Teachers’ Teaching Styles and their Beliefs about Incorporating Technology into L2 Instruction: The Case of Iranian EFL Context

Integration of educational technologies in second language (L2) learning and teaching has now become widespread and many researchers have attempted to investigate the different perspectives on the topic. Despite the extensive research efforts, important issues such as the relationship between teachers' teaching styles and their beliefs toward the technological use in L2 pedagogy have been overlooked. This study examines 90 Iranian EFL teachers' teaching styles and their beliefs about technology-supported L2 instruction. A mixed-methods approach, integrating two questionnaires and an interview, was employed. Results from the questionnaires suggested that Iranian EFL teachers prefer teacher-centered styles of instruction and that they hold positive attitudes toward application of technology in EFL instruction. The Pearson-Product Moment Correlation tests also revealed that there was a significant relationship between the teachers’ teaching styles and their beliefs about technology integration in EFL instruction. Based on the interviews, it was concluded that most of the interviewees had positive beliefs with respect to technology integration, thus confirming the results obtained from the earlier phase of the study. The findings highlights association between teachers' teaching styles and their beliefs about technology integration in EFL education. The findings of this study can be used to increase the awareness of both EFL teachers and policymakers at institutes to realize that many elements, encompassing teachers’ teaching style and their beliefs about technology, predispose instructors to employ particular teaching styles in their classes.