Language Teaching Research Quarterly

This study attempts to explore the teachers’ beliefs on the causes of learners’ misbehavior in language classrooms. To do so, 23 language teachers completed a narrative frame in which they discussed a misbehavior experience they had in the class and why they thought it happened; they, then, attended semi-structured interviews where they discussed their experiences regarding learners’ misbehavior. A thematic analysis was employed and the data was analyzed with an eye on the study’s theoretical underpinning, i.e., Activity Theory (AT). The results indicated that there are different sources of misbehavior on different interconnected components of AT. In the “tool” component, the emergent themes were materials constraints, technological challenges, and hobbies interventions. In the “rules”, some themes such as teaching methodology, socio-cultural norms, and political, and ideological intolerance or disobedience emerged. It was in the “community” component of AT that the data revealed social phenomena, colleagues and authorities, and learners heterogeneity. Finally, in the “division of labor” the emerged themes were overwhelming responsibilities, family issues, and executives’ dereliction. The findings suggest a new look at language learners’ misbehavior and inform teacher education programs in which teachers are trained on this issue to manage learning in their classrooms effectively.