THE ROLE OF BRAIN DOMINANCE IN THE PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES USED BY IRANIAN ELT TEACHERS

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the role of Iranian ELT teachers’ brain dominance in the pedagogical strategies they employ and reveal in which ways brain dominance as a cognitive factor can influence the way teachers perform in their language classrooms. To this end, data were gathered from 74 ELT teachers in higher education institutes in Shiraz, Iran, who were selected to partake in the study through availability sampling. The participants were asked to fill in two questionnaires, the first one determined their brain dominance, and the second one examined the pedagogical strategies they used in their teaching settings. Analysis of data gathered via descriptive as well as inferential statistics revealed that teachers’ brain dominance did not have any effects on their use of teaching strategies. Based on the results, it can be claimed that teachers can employ any strategy type they find more useful in their language classes regardless of their brain dominance, as a cognitive style.