Neither dichotomy nor continuum: Iranian EFL teachers’ cognitions on research–practice relationship

The present qualitative study explored Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers’ attitudes toward research–practice relationship. The participants were selected based on snowball sampling. They were 15 male and female teachers who had from 6 months to 1 year of teaching experience. All the participants held B.A. in English Language Teaching field. To collect the data, in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants. The data were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. The results of the study suggest that four different types of research–practice relationships exist: they are either complementary or dichotomous. The third relationship leans towards the dominancy of research over practice. Yet, the fourth condition shows that research–practice relationship is of mutable one. Overall, the results indicated that the theory and practice relationship should more be regarded as a fluid continuum rather than a fixed binary. The implications of the findings of the study are discussed for the international audience and local ones including applied linguists and teacher educators.