Phenomenological Research into Chinese EFL Teachers’ Challenges

Exploring the professional difficulties EFL teachers face and discussing their classroom implications will undoubtedly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of EFL education. The primary objective of the study is to shed light on the difficulties faced by Chinese EFL teachers and how these issues may affect both ELT practice and academic inquiry in different education contexts. The participants were seven EFL teachers from different primary, secondary, and high schools in China. A phenomenological approach was adopted to explore the difficulties through multiple, in-depth interviews. Using the Constant Comparison Method, the researchers independently conducted content analysis of the qualitative data. The findings revealed 16 different themes, such as lack of pedagogical content knowledge, to difficulty in managing students’ motivation and engagement, and centralized examination-driven educational system. The findings from the first-hand data were discussed in relation to implications in a way that will contribute to the field of EFL teacher training, policymakers, education leaders, and consequently, EFL teachers and learners.