Examining L2 Teachers’ Perceptions of EIL Paradigm: Creating Awareness and Change

English as an International Language (EIL) refers to a paradigm shift in second language (L2) education as a response to complexities arising from the rapid spread of the English language around the globe in recent decades; therefore, EIL is, now, regarded as a paradigm for thinking, research and practice in L2 teaching. Due to the importance of the teacher’s perceptions and attitudes and the influence they can have on their practicing English Language Teaching (ELT), the present study sought to explore what Iranian L2 teachers’ perceptions were about EIL and to see if awareness and change could be created in this respect through educational workshops. To this end, an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was designed and 139 Iranian L2 teachers’ perceptions of the EIL paradigm were measured before and after an educational workshop. Also, 22 participants were interviewed to explore their perceptions of the EIL. Results indicated that the participants, by and large, did not possess appropriate perceptions of the EIL paradigm in varying degrees but that the workshop proved to be effective for developing appropriate perceptions in teachers. The interviews bore corroborating evidence for the quantitative data of the study. Awareness and change of attitude of the EIL can help L2 teachers make more informed decisions when practicing ELT.