EFL Teachers' Perceptions of the Effects of Large Class Sizes in Higher Education Institutions in Nangarhar Province

چکیده

The following study focused on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ perception about the impact of large class size in HEIs in Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan. This study was conducted using a quantitative, descriptive, cross sectional survey research design, data were obtained from 67 EFL teachers by distributing a structured questionnaire that was designed and made in the online environment and then analyzed descriptively in SPSS 27. In this study a large class was operationally defined as a class with 26 students or more. The results show that 47.8% of the teachers taught classes of 26 or more students, while 92.5% of teachers considered a class size of 25 students or less to be ideal for teaching EFL. The problems most often felt by teachers were: difficulty in giving individual and timely feedback, giving attention to all students equally, controlling discipline, keeping up to timely assessment, and giving active students participation in language learning activities. The findings reveal the need for policy attention, as well as evidence-based approaches to the problems of large classes in EFL. The study is a valuable addition to the literature on EFL education in conflict-stricken and resource-constrained environments and serves as a source of reference for educational policy makers in Afghanistan.