Globalization and ELT in Iran

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ELT In Iran Globalization or Localization?

• Hassan Soleimani
• Ph.D. In Applied Linguistics, PNU

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GlobalizationScheuerman, 2008
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Giddens (1990)
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Malcolm, 1995
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Robertson, 1995
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Social Capital

• Worldwide social relations unfettered by the
  constraints of geography
• Language the medium of social interaction
• New communication technologies enable individuals
  to have regular exchanges with distant others
  whom they have never met face-to-face
• satellite television
• Social capital the exercise of power through
  language and culture (Bourdieu, 1993 Park, 2008

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History

• Pre-modern phenomenon
• Fifteenth century Europe when the nation-state
  was born
• The Catholic Church began to spread
• worldwide and explorers began to map the planet
  and colonize the world

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Globalization of English

• A few centuries ago, English area/shores of a
  small island
• Shakespeares era, English had little value
  outside England, not even in Ireland or Wales
• Fortunes of Lg. not purely linguistically-based
• Commercial/political power and prestige derived
  from scientific, cultural/other achievements
  (Leitner, 1992)
• Power and influence of their speakers
• Large scale migration and settlement of native
  language speakers, military imposition
  (colonialism),

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Globalization of English

• Outside colonies 19th century, Industrial
  Revolution
• Britain the leading industrial/trading nation
  (Crystal, 1997)
• New technology (telephone, telegraph)
  far-reaching communications network mainly
  dominated by English
• Today, English the language of America
• The economic/political power of America and
  current position of English in the world (Leith,
  1997)
• After WW II, the USA and USSR world superpowers
• After the Cold War, collapse of Russia and
  communism, the USA the sole superpower (Blake,
  1996)

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(No Transcript)
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Linguistic Imperialism/Linguicism?Philipson, 1992
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Kachru, 1985 Swaan, 2007English Territories
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Globalization Appadurai, 1990
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ELT Financescapes

• To me, as far as globalization and ELT is
  concerned, the major motivation is financial and
  economic!
• ELT materials produced/exported to Expanding
  Circle countries
• Expanding circle authors no right for materials
  development in the global market
• Unidirectional globalization!
• increase control over markets and to protect the
  wealth of inner circle
• English market in global terms

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ELT Financescapes

• Spread of teaching materials from IC (USA and
  Britain) to EC
• Interchange, New interchange, Headway, Person to
  Person, Intercom, Streamline, .
• Interchange series a pack consisting of
• a Students book, Teachers manual, class audio
  CDs and Students audio CDS, film
• TESOL teacher training programs, conducting
• seminars, work shops especially in Expanding
  Circle countries in various ways and means
• through British councils or American centers

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Financescapes

• 75 territories with English as official or
  co-official language (2.24 billion people !! one
  third of world population)
• Users of English as first lg 329, 140, 800
  second lg 430,614,500
• (Crystal, 2003 census 2000)
• Nearly 600 English language book publishing
  companies (Wikipedia)/196 universities in the US
  and England
• Irans revenue from oil export vs. revenue from
  ELT materials developed in the US and imported to
  periphery/outer circle/expanding countries in the
  world ! (no statistics )

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Ideoscapes flow of ideasLinguistic Imperialism

• The university of Chicago Press, the largest in
  the world
• The Chicago Manuel Style, existing in nearly all
  libraries in the world
• Researchers all over the world have to follow the
  thinking framework, reasoning formula imposed
  by American scholars!
• Linguistic Imperialism?!

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Linguistic Imperialism
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Ideoscapes flow of ideas Native
Speakerism/proficiency

• Who is a native speaker? A reality or myth?!
• A controversial issue
• Criterion Country of birth then America,
  England (the white or black?)
• What about Canada, Australia, New Zealand?
• Eminent novelists Conrad, Nabokov, Soyinka
• Native speakers, the owners of English?

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Native Speaker A Myth

• A politico-economic matter, not-linguistic (Lele,
  2005)
• Some native speakers of English see some other
  NSs of English as non-native speakers
• Chomsky (cited in Davies, 2003) the difference
  between native and non-native speaker is
  pointless
• Everyone is a Native Speaker of the particular
  language states that the person has grown in
  his/her mind/brain. In the real world, that is
  all there is to say
• Supposing native speaker is a reality, then is it
  achievable?

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Native Pronunciation A Myth

• Psychomotor variables
• Native pronunciation not achievable!
• Critical Period Hypothesis
• Articulators/muscles tongue, larynx, vocal
  chords
• Loss of plasticity after puberty (12)
• Not controlled by learners, instruction no role
• /?/, /d/, /?/, /l/, /r/
• Exaggeration, more American than American
  themselves !
• Justification? Fever of native-like
  pronunciation

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Ideoscapes Communicative Competence

• Dell Hymes Native speaker competence
• Linguistic,sociocultural,discourse, strategic
• CLT example of pedagogical ideoscape, a global
  flow of ideas about teaching
• What to teach/how to teach
• Acculturation model
• Luring learners into western cultures, not
  immediate needs of learners

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Localization in Iran authorities

• Authorities to blame No official education
  policy
• Curriculum reform in ELT social, political,
  economic, cultural, ideological
• Critical pedagogy
• Local needs and local realities
• Japan education reform since the 1980s
• Kukosaika blend Americanization, Westernization
  with nationalism

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Localization in Iran ELT experts

• Teacher education programs
• Professionalism in language teaching
• Teachers needs analysts, curriculum developers,
  syllabus designers, materials developers
• Kumaravadivelu (2006) practicality,
  particularity, possibility

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Localization in Iran Teachers

• Think globally, act locally
• Reality of language learning in Expanding
  countries
• Being realistic ecosystem of ELT in Iran
• Self-confidence
• Not slaves to ELT packages
• Designers of their own methods based on unique
  needs of Ls
• Action researchers
• Scientists and artists
• Not imposing our perceived needs upon learners

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Localization in Iran Learners

• Achievable real goals and objectives
• Agency in the ecosystem of ELT
• Negotiate your felt needs

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• Thank You for Your Attention