Exploring Iranian EFL Learners' Perspectives on Online Education and Its Relationship with Personality Traits

The rapid global pivot towards online education, significantly accelerated by the COVID-۱۹ pandemic, profoundly reshaped English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction worldwide, notably within socio-culturally distinct contexts like Iran. This systematic narrative review synthesizes existing literature concerning Iranian EFL learners' perspectives on online learning and investigates the interplay between these perceptions and established personality traits. Drawing upon a broad range of empirical studies from international and domestic databases, the review integrates theoretical constructs from online learning (e.g., Community of Inquiry, Self-Determination Theory) and personality psychology (e.g., the Big Five model). Findings reveal a complex picture: while Iranian EFL learners often appreciate the flexibility of online platforms, significant challenges persist regarding motivation, self-regulation, technological access, and anxiety levels. Crucially, the review highlights empirical connections between personality dimensions-particularly high Conscientiousness and lower Neuroticism-and increased satisfaction, engagement, and perceived effectiveness in the virtual classroom. The synthesis underscores that personality acts as a significant moderator of the online learning experience, often amplifying or mitigating the challenges inherent in remote language acquisition. This paper offers critical implications for pedagogical design, advocating for blended approaches tailored to the specific psychological profiles and infrastructural realities of Iranian learners, thereby addressing persistent gaps in current practice and theory.

کلیدواژه ها:

Online EFL Learning ، Iranian Context ، Personality Traits ، Big Five Model ، Leamer Perceptions ، Self-Regulation ، CALL