Affordances in Iranian English for Academic Purposes Education: an Ecological Approach

Abstract

Numerous studies have been conducted so far to investigate potential affordances in the EAP classes; however, given the context-bound nature of these classes, an ecological framework is needed to explore the factors contributing to the actualization of potential affordances of these classes as well as their ecological roots. With this caveat in mind, in this study, we aimed to explore the ecological factors underlying the actualization of the classroom affordances in four EAP university courses via a nested ecosystem model as an analytical framework. To do this, using a modern social science hermeneutics approach, as a methodological framework, we interviewed four EAP university teachers and two students in these classes for two rounds of interview sessions, collected the personal documents of the teachers, and observed the classes for four sessions. The findings suggested that in terms of affordance levels, the potential affordances of the EAP classes were mainly actualized at the perception level and no space for the utilization of the perceived affordances was observed. On the other hand, the teachers in these classes were not agent in terms of creating shaped affordances in these classes. Furthermore, the policy-makers have not provided the teachers with any formal EAP training courses so that they can become familiar with the EAP research findings and they have also not paved the way for the cooperation of these teachers with ELT teachers. The underlying roots of these issues were discussed in terms in the interplay of micro-, meso-, exo-, and macrosystems.