A Comparison of Iranian High School Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Effective English Teachers

Abstract

As potential mismatches between teachers’ and students’ perceptions can have negative effects on students’ satisfaction with the language class and even on their ultimate achievement, many researchers have attempted to identify and examine possible sources of such mismatches. In line with those investigations, the present study intended to compare the perceptions held by Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) public school teachers with those of their students. To this aim, a convenient sample of teachers (N = 75) and students (N = 202) from different cities of Iran was recruited to participate in the study. Using a 50-item Likert-type questionnaire and running between-groups independent-samples t tests and a two-way ANOVA, the researchers found that students’ perceptions were completely different from those of their teachers. Contrary to expectations, while students preferred a communicative approach to learning English, their teachers tended to favor a more traditional approach. Also, although high- and low-achieving students’ perceptions were not statistically different, they were significantly different from those of their teachers. Moreover, male teachers held different perceptions from their female students, and female teachers’ perceptions were also different from those of their male students. Findings of the study along with their implications for the practice of English teaching are also discussed.