10 The Linguist Vol/57 No/4 2018
ciol.org.uk/tl
FEATURES
T
he General Secretary of the Iranian
Supreme Council of Education
announced last year that it is now
illegal to teach English (officially or
unofficially) in the country's private and
public primary schools and kindergartens.
The news, which came with a threat of
serious punishment for those who infringe
this law, was a surprise to many Iranian
families, who tend to see English as a
necessity for their children.
The controversial decision is the upshot
of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's intense
opposition to the widespread use of the
English language among Iranian youth, and
the ideology of the current government,
which seeks to limit the influence of Western
civilisation, including restrictions on social
sciences and the arts. The Supreme Leader
had stated in 2016 that the promotion of
English as the language of science had
endangered Iranian culture, and that it
should be banned as soon as possible.
On bringing the ban into effect, he went
further: "There is no reason for Iranian
educators to promote English as the most
important language. This will not bring us any
considerable benefit…Why should our official
curriculum be based on a language in which
the Shah and the pre-revolution government
had such a great interest? Are we following
their rules?" He continued: "We know that
other countries make their best attempt to
forbid the promotion of any foreign
language. They believe that teaching foreign
languages is a way of imposing foreign
cultures on their domestic cultural life and
this might be dangerous for the whole
society. Why don't English-speaking
countries promote our language, Farsi?"
The ayatollahs have never been in favour
of English, and have vehemently condemned
it for political and ideological reasons during
various historical eras. Modern education in
Iran was officially established around 150
years ago, under the leadership of the Shah,
and use of the English language then
developed rapidly under the Pahlavi Dynasty
(1925-79). This was largely due to the
dominance of the US and UK in science,
international diplomacy, trade and technology;
the close political, social and economic
bonds between Iran and the US; and the
Shah's tendency towards socioeconomic
progress and military domination in the
Middle East.
The more powerful Iran became (both
economically and geopolitically) in the last
years of the Shah, the more popular English
became. The establishment of high-quality
English-language schools, as well as the
translation of English literature and drama
into Farsi, were products of the Pahlavi
period. Since then, English has become so
important to Iranians that they have shown a
consuming interest in it, calling it the
language (زبان). So if you ask an Iranian
"Do you like the language?", it means "Do
you like English?".
English
denied
Reza Shirmarz considers the impact of the Iranian
government's decision to ban English-language teaching
