Reasons of Burnout: The Case of Iranian English Language Teachers

This qualitative study aimed at investigating the reasons for burnout among Iranian English language teachers who were teaching in public Iranian high schools. To this aim, 15 male and female teachers who had scored high on the Maslach Burnout Inventory were selected and studied through semi-structured interview, journal keeping and observation methods. Qualitative content analysis of the collected data showed that students' low proficiency, lack of support from administrators, student misbehavior, students' lack of interest in learning English, time limitation and class oversize were among the major reasons for Iranian English language teacher burnout. The results support the recent renewal of the English language teaching curriculum for schools, but they have further implications for policy-makers.