Iranian vs. Non-Iranian Scholars’ Beliefs over Collaborative EAP Practices: Legitimizing English Language Instructors in EAP Courses

Abstract

The current research was run through a non-observational research scheme tapping two groups of experts- Iranian versus non-Iranian expert university instructors who were indulged in EAP courses. The focus groups including seven Iranian and eighteen non-Iranian instructors/researchers (from both ELT and non-ELT domains) at tertiary levels were recruited and their views were collected through researcher-made questionnaires and an online sequential conference talk passing through the Research Gate social networking platform. Various online interviews with the target participants were managed to 1) peek into what had been lacking in previous EAP teaching models thus far regarding collaborative models of EAP both in Iran and outside the country, 2) gain English professors' innovations as highlighted in their practices for upgrading collaborative EAP teaching, and 3) survey the co-presence of language and content teachers along with language learners in EAP classes. Findings after content analysis of the gained data demonstrate that Iranian ELT practitioners inside the country believed in collaborative practices, but they found it so hard to create such a situation due to some reasons related to mismatching psychological characteristics of content and language instructors as well as some other flawed educational arrangements in the country. Non-ELT teachers inside the country also constantly talked about two separate expertise which did not include language teachers as legitimate colleagues of their own in such courses. Across outside borders, the situation was far more satisfactory and showing a more optimum cooperation of language and content teachers.