Autoethnographic Reflections on EFL Writing Development in a Theocracy

Abstract

Developing writing skills in a foreign language is a highly value-laden practice that is susceptible to the influence of the dominant ideological narratives of a given context. This influence is typically echoed in policies and practices informing the role, scope, and place of writing in curriculum and pedagogy. Using autoethnographic reflections, I draw on four episodes of my educational and academic journey as an Iranian EFL learner, teacher, and researcher to examine the learning and feedback resources and strategies I consulted to navigate the ideological challenges of writing development in this context and beyond. I also adopt reflexive praxis to problematize the underpinnings of an educational system that has capitalized on literacy practices to produce consumers of the postrevolutionary rhetoric and discourse of ideological populism. This retrospective account suggests that most of the classroom-based instruction I was exposed to fell short of translating a piece of the complex landscape of writing competencies into meaningful experiences, mainly due to short-sighted curricular policies, ineffective pedagogical practices, and inefficient resources such as a lack of specialized teachers. The paper offers insights into factors compromising students' writing development in contexts where literacy practices are exploited to promote conformity to prevailing ideological orthodoxies.