English language professors' experiences in using social media network Telegram in their classes: a critical hermeneutic study in the context of Iran

Abstract

PurposeThis qualitative study sought to explore how Iranian English language professors used social media network Telegram in their classes and what possibilities and constraints they experienced with regard to classroom interactions and university education, and how they rethought the use of social media network Telegram.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through written reflective exercises and semi-structured interviews. Furthermore, data were analyzed based on three moments of critical hermeneutics: a moment of social-historical analysis, a moment of formal analysis and a moment of interpretation-reinterpretation.FindingsThe analysis of the data led to four themes: a dialogic classroom, the critical awareness of power-relations, the critical reflection on the experiences of the classroom and digital inequality. In fact, the participants pointed out that using social media network Telegram could lead to the persuasive discourse and multiplicity of voices as opportunities for sharing knowledge and distributing powers.Originality/valueIndeed, the present study addressed the learning processes resulted from using social media network Telegram rather than the product and outcome that were mainly addressed by the previous studies by considering three levels of descriptions, which included micro-level of the learner and teacher interaction, meso-level of the processes of educational institutions and macro-level of wider cultural and societal contexts.