This qualitative study examined pedagogical practices in Iranian public secondary school English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) settings, in particular the use of textbooks, language in the classroom, teaching strategies, and teacher agency. Drawing on 12 classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with 12 English teachers, it investigated the degree of adherence to the government-prescribed Vision textbook series, patterns and reasons for L1 (Persian) and L2 (English) use, methodological approaches used, and teacher agency within systemic constraints. Findings revealed a high dependence on textbooks and teacher manuals, little adaptation of the material, and heavy reliance on teacher-centered presentation-practice-production (PPP) approaches. In the classroom, Persian is used 65 percent of the interactions especially to support lower-proficiency learners. Institutional factors—centralized curricula, inadequate resources, exam-oriented culture, and teachers' limited language proficiency—curtail professional autonomy. Although many teachers are interested in communicative approaches, structural barriers prevent their adoption. The study highlights the need for context-sensitive teacher preparation, textbook revisions, and pedagogical flexibility to improve the effectiveness of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in centralized education systems.
Solati et al. (Wed,) studied this question.