Iranian Children and Bilingualism: a New Outlook for Teaching English in Iranian Elementary Schools

Learning other languages, at least English, simultaneously with the first language is an essential issue nowadays. The main reason for such an attempt is the use of an internationallanguage in various aspects of our modern life. It is suggested that children be instructed from pre- and elementary school levels, because their brain can cope with more than onelanguage psychologically. On the other hand, exposing to a new culture and language cangive a kind of self-esteem to those learning English by expressing themselves in more than one language. Since students’ first language is closely tied to their identity, those who havea great competence and performance in their first language can thrive in English learningand achieve greater success in school and social activities. The paper shows that using bilingual (Persian and English) materials like short story books or cartoons to teach Englishto Iranian children could be quite beneficial just as what is practiced in the other countries whose native language is not English