E-learning and Distance Education: A Study of Iranian Teaching English as a Foreign Language Masters Students

This study aimed at investigating the application of e-learning for master s students of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at Payame Noor University, the biggest distance education university in Iran and the Middle East. To do this, a questionnaire was sent to all students studying in five different Payame Noor centers around the country. After eliminating the incomplete questionnaires, 122 were analysed. Besides, 14 students as well as ten teachers were interviewed and 10 classes were observed to take advantage of a triangulated data collection method. The results revealed that distance learning students find some features of e-learning such as flexibility in time and class location very convincing; however, the status quo is not satisfactory due to shortcomings in areas including the Learning Management System (LMS) quality, web-based materials, and lack of interaction between students and teachers. Furthermore, despite their dissatisfaction, the students were happy to take e-learning courses because of their convenient features. Similarly, the teachers believed that e-learning can serve distance education, but many aspects such as teacher training courses, the number of students in each class, and the quality of under-web materials need to be improved. The results have some implications for using e-learning in distance education.