The Application of Ellis’s Principles for Effective Instructed Foreign Language Learning in Iranian Language Institutes and High Schools

This study attempts to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ perception of the application of Ellis’s (2005) principles for successful instructed language learning in their language classes. To this end, a group of EFL teachers comprising high school and private language institute teachers took part in the study. The required data were gathered through a self-completion questionnaire developed by Howard and Millar (2009). Qualitative analysis of data revealed the teachers’ perception of the principles, as well as the principles they perceived to be most important to them, and the challenges they faced in implementing the principles in their language classes. These constraints included lack of time, the context of learning, the large number of students in classes, the testing system of the educational system, and the nature and structure of the language books. Results of independent samples t-test also indicated that those teachers who taught in the private language institute had a higher perception of the principles and were thus more successful than high school teachers in implementing them in their language classes. Based on the findings of the study, a number of pedagogical implications for language teachers and syllabus and curriculum developers are stated.