Linguistic Imperialism and Globalization in Iranian English Language Teaching Curriculum: Teachers Perceptions and Upstream Document Analyses the Islamic Republic of Iran in facing the challenges and cultural dominance of the West

Subject Areas :

Mostafa Rafiei ¹ , Hassan Soleimani ² , Hamed Barjesteh ³

1 - Ph.D. Student, Department of English Language and Literature, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
3 - Associate Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran

Received: 2024-02-05 Accepted : 2024-03-18 Published : 2024-04-11

Keywords: Globalization, linguistic imperialism, language teaching curriculum, English language teaching, English language hegemony,

Abstract :

The study has investigated the perception of Iranian EFL teachers and policymakers towards the phenomenon of linguistic imperialism and globalization in the English language teaching curriculum and the relationship between contextual factors and the attitude toward linguistic imperialism. To conduct this research, 674 Iranian EFL teachers and eight high-ranking officials of Iran who are responsible for designing and compiling national documents in the Expediency Recognition Council, the Cultural Revolution Council, and the Ministry of Science, Research, and Information Technology were invited to participate in the research. Using structural equation modeling, the collected quantitative data was analyzed and the content analysis method was used for qualitative data. The findings showed the significant influence of cultural and contextual factors in shaping the attitude of educators and policymakers toward linguistic imperialism. To preserve the cultural and linguistic identity of students along with learning English as a global language, this approach can help students to increase their language skills and at the same time facilitate international communication. Therefore, the members of society specifically the planners, teachers, language learners, and parents should pay attention to the nature and cultural, social, and political consequences of this language and not consider it as a neutral communication tool.

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