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

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, ۱۰ 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 (L۲) 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 ۶۶ codes, ۱۷ categories, and ۵ 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which involved inconsistencies, failed to achieve its practical goals, and mostly relied on prefabricated formats and outdated resources.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:

Academic writing , Curriculum design , Professors’ perceptions , Qualitative content analysis , Teaching English as a foreign language