance, an observation sheet was developed based on the global standards of teacher effectiveness, and their classroom behavior was observed by the institute supervisor twice during the semester.

In order to explore the perceptions of the students, which was the aim of the third research question, a 53-item questionnaire was developed using global standards. To pilot the questionnaire, it was given to twenty students twice with a time interval of two weeks. The reliability index proved to be 0.9 which is desirable. Next, almost at the end of the semester, the questionnaire was distributed among 97 students of the teachers recruited based on global standards. Later on, frequency analysis was done to find out students’ perceptions of their teachers’ productivity.

Having identified the perceptions of the students and those of the observer, they were qualitatively compared to check whether they are compatible.

Finally, based on the collected data, an English teacher recruitment framework including the required characteristics of an effective English teacher along with their definition, and the qualities indicative of these characteristics was suggested.

3.4. Data analysis

The data analysis for this research was mainly done qualitatively. In order to analyze the data related to the first research question which explored the global standards of teacher effectiveness, first, categories of effective teacher characteristics were made. Then the scholars who have approved of the characteristics as being indicative of teacher effectiveness were added to the categories. Finally, a manual frequency analysis was done to find the most frequently mentioned characteristics by the scholars.

Having extracted the global standards of teacher effectiveness, new categories depicting effective teacher characteristics were made. Next, documents were reviewed and the qualities that can be indicative of possession of these characteristics were added to the categories.

The data related to the second research question which probed the ideas of the educational managers were all recorded on a coding sheet during the interview. To analyze the data another coding sheet containing the global standards and the institutes’ names was made, and the institutes which approved of the global standards to be used in English teacher recruitment were checked. Finally, a manual frequency analysis was done to discover which characteristics were confirmed to be used in the teacher recruitment process.

To answer the third research question which aimed at investigating the students’ perceptions of their teacher effectiveness, a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire containing the global standards was developed. The questionnaire was piloted and the reliability indices were calculated using Cronbach alpha as follows (Table 1):

Table 1. Reliability statistic

	Cronbach’s Alpha	N of Items
First	.948	53
Second	.916	53

The data gathered after distributing the questionnaires went under frequency analysis by SPSS.

The fourth research question attempted to compare the perceptions of the students and those of the observer. Notably, the ideas of the observer were recorded on an observation sheet in form of a 5-point Likert scale during the observation. The comparison was made qualitatively by the researchers.

Finally, to form the suggested framework, all the confirmed global standards along with their definitions and the qualities indicative of them were put into tables to be ready to be used at the English teacher recruitment process.

4. Results

4.1. Global standards of teacher effectiveness and their indicators

The first research question addressed the global standards required for an effective teacher. To do so, the related documents were reviewed, the outcome of which was a large body of data to be codified. The data were put into two categories: pedagogical characteristics and personal characteristics. The most frequently suggested ones are depicted in Table 2.

Table 2. Effective teacher characteristics

Pedagogical Characteristics	Being familiar with the teaching methods (Hilgemann & Blodget, 1991 in Hativa et al., 2001; Dunkin & Precians, 1992; Dunkin, 1995; Westwood, 1996; Cooper & Mc Intyre, 1998; Kalebic, 2005; Tucker & Strong, 2005; Strong, 2007; Vialle & Tischler, 2009; Chen, 2012).
	Having a broad content knowledge (Kelly & Kelly,1982 in Hativa et al., 2001; Shulman, 1987; Borsh, 1996; Woolfolk et al., 2003; Sittle, 2003; Witcher, 2003; Sullivan, 2004; Kalebic, 2005; Park & Woong Lee, 2006; Jones et al., 2006; Strong, 2007; Vialle & Tischler, 2009; Wichadee, 2010; Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014; Bullock, 2015; Mahrooqi et al., 2015).
	Having planning and preparation (Fledman, 1989; Horman, 1991 in Hativa et al., 2001; Brown & Mac Intyre, 1993; Kalebic, 2005; Jones et al., 2006; Park & Woong Lee, 2006; Strong, 2007; Walker, 2008; Babaei Shishvan & Sadeghi, 2009; Wichadee, 2010; Chen, 2012; Danielson, 2013; Lupascu et al., 2014; Al Mahrooqi et al., 2015; Bullock, 2015).
	Having classroom management skills(Hammadou & Bernhardt, 1987; Miller, 1987; Brown & Mac Intyre, 1992 in Williams & Burden, 2000; Batten et al., 1993; Hativa et al., 2001; Tucker & Strong, 2005; Jones et al., 2006; Strong, 2007; Danielson, 2013; Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014; Al Mahrooqi et al., 2015; Zamani & Ahangari, 2016).
	Having clarity of presentation (Resenshine, Resenshine, & Frust, 1973 in Williams& Burden, 2000; Fledman, 1989; Horan, 1991 in Hativa et al., 2001; Batten, Marland,& Khamis, 1993; Brown & ManIntyre, 1993; Borsh, 1996; Westwood, 1996; Murray, 1997 in Hativa et al., 2001; Hativa et al., 2001; Witcher, 2003; Woolfolk, Winne,& Perry,2003; Kalebic, 2005; Tucker & Strong, 2005; Jones et al., 2006; Chen, 2012; Danielson, 2013; Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014; Al Mahrooqi et al., 2015).
Personal Characteristics	Having the ability to build rapport (Brown, 1988; Hilgemann& Biodget, 1991in Hativa et al., 2001; Brown & MacIntyre, 1992 in Williams& Burden, 2000; Batten, Marland,& Khamis,1993; Brown &MacIntyre, 1993; Lowman, 1996; Murray, 1997 in Hativa et al., 2001; Cooper & MacIntyre, 1998; Sullivan, 2004; Park & Woong Lee, 2006; Jones et al., 2006; Strong (2007); Walker (2008); Chen & Lin (2009); Chen (2012); Soodmand Afshar and Doosti (2014); Lupascue, Panisora,& Panisora, 2014; Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014; Al Mahrooqi et al., 2015; Zamani & Ahangari, 2016; Soosmand Afshar & Hamzavi, 2017).
	Providing a safe environment (Hilgemann & Blodget, 1991 in Hativa et al., 2001; Brown & MacIntyre, 1992 in Williams & Burden, 2000; Eggleton, 1992; Batten et al., 1993; Brown & MacIntyre, 1993; Lowman, 1996; Cooper & MacIntyre, 1998; Hativa et al., 2001; Smittle, 2003; Sullivan, 2004; Park & Woong Lee, 2006; Vialle & Tischler, 2009; Chen, 2012; Danielson, 2013; Bullock, 2015; Zamani & Ahangari, 2016).
	Being motivating (Miller, 1987; Fledman, 1989; Horman, 1991in Hativa et al., 2001; Eggleton, 1992; Brown & McIntyre, 1992 in Williams& Burden, 2000; Brown & McIntyre, 1993; Borsh, 1996; Lowman, 1996; Hativa et al., 2001; Kalebic, 2005; Park & Woong Lee, 2006; Strong, 2007; Danielson, 2013; Al Mahrooqi et al., 2015).
	Having enthusiasm for the job and students (Resenshine et al., 1973 in Williams&Burden, 2000; Kelly & Kelly, 1982 in Hativa et al., 2001; Miller, 1987; Murray,1997 in Hativa et al., 2001; Hativa et al., 2001; Witcher, 2003; Borg, 2006; Park & Woong Lee, 2006; Chen & Lin, 2009; Vialle & Tischer,2009; Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014; Al Mahrooqi et al., 2015; Soodmand Afshar & Hamzavi, 2017).

Having identified the characteristics of effective teachers, finding the qualities indicative of these characteristics was imperative. To do so, another review of the documents was done. The characteristics that can be evaluated in the teacher recruitment process are mentioned here.

Familiarity with teaching methods is the first trait in the category of pedagogical characteristics. Language teachers should go through the general standard steps when teaching language skills (pre-task, while-task, post-task). Moreover, they need to be familiar with different ways of presenting and practicing the new vocabularies and grammatical forms, as well as ways of teaching all aspects of pronunciation (Chastain, 1988; Harmer, 2012).

The second characteristic, having broad content knowledge, in the field of language teaching refers to the mastery of the four language skills and subskills, which can be assessed using the international general English tests.

Planning and preparation is the third characteristic. Effective teachers have a plan for every session of the class, they prepare the materials and teaching aids in advance (Bullock, 2015; Strong, 2007), they divide the lesson into relevant sections (Jones et al., 2006), carefully link the learning objectives and activities, and consider students’ attention span and learning style in their plan (Strong, 2007).

The fourth characteristic is having classroom management skills. Teachers who are adept at managing their classes give appropriate instruction for the activities i.e. they adjust their language to their students’ level when giving instructions, mention the task aim, explain whether the task is done in pairs or groups, etc., inform the students of the mode of the task as well as what they are required to do as the result of the task (Scriviner, 2011). These teachers can decide on the type of group to form, inform the students of the required time for doing the task, monitor the students, summarize the lesson and answer the questions that arise, encourage students’ reflection on what they have learned, can draw students’ attention (Scriviner, 2012), can manage students’ behavior (Danielson, 2013), and last but not least they keep the teacher talking time short (Harmer, 2012).

Having clarity of presentation is the fifth characteristic related to the category of pedagogical characteristics. Teachers with this characteristic speak fluently, explain the information effectively (Chesebro& Mc Croskey, 2001), know the subject matter, simply explain the things, give useful examples, and do not present too much material at a time (Westwood, 1996).

The first trait in the category of personal characteristics is having the ability to build a rapport. Teachers with this ability have a friendly manner while maintaining professional role; interact in a fun way (Strong, 2007); respect students (Brown, 1988); communicate positive regard by calling students by names, creating personally relevant examples, rewarding students’ comments, being humble, making eye contact, and smiling (Buskit& Saville, 2001); use energetic body language; and spend a few minutes of the class to engage students in casual conversation (Elias, 2016).

The second trait is the ability to provide a safe environment. To make the class a safe place for students to learn, teachers should be encouraging, consider physical proximity, talk respectfully, be an active listener, consider turn-taking (Danielson, 2013), make it safe for students to ask questions, and answer their questions with respect (Dusenbury, 2012).

The third trait is being motivating. Teachers possessing this characteristic provide their students with informative feedback (Williams& Burden, 2000); choose activities that are related to students’ background knowledge; provide opportunities for cooperative learning, problem-solving, and decision making.

The fourth trait is having enthusiasm for the job and students. To show enthusiasm, teachers should speak dramatically, consider variation in pitch and volume, move about while lecturing, gesture with hands and arms, exhibit facial gestures, have eye contact with students (Murray, 1983), encourage students to be active, and move among students (Bulgar, Mohr, & Walls, 2002).

The literature approves of the above-mentioned characteristics as being indicative of teacher effectiveness, however, the present study aims to put it into practice, the result of which is reported in the following sections.

4.2. The extent of global standards of teacher effectiveness use in English teacher recruitment in Iran

The second research question tried to explore the extent to which the global standards required for an effective teacher are considered in the English teacher recruitment process in Iran. To do so, interviews with thirty educational managers of the language institutes in Iran were done. Prior to the interview a coding sheet containing the characteristics of effective teachers and their indicators which can be evaluated during the recruitment process was developed and checked by three experts.

Regarding the first component of pedagogical characteristics, familiarity with teaching methods, the majority of the educational managers stated that that they consider the general standard steps when teaching language skills and the activities to be done at each stage, however, a small number of the institutes admitted that they don’t take the appropriateness of the activities done at each stage into account. As to teaching the language subskills, it seems that teaching pronunciation doesn’t receive ample attention as the majority of the institutes do not evaluate the teacher candidates in terms of having the ability to teach different aspects of pronunciation. Despite this fact, the educational managers accepted that this must be part of the characteristics to be checked.

In order to evaluate teacher candidates’ content knowledge, most of the institutes use one of the international English language tests or a modified version of them. However, a small number of them acknowledged that they don’t focus on teacher candidates’ writing and reading comprehension skills.

Concerning teachers’ ability to manage their class, results show that the only neglected factor is managing students’ behavior. The rest of the characteristics are claimed to be examined. As to teachers’ clarity of presentation, the last component of pedagogical characteristics, except for avoiding using complex terminology and giving useful examples, other factors seem to be taken into account by the majority of the language institutes.

The ability to build a rapport and providing students with a safe environment, the first and the second components of personal characteristics seem to be evaluated by the majority of the language institutes.

Being motivating as an effective teacher was asserted to be evaluated by most of the language institutes. Nevertheless, a few of them admitted that they don’t check one of the indicators of this characteristic which is providing students with informative feedback. The results indicated that the last component of personal characteristics i.e. having enthusiasm for the job and the students is also taken into account by the language institutes whose educational managers took part in this study.

On the whole, it seems that the majority of the global standards are considered in English teacher recruitment in the thirty language institutes that participated in this study, which confirms the fact that these characteristics can be indicative of English teacher effectiveness, and are applicable to the recruitment process.

4.3. Perceptions of the students of the teachers recruited based on the global standards framework

The fourth research question addressed the way Iranian EFL learners perceive the classroom behavior of those teachers recruited based on global standards. To do so, a 53-item questionnaire was distributed among students to evaluate their teachers’ pedagogical and personal characteristics. Table 3 displays the frequencies and percentages for the respondents’ perceptions of their teachers’ pedagogical characteristics.

Table 3. Frequencies and percentages of pedagogical characteristics of teachers recruited based on global standars

			Choices					Total
			Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Partially Agree	Agree	Strongly Agree
	Teaching Methods	Count	6	63	213	361	125	768
		%	0.8%	8.2%	27.7%	47.0%	16.3%	100.0%
	Content Knowledge	Count	0	2	14	180	92	288
		%	0.0%	0.7%	4.9%	62.5%	31.9%	100.0%
	Plan & Preparation	Count	0	14	217	233	16	480
		%	0.0%	2.9%	45.2%	48.5%	3.3%	100.0%
	Clarity of Presentation	Count	0	11	61	223	185	480
		%	0.0%	2.3%	12.7%	46.5%	38.5%	100.0%
	Management Skills	Count	2	41	278	359	184	864
		%	0.2%	4.7%	32.2%	41.6%	21.3%	100.0%
Total		Count	8	131	783	1356	602	2880
		%	0.3%	4.5%	27.2%	47.1%	20.9%	100.0%

Based on these results it can be concluded that the majority of the respondents (63.3 %) believed that their teachers were familiar with teaching methods. On the other hand, only 9% of the respondents held the opposite view while 27.7% partially agreed with the idea that their teachers were familiar with teaching methods.

The results also indicated that 94.4% of the EFL learners strongly agreed and agreed with the idea that their teachers had a broad content knowledge. Another 4.9% partially agreed that their teachers had a broad content knowledge while only 0.7% did not hold such a view.

Regarding the EFL teachers’ planning and preparation, the results were not as unanimous as the previous characteristic. While 48.5% of students agreed with the idea that their teachers had planning and preparation, another 45.2% partially agreed with them. The results also indicated that 3.3% strongly agreed with their teachers’ having planning and preparation while 2.9% held the opposite view.

Regarding EFL teachers’ clarity of presentation, 85% of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed with the idea that their teachers’ presentation enjoyed clarity. Another 12.7% partially agreed with their teachers’ having clarity of presentation while only 2.3% did not hold such a view.

The majority of the respondents (62.9 %) believed that their teachers exercised management skills. On the other hand, only 4.9% of respondents held the opposite view while 32.2% partially agreed with the idea that their teachers possessed management skills.

The second part of the questionnaire evaluated the EFL teachers’ personal characteristics. The results of which are depicted in Table 4.

Table 4. Frequencies and percentages of personal characteristics of teachers recruited based on global standards

			Choices					Total
			Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Partially Agree	Agree	Strongly Agree
	Build a Rapport	Count	18	42	158	343	399	960
		%	1.9%	4.4%	16.5%	35.7%	41.6%	100.0%
	Create a Safe Environment	Count	1	6	63	173	333	576
		%	0.2%	1.0%	10.9%	30.0%	57.8%	100.0%
	Having Enthusiasm for Job and Students	Count	4	17	104	131	128	384
		%	1.0%	4.4%	27.1%	34.1%	33.3%	100.0%
	Being Motivating	Count	1	18	77	155	37	288
		%	0.3%	6.3%	26.7%	53.8%	12.8%	100.0%
Total		Count	24	83	402	802	897	2208
		%	1.1%	3.8%	18.2%	36.3%	40.6%	100.0%

Based on these results it can be concluded that the majority of the respondents (77.3 %) believed their teachers were able to build a rapport. On the other hand, only 6.3% of the respondents held the opposite view, while 16.5% partially agreed with the idea that their teachers were able to develop a good relationship with them.

TThe results also indicated that 87.7% of the EFL learners strongly agreed and agreed with the idea that their teachers were able to provide a safe environment. Another 10.9% partially agreed with their teachers’ ability to create a safe environment while only 1.2% did not hold such a view.

The majority of the respondents (67.4 %) believed that their teachers had an enthusiasm for their jobs. Another 27.1% partially agreed with the idea that their teachers were interested in their jobs. On the other hand, only 5.4% of the respondents held the opposite view.

The results also indicated that 66.6% of the EFL learners strongly agreed and agreed with the idea that their teachers were motivating. Another 26.7% partially agreed with their teachers’ ability to motivate students while only 6.6% did not hold such a view.

4.4. Comparison of students’ perceptions and experts’ perceptions

The fourth research question tried to explore the extent to which Iranian EFL learners’ perceptions and experts’ observations of the classroom behavior of those teachers recruited based on global standards are compatible. A comparison between the observer’s evaluation of the classroom behavior of the teachers recruited based on the global standards and those of their students is elaborated below.

Regarding the first component of the pedagogical characteristics, familiarity with teaching methods, the observer agreed that on the whole, the classroom behavior of the teachers indicated that they use proper teaching methods and that they go through the required stages to teach the language skills and subskills. However, the results of the observation show one pitfall which is not having ample focus on different aspects of pronunciation. Reviewing students’ perceptions shows that 63.3% of them strongly agreed and agreed that their teachers have proper teaching methods. Therefore, the ideas of the observer and those of the students seem to be compatible in this regard.

The second component is having a broad content knowledge. Observation results reveal that the observer confirmed the broad content knowledge of the teachers. Interestingly, although the students approved of their teachers’ content knowledge as well, they seem to have a stronger belief in it since 94.4% of the students strongly agreed and agreed that their teachers had a broad content knowledge.

Respecting the third component, having planning and preparation, the ideas of the two groups are not consistent. While the supervisor observed quality planning and preparation, only 48.5% of the students agreed that their teachers had a plan and were prepared for the class, and 4.2% partially agreed with the issue.

Clarity of presentation is the fourth component. Based on the observation results, the supervisor approves of the teachers’ being articulate which is in line with students’ perceptions as 85% of them believed that their teachers’ instruction enjoyed clarity.

The fifth and the last component of pedagogical characteristics pertains to teachers’ classroom management skills. Same as the observer who believed that these teachers were skillful at managing their classes, the majority of the students agreed that their teachers had good classroom management skills. Respecting the first component of personal characteristics, the ability to build a rapport, the supervisor believed that the teachers recruited based on the global standards are very good at developing a proper relationship with their students, and 77.3% of the students confirmed that their teachers could build rapport. Therefore, the observer and students’ ideas are compatible.

The second component is the teacher’s ability to provide a safe environment. The supervisor’s and students’ ideas seem to be perfectly inline in this regard. The supervisor strongly agreed that the teachers provide their students with a safe environment, and 87.8% of the students strongly agreed and agreed that their teachers possessed this trait.

As to the third component of personal characteristics, having enthusiasm for the job and students, 67.4% of the students strongly agreed and agreed that their teachers were enthusiastic. The results of the supervisor’s observations revealed that one of the teachers didn’t show much interest, however, the other four appeared to be interested in what they did as a job as well as in their students. Thus, the ideas are consistent.

Respecting the fourth component, being motivating, 66.6% of the students strongly agreed and agreed that their teachers were motivating the same as the supervisor who agreed that the teachers showed this characteristic in class.

All in all, the ideas of the observer and those of the students regarding the classroom behavior of the teachers recruited based on the global standards seem to be compatible, which indicates the teachers are doing the job well, and the criteria based on which the teachers were selected were appropriate.

4.5. The suggested English teacher recruitment framework

The fifth research question tried to explore the extent to which the global standards required for an effective teacher can lead to a framework for English teacher recruitment, which was the final purpose of the study. To do so, the researchers considered the ideas of the educational managers who were interviewed, the perceptions of the students who completed the questionnaire, and the ideas of the supervisor who observed the classroom behavior of the teachers. Based on the findings which confirm that the global standards are indicative of English teacher effectiveness, it can be concluded that these global standards can be utilized to propose an English teacher recruitment framework. The framework contains the required characteristics, their definition, and the indicators which show the possession of these characteristics by the teacher candidates. This framework is presented as follows in Tables 5 to 13:

Table 5. The ability to teach language skills and sub-skills

Definition: Pre-task: The purpose of this stage is schema raising. While-task: This stage focuses on the task needed to be done and its details. Post-task: The purpose of this stage is going beyond the task, connecting it to real life, and doing more advanced and communicative activities. (Chastain, 1988; Harmer, 2012)

Indicators: 1. Is familiar with the stages a teacher goes through when teaching language skills and subskills. 2. Is familiar with the activities to be done at each stage. 3. Is familiar with inductive and deductive ways of teaching grammar, is able to make the best choice between the two methods based on what is to be taught. 4. Is familiar with different ways of presenting and practicing the new vocabulary. 5. Shows ample attention to pronunciation teaching and knows the activities that can be used to teach and practice pronunciation.

Table 6. Possessing content knowledge

Definition: “The knowledge teachers have of the subject matter they are teaching” (Shulman, 1987).

Indicators: 1. Is adept at language skills. 2. Has ample knowledge of English vocabulary. 3. Is accurate 4. Is fluent. 5. Is good at pronunciation.

Table 7. Lesson planning and preparation

Definition: “A description or outline of (a) the goals or objectives a teacher has set for a lesson (b) the activities and procedures the teacher will use to achieve them, the time to be allocated to each activity, and the order to be followed (c) the materials and resources which will be used during the lesson” (Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics, 2002, p. 302).

Indicators: 1. Has a plan, is prepared for the day (Bullock, 2015), and prepares materials in advance (Strong, 2007). 2. Has proper teaching aids and samples (Chen, 2012). 3. Makes the learning objectives explicit to the students. 4. Divides the body of lessons into related sections each of which is a prerequisite for the other (Jones et al., 2006). 5. Has carefully linked learning objectives and activities. 6. Follows a consistent schedule and maintains procedures for routines. 7. Considers students’ attention span and learning styles (Strong, 2007).

Table 8. Clarity of presentation

Definition: Clarity in teaching means “teaching in a way that students understand and understanding refers to an individual’s ability to use knowledge in novel situations” (Hativa, 2000, p. 148).

Indicators: 1. Speaks fluently. 2. Explains the information effectively (Chesebro & Mc Croskey, 2001). 3. Knows their subject matter. 4. can explain things in a simple way (avoids using complex terminology, and uses suitable language level) 5. Gives useful examples. 6. Does not present too much material at a time (Westwood, 1996).

Table 9. Classroom management skills

Definition: Classroom management is “the way one manages students’ learning by organizing and controlling what happens in the classroom” (Scriviner, 2012, p. 1).

Indicators: 1. Gives appropriate instruction for the activities to be done. 1.1 Uses simple language to give instruction to low-level students; keeps the instruction brief; writes a few keywords on the board to help listening, understanding, and memory of the instruction. 1.2 Gives a summary of the task and its purpose. 1.3 Explains whether the task is done in pairs, groups, or individually. 1.4 Informs students of the mode of the task, i.e it is a speaking or writing task. 1.5 Tells students what they will be required to do as a result of the task, e.g report the results to the class, perform the dialog, etc. 2. Can decide on the type of group to form (pairs, groups, mingle, plenary) (Scriviner, 2011) 3. Informs students of the time they can work on the activity. 4. Monitors the activities. 4.1 Looks around the room to make sure the groups are working properly. 4.2 Monitors students as they are working, and listens to their conversations. 4.3 If finds students have problems, offers help. 4.4Works with one of the groups just as a student does (Scriviner, 2012). 5. can draw and hold students’ attention. 6. Summarizes the lesson, and answers the short questions that arise. 7. Encourages students’ reflection on what they have learned or not learned (Scriviner, 2012) 8. can manage students’ behavior. 8.1 Monitors students’ behavior and is aware of what’s happening in the classroom (Danielson, 2013) 8.2 Moves around the class to be near the trouble spots and to encourage attention (Strong, 2007). 9. Knows how to deal with students’ disruptive behavior. 9.1 When facing such problems, doesn’t react angrily, but asks for proper behavior confidently. 9.2 Uses body language to communicate what they wish. 9.3 Moves to the problematic place and stands by the noisy student. 9.4 Tries to distract students’ attention from the wrong behavior (Scriviner, 2012). 10. Student talking time is maximized in their class (Harmer, 2007).

Table 10. Developing a rapport

Definition: “Rapport is a positive emotional connection among students, teacher, and subject matter that emerges from the manner in which the teacher constructs the learning environment” (Buskist & Saville, 2001, p. 12).

Indicators: 1. Maintains a professional role while being friendly. 2. Interacts in a fun, playful manner; jokes when appropriate (Strong, 2007) 3. Respects students (Brown, 1988). 4. Communicates positive regard (Lowman, 1996) by 4.1 Calling students by names. 4.2 Creating and using personally relevant examples. 4.3 Rewarding students’ comments and questions with verbal praise. 4.4 Being humble. 4.5 Making eye contact. 4.6 Smiling (Buskist & Saville, 2001) 4.7 Using energetic receptive body language, and words to convey interest and respect. 4.8 Spending the first few minutes of class to engage students in casual conversation (Elias, 2016)

Table 11. Providing a safe and pleasant environment

Definition: An environment in which “students feel comfortable and feel they belong in the classroom” (Walker, 2008, p. 66), they feel secure and want to participate (Dusenbury, 2012).

Indicators: 1. Encourages students. 2. Considers physical proximity. 3. Talks respectfully. 4. Is an active listener. 5. Considers turn-taking (Danielson, 2013). 6. Makes it safe for students to ask questions, and responds to all questions with respect (Dusenbury, 2012).

Table 12. Having enthusiasm for the job and students

Definition: “Possession of an unwavering love of the subject and of teaching and demonstrating commitment to the job” (Keller et al., 2013, p. 247).

Indicators: 1. Speaks in a dramatically. 2. Considers variation in pitch and volume. 3. Moves about while lecturing. 4. Gestures with hands or arms. 5. Exhibits facial gestures or expressions. 6. Has eye contact with students (Murray, 1983). 7. Encourages students to be active. 8. Moves among students (Bulger, Mohr,& Walls, 2002).

Table 13. Being motivated

Definition: “Motivation to learn is defined as a student’s tendency to find the academic activities meaningful and worthwhile and try to derive the intended academic benefits from them” (Brophy, 1988 as cited in Woolfolk et al., 2011, pp. 205–206).

Indicators: 1. Provides students with informative feedback (Williams &Burden, 2000). 2. Chooses activities that relate to students’ background knowledge and experience. 3. Provides opportunities for cooperative learning, problem-solving, and decision making (Woolfolk et al., 2011).

5. Discussion

The large number of investigations exploring the characteristics of effective teachers justifies the importance of this issue. The studies have been done in different contexts all around the world, focusing on the particular characteristics selected by the researchers. By reviewing a large body of such studies, we attempted to present a comprehensive list encompassing nine traits having been the most frequently mentioned by other researchers. Effective teachers, regardless of the subject matter they teach, possess these qualities. However, the present study focused on language teachers, and whether these qualities can be indicative of English teacher effectiveness.

Respecting language teacher characteristics, the results of the studies done by Al-Mahrooqi et al. (2014), Chen (2012), Hajizadeh and Salahshour (2014), and Miller (1987) have the most similarity with the results of the present study. The mutual characteristics are having a good command of English i.e broad content knowledge (Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014; Miller, 1987), building a proper relationship with the students including being friendly and respecting students (Chen, 2012; Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014; Miller, 1987), having classroom management skills (Al-Mahrooqi et al.,2014; Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014), having a pleasant classroom environment (Chen, 2012), having clarity of presentation (Al-Mahrooqi et al.,2014; Chen, 2012), being prepared for the class (Al-Mahrooqi et al.,2014), and being enthusiastic about their job and their students (Al-Mahrooqi et al.,2014; Hajizadeh & Salahshour, 2014; Miller, 1978).

In terms of the components considered in the framework, the results of this study are similar to those of Khaksefidi (2015) respecting teacher’s ability to teach language skills and subskills, providing students with feedback, having a broad content knowledge, having lesson plans, and being motivating. The results of this study are also in line with that of Strong (2007) in terms of teacher’s being enthusiastic, motivating, having classroom management skills, and having the ability to build a rapport. The considered components are also similar to those considered by Danielson (2013) respecting teacher’s having planning and preparation, having the ability to build a rapport, having classroom management skills, and having the ability to provide a safe learning environment. There are also similarities between the results of this study and those of the research done by Asadi (2016), which investigated the quality standards required for English teacher recruitment in the US, Australia, and England. The mutual factors include content knowledge, safe learning environment, planning and preparation considered in Australia and the US; classroom management taken into account in the US; knowledge of teaching and language proficiency considered in England.

Notably, the difference between components considered in the framework suggested in this study and those considered in the formerly developed frameworks can be due to the fact that the components of the present framework were selected based on two criteria: first, how frequently they were mentioned by the scholars; second, whether they were applicable to the English teacher recruitment process.

As mentioned before, scholars have already developed frameworks for teacher evaluation, however, none of them are specified to English language teachers, or applicable to the English teacher recruitment process. To fill this gap, the present study attempted to propose an English teacher recruitment framework by choosing the most frequently suggested criteria of teacher effectiveness and implementing them to employ English teachers, and evaluating the teachers’ actual classroom behavior.

6. Conclusion

The influential role of teachers in educating students is an undeniable fact. Therefore, in order to increase the level of students’ achievement, investments in teacher education and selection of effective teachers is imperative. This study suggests a framework for English language teacher recruitment introducing the skills and qualities required for an effective teacher along with the elements indicative of possession of these qualities by the teacher candidates. The study has implications for administrators in charge of teacher recruitment in the language institutes, in-service English language teachers, pre-service English language teachers, and language teacher educators.

The proposed framework of English teacher recruitment can be a great help to employers as it provides them with a thorough checklist against which they can evaluate the applicants. Using the information presented in this study, language institutes are more likely to employ effective teachers and as a result, improve the quality of language education.

In-service teachers can enhance their work quality by studying this research paper and trying to make the necessary modifications in their personal qualities and teaching skills.

Pre-service teachers can make use of this study to develop the required skills and qualities for an effective English teacher, which consequently will increase their chances of employment.

Teacher educators can also benefit from this study. The suggested framework summarizes what they have to consider in teacher training courses. Rather than a sole emphasis on language teaching methods, teacher educators should help the trainees to develop the required personal qualities for an effective teacher. The results of this study indicated that the most important quality for a teacher is the ability to build a rapport with their students as it was emphasized by the majority of the scholars. Teacher trainers should especially teach the would-be teachers how to develop a proper relationship with their students as this quality influences other aspects of teaching and learning as well.

The present study focused on the qualities required for an effective teacher, their contributing factors, and how language should be taught. It is recommended that further research be done on the way each of these qualities can be taught to the teacher candidates so that the teacher educators can provide the would-be teachers with highly effective teacher training courses.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri

Rezvan Shojaei is a Ph.D. candidate in TEFL in Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran. Her research interests are teacher education, teacher training, task-based language teaching, and language learning strategies.

Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri is an assistant professor of TEFL at Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran. He has been teaching English for many years. His teaching and research areas include international exams (IELTS, TOEFL), language assessment, educational assessment, and second language instruction.

Ehsan Rassaei is an associate professor of applied linguistics. He is currently teaching at Majan University College in Oman. He has taught various applied linguistic courses for more than ten years. His main research interests include corrective feedback in language classrooms, technology-mediated language learning, and dynamic assessment.