Exploring TEFL Professors’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Academic Writing Courses in MA-Level TEFL Curricula

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Fasa Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran

Abstract

This research explored the perceptions of TEFL professors regarding the effectiveness, current status, and possible improvement of the Academic Writing course as the most relevant advanced writing course in the MA-level TEFL program. To collect the data, primarily, 10 TEFL professors were selected from different universities in Fars Province, Iran, through the purposive sampling method. Next, interviews were conducted with the participants based on a researcher-made list of interview questions which followed the conceptual findings of previous research in the literature on second language (L2) writing and education and the perceptions of three members in a panel of experts. The factors observed were arranged as five questions in the interview checklist, which dealt with the consistency of the course from a curricular perspective, its ability to meet linguistic expectations, students’ responses to it, the most relevant method of teaching Academic Writing, and the ways that could help to improve the course under investigation. To analyze the data, qualitative content analysis was used, which made it possible to reach a profound understanding of the students’ direct experiences. The content analysis showed 66 codes, 17 categories, and 5 themes (which were the ultimate responses to the five questions). Among others, the study suggested that Academic Writing was an institute-centered course, which involved inconsistencies, failed to achieve its practical goals, and mostly relied on prefabricated formats and outdated resources. To overcome these issues, universities are recommended to follow a learner-centered approach, use writing technologies, make students aware of the benefits of writing, and encourage academic writing from the outset of the MA program.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Abas, I. H. & Abd Aziz, N. H. (2016). Indonesian EFL students’ perspective on writing process: A pilot study. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7(3), 21-27.
Asadifard, A. & Koosha, M. (2013). EFL instructors and student writers‟ perceptions on academic writing reluctance. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(9), 1572-1578.
Beiki, M., Raissi, R. & Gharagozloo, N. (2020). The differences between Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions and their instructional practices regarding the cooperative learning. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 1(7), 1-30.
Cando-Guanoluisa, F. S., Campaña-Pallasco, G. J. & Panchi-Herrera, D. M. (2017). Students’ perception about the writing instruction in English classes. Domino de las Ciencias4(3 Especial), 902-944.
Chen, S., Nassaji, H. & Liu, Q. (2016). EFL learners’ perceptions and preferences of written corrective feedback: a case study of university students from Mainland China. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 1(5), 1-17.  
Díaz-Barriga Arceo, F. (2016). Learner-centred curriculum revisited. European Journal of Curriculum Studies, 3(2), 505-519.
Divsar, H. (2018). Exploring the challenges faced by Iranian TEFL students in their doctoral dissertation writing. International Journal of English and Translation Studies, 6(3), 195-203.
Elo, S., Kääriäinen, M., Kanste, O., Pölkki, T., Utriainen, K. & Kyngäs, H. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: A focus on trustworthiness. SAGE open4(1), 2158244014522633.
Erlingsson, C. & Brysiewicz, P. (2017). A hands-on guide to doing content analysis. African journal of emergency medicine7(3), 93-99.
Ghoorchaei, B. & Tavakoli, M. (2020). Students’ perceptions about writing portfolios: A case of Iranian EFL students. Research in English Language Pedagogy, 8(1), 21-42.
Harjanto, I. (2014). Teaching EFL academic writing through I-search. Language Education in Asia, 5(1), 151-159.
Jalilifar, A. & Shahvali, P. (2013). Writing suggestions for further research in Iranian applied linguistics theses: A Generic and Metadiscoursal Investigation. Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16(1), 79-105.
Jeyaraj, J. J. (2020). Academic writing needs of postgraduate research students in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 17(2), 1-23.
Karimnia, A. (2013). Writing research articles in English: Insights from Iranian university teachers’ of TEFL. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences70, 901-914.
Karimnia, A. & Safnyyat, M. (2021). Investigating source-text use in academic writing tasks of EFL students through integrated writing assessment. Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(3), 71-87.
Keyvandarian, B. & Afzali, K. (2019). Analysis of MA thesis writing problems and perceptions of postgraduate EFL learners towards them. Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Translation Studies, 40(1), 17-40.  
Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. (2017). MA TEFL curriculum. Islamic Republic of Iran Higher Education Publication.
Rahimi, M., Karimnia. A. & Barjesteh, H. (2023). Cause effect patterns in the discussion sections of articles in language studies journals: The discourse of scientific explanation across language sub-disciplines. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies41(3), 248-263.
Saghaieh Bolghari, M., Birjandi, P. & Maftoon, P. (2017). Iranian learners’ perception of efficacy of activity theory-based reading comprehension. Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 9(2), 139-172.        
Sağlamel, H. & Kayaoğlu, M. N. (2015). English major students’ perceptions of academic writing: A struggle between writing to learn and learning to write. Tarih Kültür ve Sanat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4(3), 37-52.  
Sándorová, Z. (2014). Content analysis as a research method in investigating the cultural components in foreign language textbooks. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 2(1), 95-128. 
Singh, M. K. (2015). International graduate students’ academic writing practices in Malaysia: Challenges and solutions. Journal of International Students, 5(1), 12-22.
Tsuroyya, C. (2020). Students’ perception on peer correction for academic writing performance. The Journal of English Literacy Education, 7(1), 11-19.
Wilmot, K. & Lotz-Sisitka, H. (2015). Supporting Academic Writing Practices in Postgraduate Studies. Rhodes University.