Iranian Psychology Teachers’ Perceptions of Pluralistic English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Teaching in Iran: A Grounded Theory Study

In spite of the fact that pluralistic education has formally found its own way into the World educational systems, seemingly, ESP teaching system of Iran is almost devoid of pluralistic principles. This study aimed at exploring Iranian psychology teachers’ perceptions of pluralistic English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching in Iran.

In so doing, it benefited from a grounded theory approach. The participants of the present study consisted of 20 Iranian male and female psychology teachers who were selected through purposive sampling from those teachers who were teaching ESP in different branches of the field of psychology at different universities in Iran including Allameh Tabataba’i University, University of Tehran, Tarbiat Modares University, Shahid Rajaee University, Shahid Chamran University, Hormozgan University, Isfahan University, and Shiraz University. To collect the data, a semi-structured interview was used.

According to the results of thematic analysis, several themes were extracted as Iranian psychology teachers’ perceptions of pluralistic English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching in Iran which were mainly related to ESP teaching methods, assessment procedures, and content. Some of the extracted themes included Using Diverse Methods of ESP Teaching, Developing ESP Courses based on the Students’ Needs, and Teaching ESP Students to be Creative.

The findings have some implications for ESP teachers and students in the field of psychology, ESP materials developers, and researchers.