Iranian EFL Teachers’ Attitudes towards Dialectical Varieties of English and Persian: Aspects of the Sociolinguistics of English and Persian in Iran
Subject Areas : Second Language Education
1 - Assistant Professor in TEFL, Department of English Language, Iranshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iranshahr, Iran
Keywords: sociolinguistic, dialect, language, variation, standard,
Abstract :
The sociolinguistic phenomenon of dialectical variations can significantly affect second (L2) or forging language (FL) learning. This study aimed at investigating Iranian EFL teachers’ attitudes towards standard and non-standard varieties of English and Persian. To do this, two questionnaires were adapted and their reliability and validity were estimated. The participants of this study were 212 Iranian EFL teachers with different teaching experiences and educational level and from different provinces in Iran. They completed either the online or the printed version of the questionnaires, the results of which showed that Iranian EFL teachers have a high level of negative attitude towards the non-standard dialect variations of English and Persian. The results also indicated that the language attitudes that Iranian EFL teachers hold towards varieties of Persian strongly correlate with any perceptions they may have of varieties of English. The findings of this study can imply that EFL teachers in Iran often do not have enough knowledge of dialectal variety in the classroom. The educational system need to prepare teachers adequately to deal with language-variation issues as their pedagogical responses to non-standard dialects can influence learners’ educational attainment.
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