The position of English language in Iran

The importance of learning English is not hidden for anyone. As a part of the Expanding Circle in the concentric model of the English’s around the world, English plays an important function. English is widely used in education, business discourse, and media. Earlier there was no need for foreign languages. Today, as the world’s international language, English now features prominently in Iran's official education curriculum and even more so in the private education sector. Teaching English as a foreign language is one of the top-ranking educational goals in Iran schooling system. Several attempts have been made to help students go beyond gaining mere knowledge of grammatical structures and vocabulary to practically use this knowledge for communication in various contexts. However, English appears to have achieved this status in Iran despite its somewhat ambivalent official status. This article discusses the sociolinguistic characteristics of Iran, the place of English in Iran, a variety of professional activities for English language teachers and elaborates on the functions of English in Iran. This review study aims to demarcate the main opportunities of teaching English as a foreign language in formal education system of Iran.

Keywords:

English , Foreign language , Iran