Unveiling the Invisible Gem: Identifying the Obstacles on the Path of Critical Literacy Practices in EFL Digital Classes in Iran

In the present climate, Critical Literacy has become an area gathering momentum more than ever before, tantamount to an ‘invisible gem’ as almost many education systems have attempted, but failed, to incorporate it into their curricula. To address this elusive notion, this study aimed to investigate the obstacles in the way of possible dilemmas, challenges, constraints, and limitations Iranian EFL teachers face in the process of implementing critical literacy in their online classes. This qualitative research study was conducted in two phases. First, an open-ended set of questions was developed after reviewing the literature, scrutinizing the existing questionnaires, and collecting data from experts in the field. To do so, after reviewing the literature, a list of questions was composed. Subsequently, qualitative data were collected (and analyzed) from 29 EFL teachers through an open-ended questionnaire and interview. The framework and elicited data led to the development of 23 items for the interview part. Accordingly, the online classes of all the teachers were observed by the researchers for an entire term. From what has been discussed, the following conclusion may be drawn that critical literacy needs to be part of the language teaching curricula in Iran. The finding can potentially aid the key educational stakeholders, including second/foreign language (L2) policymakers, teacher educators, authorities in charge of recruiting teachers, and materials developers, to take appropriate measures to increase pre- and in-service L2 teachers’ critical literacy and, as a result, encourage the implementation of this key concept in the instructional contexts.