The idea of English in Iran: an example from Urmia

Abstract

This paper explores the place of English in Iran. To do this, we look at the social presence of English in Urmia (the capital of West Azerbaijan province, Iran). The paper draws on instances of the use of English in different contexts in Urmia, including its use in academia, business, state and private education, media, and people's ordinary lives. The idea of English in Iran is also investigated by studying a cohort of 115 English language learners’ motivations towards learning English as well as their attitudes towards the language. The results suggest that English has an active status in Urmia, alongside Turkish, Persian and Kurdish, and is regarded as an important international language among Iranians living in Urmia as well as one that accrues a number of social benefits to its users.