We Believe in CLT, But…’: Iranian EFL Teachers’ Perceptions and Implementation Challenges

Despite its official adoption in Iran’s national EFL curriculum, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) remains inconsistently implemented, revealing a profound disconnect between policy mandates and classroom realities. This mixed-methods study examines the perceptions of 35 Iranian EFL teachers (15 pre-service, 20 in-service) in Isfahan, using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, to explore their conceptualizations of CLT, perceived barriers to its enactment, and the resulting belief-practice gap. Findings demonstrate robust theoretical support for CLT principles across both cohorts, yet their practical application is severely constrained. Common obstacles include grammar-focused national examinations, large class sizes, students’ ingrained passive learning habits, scarcity of authentic materials, and insufficient teacher training. In-service teachers further highlight systemic barriers—misaligned assessment systems, inadequate administrative support, and low salaries—whereas pre-service teachers, limited by minimal classroom exposure, display greater optimism. Framed through Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, the study positions teachers as active agents mediating conflicting institutional and cultural demands. It contends that sustainable CLT integration demands policy coherence, sustained professional development, and context-sensitive adaptations rather than relying solely on top-down reform. By providing a comparative analysis across career stages, this research advances teacher cognition scholarship and reframes CLT as a locally negotiated practice, offering direct implications for teacher education, curriculum design, and policymaking in comparable EFL contexts.