Medical students' metaphors of English for Medical Purposes (EMP) teachers: Insights into educational philosophies in the Iranian context

Understanding learners' beliefs about teachers is critical for shaping English for Specific Purposes (ESP), particularly English for Medical Purposes (EMP), teaching practices in discipline-specific contexts. This qualitative descriptive study examines Iranian medical students' metaphorical conceptualizations of EMP teachers to explore how the students perceive teaching roles, authority, support, and participation in medical English classrooms. Data were collected from 144 undergraduate medical students at an Iranian medical sciences university through a sentence-completion task, in which the participants generated metaphors describing their EMP teachers. The data were analyzed using Cameron and Low's (1999) metaphor analysis framework and interpreted through Oxford et al.'s (1998) four educational philosophies of social Order, cultural transmission, learner-centered growth, and social reform. Analysis of 152 metaphors revealed that students' beliefs were predominantly aligned with learner-centered growth and cultural transmission philosophies, with the fewer reflecting the social order philosophy. No metaphors corresponded to the social reform philosophy of the teacher as a learning partner or an acceptor. While many metaphors depicted EMP teachers as supportive facilitators, they also reflected hierarchical expectations and limited learner agency. These findings offer insights into how teaching roles are constructed in EMP classrooms and provide practical implications for teachers seeking to balance disciplinary requirements with participatory teaching approaches.