contributing factors to language teachers’ effectiveness:a questionnaire validation study

Due to the importance of teachers’ role in any educational system, effective teachers’ characteristics and factors contributing to their effectiveness have always been under question. though the word effectiveness has always been difficult to define, various definitions have been provided in the related literature. the present study explored the factors contributing to the language teachers’ effectiveness in the iranian language learning context. to this aim, an extensive and intensive literature review was conducted, and six main factors were extracted, namely assessment literacy, content and pedagogical content knowledge, experience, oral proficiency, personality type, and self-efficacy. in the first phase of the study, 13 experts holding a ph.d. in teaching english as a foreign language (tefl) participated to share their attitudes towards these factors through a semi-structured interview, including 40 statements. the interview results were analyzed thematically and used to develop a new questionnaire for this construct. to validate the newly developed questionnaire with 24 items, 93 language teachers participated in a pilot study. the results were analyzed through factor analysis in spss. after necessary modifications suggested by the factor analysis, a questionnaire with 19 items entitled “efl language teachers’ effectiveness” was developed. the findings and implications of the present study can be used for teacher training courses and the enhancement of language teaching and learning programs.

Contributing Factors to Language Teachers’ Effectiveness:A Questionnaire Validation Study

Due to the importance of teachers’ role in any educational system, effective teachers’ characteristics and factors contributing to their effectiveness have always been under question. Though the word effectiveness has always been difficult to define, various definitions have been provided in the related literature. The present study explored the factors contributing to the language teachers’ effectiveness in the Iranian language learning context. To this aim, an extensive and intensive literature review was conducted, and six main factors were extracted, namely assessment literacy, content and pedagogical content knowledge, experience, oral proficiency, personality type, and self-efficacy. In the first phase of the study, 13 experts holding a Ph.D. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) participated to share their attitudes towards these factors through a semi-structured interview, including 40 statements. The interview results were analyzed thematically and used to develop a new questionnaire for this construct. To validate the newly developed questionnaire with 24 items, 93 language teachers participated in a pilot study. The results were analyzed through factor analysis in SPSS. After necessary modifications suggested by the factor analysis, a questionnaire with 19 items entitled “EFL Language Teachers’ Effectiveness” was developed. The findings and implications of the present study can be used for teacher training courses and the enhancement of language teaching and learning programs.