from good to great: exploring the traits of successful efl teachers with a focus on professional development and social emotional competence

Language teaching has gained a significant consideration in the current era due to the global interconnections. most of the studies done in this field have focused on the methodologies of teaching and less emphasis has been put on language teachers’ attributes and characteristics which can make them exceptional. accordingly, the present study investigates professional development and social emotional competence among successful teachers within a mega planning framework and through employing a sequential/ explanatory descriptive mixed method design. the initial stage involved the participation of 628 efl students assessing their teachers’ success. for the quantitative phase the 72 selected teachers as successful participated. also, 8 randomly chosen teachers participated in the qualitative phase. key findings through the descriptive analysis revealed that self-awareness was the most significant aspect of social-emotional competence, while staying updated through reading was the top priority for professional development. most successful teachers indicated a positive self-assessment in both areas. thematic analysis revealed seven themes in professional development, with preparedness and being up-to-date being the most frequent, and seven themes in social emotional competence, emphasizing understanding students and fostering relationships. the findings of the present study can benefit novice teachers through suggesting more sophisticated and understandable criteria for their improvement on the way of success. results can also help teacher trainers in focusing on the areas of strength in successful teachers when providing professional development.