The political climate of English language education in Iran : A review of policy responses to cultural hegemony

• Published in: Issues in educational research Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 248 - 263
• Main Authors: Moharami, Mehdi, Daneshfar, Samran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Perth, WA Institutes for Educational Research in NSW, SA and WA 01.03.2022; Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc
• Subjects: Arabic; Arabic language; Cultural hegemony; Cultural identity; Cultural Influences; Curricula; Education and state; Education policy; Educational Benefits; Educational Needs; Educational Objectives; Educational Policy; Elementary Secondary Education; English; English (Second language); English as a second language instruction; English for Special Purposes; English language; Evaluation; Foreign Countries; Foreign language learning; Hegemony; Higher education; Instructional Design; Kindergarten; Language Attitudes; Language policy; Language Role; Learning; National Curriculum; Policy analysis; Policy formation; Political Attitudes; Political influences; Power structure; Primary secondary education; Public Education; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Second language teaching; Semitic Languages; Study and teaching; Teaching Methods; Universities; Iran
• ISSN: 1837-6290; 0313-7155

Education policy seeks to define the purpose of schooling and design the educational sphere according to authorities' objectives and people's needs. Governments set policies and principles to reach their intended goals in education, preserving people's values and culture. Many countries provide learning foreign languages in their curriculum to address modern life challenges. English and Arabic are the two foreign languages in the Iranian public education system. Recently, Iranian politicians have begun to criticise the hegemony of English and blame it for changes in the nation's culture and identity. Therefore, they implemented restrictive measures on English language education in the public curriculum; however, they did not change language education in the tertiary education policy. These changes failed to significantly impact the position of English in Iran for several reasons. The present study reviews the stated political climate of English in the Iranian higher and lower education system. We assess the gap and differences between teaching general English and English for specific purposes regarding Iranians' needs and propose an interpretation for a better language education design. We highlight the gap between Iranians' and authorities' educational objectives, pointing to the value of education to people in the current globalised world.