Factors Contributing to Iranian EFL Institute Teachers’ Identity Reconstruction in Online Classes

The current research explores the underlying factors affecting Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) institute teacher identity reconstruction in online courses. It also investigates the combination of roles that constitute Iranian EFL teacher identity in the context of language teaching institutes. Fifteen Iranian EFL teachers from 3 private foreign language institutes in Shiraz were interviewed through semistructured interviews for their narratives. The data were analyzed utilizing the grounded theory to extract the themes. Results indicated that 2 main sets of factors: (a) Individual factors and (b) context-based factors were responsible for the reconstruction of Iranian EFL institute teacher identity. Individual factors include educational background, professional background, emotions, beliefs, and attitudes. Context-based factors encompass classroom management, time management, communicative issues, course design issues, and teacher identity subfactors. Findings can be helpful for teachers, preservice teachers, institution managers, course designers, and program developers.