ELT as necessary evil: Resisting Western cultural dominance in foreign language policy in the context of Iran (original) (raw)
Related papers
2019
The worldwide English language teaching enterprise is mostly known by its professional and practical features such as teaching methodology and proficiency tests which tend to overshadow the cultural politics of language education and broader policy-level issues. To probe aspects of such less-addressed concerns and with a consideration of the crucial role of policies in education, including English language education, in this paper we explore officially stated English teaching policies in Iran as well as implicitly embraced de facto policy orientations in this area and their possible (mis)matches. Four major national documents bearing policy messages for English language education are examined as sources of overt national policies in this regard. Moreover, to observe parts of the related covert policies, we employ data obtained from interviews with teachers of private language teaching institutes as representative settings of real-life English teaching in Iran. Based on the illustration of the two types of policies and specifically considering the sociocultural implications of embracing or avoiding elements of these policies, we raise some concerns regarding the overall direction of English language education in Iran that could apply to the wider non-English-speaking world as well.
Aspects of 'English language education' policies in Iran: 'Our own beliefs' or 'out of who you are'
Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 2016
The worldwide English language teaching enterprise is mostly known by its professional and practical features such as teaching methodology and proficiency tests which tend to overshadow the cultural politics of language education and broader policy-level issues. To probe aspects of such less-addressed concerns and with a consideration of the crucial role of policies in education, including English language education, in this paper we explore officially stated English teaching policies in Iran as well as implicitly embraced de facto policy orientations in this area and their possible (mis)matches. Four major national documents bearing policy messages for English language education are examined as sources of overt national policies in this regard. Moreover, to observe parts of the related covert policies, we employ data obtained from interviews with teachers of private language teaching institutes as representative settings of real-life English teaching in Iran. Based on the illustration of the two types of policies and specifically considering the sociocultural implications of embracing or avoiding elements of these policies, we raise some concerns regarding the overall direction of English language education in Iran that could apply to the wider non-English-speaking world as well.
Aspects of ‘English language education’ policies in Iran: ‘Our own beliefs’ or ‘out of who you are’?
Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 2016
The worldwide English language teaching enterprise is mostly known by its professional and practical features such as teaching methodology and proficiency tests which tend to overshadow the cultural politics of language education and broader policy-level issues. To probe aspects of such less-addressed concerns and with a consideration of the crucial role of policies in education, including English language education, in this paper we explore officially stated English teaching policies in Iran as well as implicitly embraced de facto policy orientations in this area and their possible (mis)matches. Four major national documents bearing policy messages for English language education are examined as sources of overt national policies in this regard. Moreover, to observe parts of the related covert policies, we employ data obtained from interviews with teachers of private language teaching institutes as representative settings of real-life English teaching in Iran. Based on the illustration of the two types of policies and specifically considering the sociocultural implications of embracing or avoiding elements of these policies, we raise some concerns regarding the overall direction of English language education in Iran that could apply to the wider non-English-speaking world as well.
Textbooks are a significant element of teaching English as a foreign language and are the main input for language learners in the process of language learning. Since many various textbooks have been published for teaching English as a foreign language and have been imported to the Iranian EFL contexts, selecting the proper specific textbook is getting more difficult for Iranian teachers and program developers in private language institutes. The important point is that textbooks are not used only to make language learners familiar with the linguistic aspects; rather, they include the cultural and social aspects of the English language. These cultural and social aspects can be categorized as linguistic ideologies. The purpose of the present study was to review the theories on ideology in language learning and then discuss the ideological aspects of the imported EFL textbooks in Iran. The paper also discussed that there were certainly elements of bias in the language uses and social practices, but they were often unseen or unnoticed. Our study showed that there were three major linguistic ideologies in the EFL textbooks which included hegemony, linguistic imperialism, hegemony of English, and globalization. The imported EFL textbooks in Iran represent specific types of discourse including the western cultural, social, and economical norms. These ideological assumptions have mostly been ignored by curriculum developers in Iran in selecting the appropriate textbooks for their educational programs. The discussion in the present study can be useful to material designers, teachers, and learners.
Iranian Journal of Comparative Education, 2021
While for decades learning English has mostly been accompanied by learning its culture, in recent two decades due to the presence of some critical trends in the field of applied linguistics, the mere integration of target culture in English textbooks has been challenged. Not surprisingly, following this shift, the idea of integrating source culture in English textbooks has caught the researchers' attention. Since the cultural content of English textbooks used in schools and language institutes in Post-revolutionary Iran has always been a controversial issue, in this paper, through a qualitative study, it was attempted to comparatively study the attitudes of Iranian language teachers at schools and language institutes as two contrasting contexts about the issue. In doing so, the attitudes of twenty five teachers in these two sectors, including thirteen school teachers and twelve language institute teachers, selected through convenience sampling, surveyed through semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that while there were some partial differences in the attitudes of these two groups toward the concept of culture and its representation in textbooks, due to the dominance of the mainstream ELT, known as the liberalist approach, that publicizes the inclusion of target culture and rejects the integration of local culture in English textbooks as well as the failure of English education in schools, the participants were mostly in favor of integrating target culture as an indispensable part of English textbooks. These findings may have pedagogical implications for language policy makers, syllabus designers and textbook developers. Attitude Culture English textbook Iranian context English language teacher
Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2017
Nowadays, along with the global spread of the English language, a whole breadth of studies have been conducted to investigate the attitudes of language learners and teachers towards English and cultural imperialism and how it can affect the learning process. In Iran, however, not much research has been done regarding this topic. To address this gap, the present study explored and examined the attitudes of Iranian EFL students and teachers towards linguistic and cultural imperialism and its impact on Iranian ELT context. To this end, the study adopted a descriptive, non-experimental design. The data were collected from questionnaires filled by 50 participants (11 males and 39 females), as well as from the interviews with 20 students, and 10 teachers. The interview data were combined within the main data to provide a supporting role in explaining the questionnaire results. The findings of the study indicated that Iranian students had positive attitudes towards the English language, particularly the American variety. The majority of students and teachers acknowledged that language items were culturally loaded, yet showed positive attitudes towards them which was a manifestation of the influence of linguistic and cultural imperialism on Iranian ELT contexts. As a conclusion, it could be argued that the English language along with its cultural values have influenced the attitudes of Iranian EFL students and teachers and consequently their language learning and teaching. Several implications for English instruction and policy making in English education in Iran can be emerged from this study by evaluating English language learning materials as well as teachers and students attitudes towards English learning and its context.
Textbooks are a significant element of teaching English as a foreign language and are the main input for language learners in the process of language learning. Since many various textbooks have been published for teaching English as a foreign language and have been imported to the Iranian EFL contexts, selecting the proper specific textbook is getting more difficult for Iranian teachers and program developers in private language institutes. The important point is that textbooks are not used only to make language learners familiar with the linguistic aspects; rather, they include the cultural and social aspects of the English language. These cultural and social aspects can be categorized as linguistic ideologies. The purpose of the present study was to review the theories on ideology in language learning and then discuss the ideological aspects of the imported EFL textbooks in Iran. The paper also discussed that there were certainly elements of bias in the language uses and social practices, but they were often unseen or unnoticed. Our study showed that there were three major linguistic ideologies in the EFL textbooks which included hegemony, linguistic imperialism, hegemony of English, and globalization. The imported EFL textbooks in Iran represent specific types of discourse including the western cultural, social, and economical norms. These ideological assumptions have mostly been ignored by curriculum developers in Iran in selecting the appropriate textbooks for their educational programs. The discussion in the present study can be useful to material designers, teachers, and learners.
The present study was conducted to identify the perceptions of the Iranian foreign language practitioners about Iran " s foreign language education policy within a systemic functional linguistics approach. To this end, 8 Iranian male and female foreign language practitioners were interviewed and asked to talk about what they thought about Iran " s foreign language policy. The findings obtained from analysing the process types and participants employed by the Iranian foreign language practitioners within a systemic functional linguistics approach point out that the FLEP document is heavily influenced by and draws on well entrenched ideological, historical, religious, economic, and political discourses. Further investigations within a systemic functional linguistics approach indicate that the Iranian teachers believed that while English is a tool for understanding cultural exchanges and transferring technological advances, achieving these goals through the teaching of English is sometimes problematic within an absolute Islamic framework. The findings obtained from a transitivity analysis for the Iranian foreign language practitioners by subjecting their responses to the questions on the interviews to a systemic functional linguistics approach are also indicative of the Iranian foreign language teachers " loyalty to the " the younger, the better " belief. Likewise, course content was a topic for controversy. Some of the practitioners believed that course content should be developed around a variety of topics. Whereas others asserted that the inclusion of different topics in the foreign language education policy document may increase the workload on the part of the teachers. Other issues such as culture, the Islamic ideology, and imperialism were identified as causes of different understandings among the Iranian foreign language practitioners as well.
2021
The present paper draws together the existing, but largely scattered, research findings on the policy of English language teaching (ELT) in post-Revolutionary Iran. It begins with a brief history of ELT in Iran, then it deals with the major policies adopted and their consequences. It is followed by how ELT policies came under reform in 2013, inspired by the communicative language teaching (CLT) approach. The rest of the paper examines the underlying reasons why the reform failed to work as expected. To this end, a critical analysis of the missing infrastructures prerequisite to the reform is presented. These include the low budget allotted at the planning and implementation levels; teachers’ unpreparedness to teach and assess based on the new approach, due to lack of educational, and economic empowerment; inefficiency of the newly-designed textbooks; the regime of school accountability; heterogeneous classes; inadequate time; extreme class sizes; and students’ demotivation to use En...
Foreign Language Education Policies in Iran
Foreign Language Education Policy (FLEP) needs to be understood as part of broader educational policies and as situated within overarching social macro plans. In this paper, based on a conception of policy as distinct from goals and objectives, and with a view of the relevant literature, we will present some theoretical guidelines of setting and/or evaluating foreign language education policies in the context of broader social and educational policies. Considering theses guidelines a point of departure, several national plan-based documents and in some cases non-finalized documents that reflect some aspects of language education policies of Iran were examined to find the directions and orientations of these plans and the (in)consistencies among them: The 20-year National Vision; The Comprehensive Science Roadmap; The National Curriculum; Policies of the 5 th 5-year Development Plan; The National Document of Education; Philosophy of Education in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Fundamental Principles in Islamic Education; and Roadmap of the Official and General Educational System. Referring to the strengths along with some shortcomings and inconsistencies among these documents as well as the statues of English in the so called global village, we call for a separate unitary FLEP document for Iran and present the requirements and procedure for its actualization.