Accounting for the Discrepancies in the New Iranian EFL National Curriculum from the Professional and Practical Standpoints

Abstract

Abstract The present investigation is an endeavor to scrutinize the Iranian EFL professors’ and teachers’ viewpoints towards the status quo as well as the constituents of the current Iranian EFL national curriculum. Two questionnaires based on teachers and experts’ focus groups and study’s objectives were designed. The participants of the study included 306 Iranian EFL teachers and 13 Iranian EFL professors. The teachers’ questionnaire was analyzed through SPSS version 21 and the professors’ questionnaire was analyzed through coding. The findings revealed that both teachers and professors do not have positive attitudes towards the new curriculum. In spite of the educational reform in Iran and writing the new curriculum and the new textbooks, time allotment, load of skills in each English book, and untrained teachers hinder the new curriculum to reach its target, i.e. communication with the world. Therefore, to fulfill the objectives of the new curriculum, Educational Department of Iran should remove the difficulties.