Exploring the Possibilities and Challenges of Using the WhatsApp Application for Mentoring Purposes: A Qualitative Study of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teacher Educators in Iran

The study of teacher mentoring has long been considered a determining factor of success in language teachers’ professional development. With the advent of mobile-assisted technology, language teachers can receive mentoring through online meetings to enhance their professional development. However, the potential of social networking mobile applications for mentoring purposes has not yet been addressed in the related literature on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education. To fill this gap, the present study explores the possibilities and challenges of using a social networking mobile application (WhatsApp) for mentoring EFL teachers in the context of Iran. Semi-structured interviews with five EFL teacher educators were administered to collect qualitative data. The results of the thematic analysis indicated that teacher educators were interested in using WhatsApp for sharing their professional experiences with EFL teachers, having interpersonal interactions with them, and assisting them in individualizing their instructional practices. As the narratives suggested, although WhatsApp could be applied to any teacher education context where access to teacher training courses was limited, it would not be useful for mentoring the EFL teachers who had a heavy workload and restricted openness towards mobile-assisted technology. The current study contributed to greater recognition of the advantages and challenges of applying WhatsApp as a mediational tool for mentoring EFL teachers. Finally, suggestions for further research are offered.

کلیدواژه ها:

Teacher Mentoring ، EFL Teacher Educators ، Mobile-Assisted Technology ، WhatsApp ، Professional Development