Abstract:
After the introduction of postmethod pedagogy by Kumaravadivelu with its three principles of particularity, possibility and practicality, a wave of attention was directed towards this so-called 'postmethod era' and its appropriacy and adequacy in satiating the demands of the language learners in this 'brand new world'. This situation has created a healthy debate among the Iranian EFL community as well. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of the Iranian EFL domain experts about postmethod pedagogy. In so doing, the Delphi technique was adopted to reach ‘expert’ consensus. The participants of this study were 21 domain experts in the field of applied linguistics in Iran. The Delphi technique was a remarkably quick means of achieving a consensus on postmethod pedagogy for participants. Three waves of data collection were employed in the three rounds of Delphi with the same sample. The findings of this study raised much doubt and uncertainty about both method and post method pedagogy. It was revealed that the Iranian language education has never experienced method in its actual meaning, what it is known as the method has been an eclectic approach any teacher has adhered to simply based on his/her personal taste. Moreover, the findings of the Delphi technique indicated that postmethod pedagogy with its three principles is not applicable in the Iranian context. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.
Machine summary:
In order to improve the quality of English language education in the country and respond to the Iranian English language learners’ needs in today’s world, the present research with the research question of " What are the perspectives of Iranian domain experts in the field of applied linguistics on post-method pedagogy in the Iranian context?" aims to explore the opinions of the Iranian EFL domain experts about the current state of postmethod pedagogy in Iran, the result of which will contribute to the Iranian Language Teaching.
The obtained results indicated that Iranian EFL teachers had disparate attitudes towards dominant methods of language teaching but no significant relationship was found between the teachers’ attitudes towards post-method pedagogy and their students’ achievement(Atai & Gheitanchian, 2009).
In another study, Gholami and Mirzaei (2013) investigated the Iranian EFL teachers’ understanding of English language teaching in post- method era, they particularly focused on the difficulties and hindrances Iranian EFL teachers face in the implementation of postmethod pedagogy.
In the studies mentioned above, the participants were all practicing teachers and none of them had sought the perspectives and unanimity of domain experts on postmethod pedagogy in the Iranian language education.
The majority of panel believed that a method as a specific instructional design or system based on a particular theory of language and of language learning (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) has not existed and does not exist in Iran rather Iranian teachers draw upon a kind of self-initiated eclectic approach (Bell, 2007, Marton, 1988, Stern, 1992).