A Systematic Review of E-Learning in the Context of Iran: Where Does English Language Teaching Stand?
محورهای موضوعی : Journal of Studies in Learning and Teaching English
Peyman Nouraey
1
(Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran)
Mohammad Bavali
2
(Department of English Language, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran)
Fatemeh Behjat
3
(Department of English Language, Abadeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadeh, Iran)
کلید واژه: Online education, E-Learning, Systematic Review, English language education, Teaching English as a Foreign Language,
چکیده مقاله :
The first traces of e-learning in Iran dates to 2004, although this was not implemented until 2005. The present systematic review aimed at finding out where e-learning stands within the field of English language education also referred to as Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Data were collected through two main sources. The first source was MetSearch (Cardiff Metropolitan University’s e-library) which covers several reputable databases, yet we specifically looked into ProQuest Central, Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. The second source was Google Scholar which includes more publications but is less structured. Our search terms were e-learning OR elearning AND Iran OR problems OR challenges OR opportunities. We investigated a period of 15 years (i.e., between 2008 and 2022). Only peer-reviewed original articles written in English and addressing the challenges, problems, or opportunities related to e-learning in Iran were included. Our final search led to 12 original articles focusing on the aforementioned areas of e-learning. The findings revealed that the literature highly lacked studies related to e-learning in the area of TEFL in Iran. The included studies were mostly related to medicine and medical sciences, nursing, agriculture, technology, and sciences. With the increasing usage of e-learning among TEFL students and educators, especially after the strike of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers need to fill the huge gap that exists in the literature.
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