Abstract
PurposeThe present study explores five Iranian English language teachers’ hopes by drawing on an ecological approach as its conceptual underpinning.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from narrative frames and semi-structured interviews.FindingsAnalyses of our data highlighted how teacher- and student-related factors caused fluctuations in teachers’ hopes. In addition, our findings indicated that while teachers’ past teaching experiences increased their hope, teachers’ lack of agency and economic inflation were among the most significant factors that decreased teachers’ hope in their profession.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first studies in the field of language studies with an ecological perspective on language teachers' hope.