Iranian youth and the language of Shakespeare ... a story of desire, study and immigration

Ahmad al-Sibai - Tehran

A mobile vendor enters the Tehran metro carrying a bag in which he puts his merchandise that he wants to sell, but the surprise is that this merchandise is children's books to learn English.

It was justified that the seller in the metro of the Iranian capital was not aware of this seller, because the one who visits it the first time touches the size of the suffering faced by those who do not understand the Persian language.

We go down from the metro and go to the "City Theater" field. One of the elderly encounters us as he shows books on the sidewalk for sale, about half of which are in the English language, indicating that the Iranian youth are eager to learn the English language, but there is something to prevent it.

In order to know the reason, we wandered the street where most people are putting masks because of the Corona virus, and we asked about the reasons why a large number of people who are not familiar with the English language are not available in a community half of whom are young.

Learn a second language
The beginning was with the university graduate Nasser, who said that he liked to learn a second language, but "I do not have the money to learn English, because the courses offered by reputable institutions are expensive, and the cheap courses do not get fattened or sing from hunger. I tried as a high school student, and I learned English for two years, But I did not complete because I could not save money. "

As for the forty Muhammad - who is the father of a son and a girl - he encourages them, and he sent them to learn English regardless of their source, be it American or British.

International language
He continued, "It is a universal language spoken by all and contributes to the development of the person, opening horizons for him and providing job opportunities, in addition to whoever possesses a second language outperforms those who are only fluent in their mother tongue."

From another perspective, Saeed believes that "half of the Iranian youth - and I am one of them - are learning English because of immigration. It has become a necessity and a necessity, not a luxury, because of the rapid developments in all aspects of life and the increasing demands of the youth."

He concluded that "20% of young people do not learn a second language either because of lack of money or because they live in small cities that do not have language centers, and 30% of Iranian youth are not already interested in learning any foreign language."

English and Arabic in addition to Persian
While the girls Mirzakhani and the heavens went to download the curricula in Iranian schools because the majority of society did not know the second language, they said, "Although a large percentage of young people learn the English language, there is no quality in education, and young people, after completing the courses, do not master the language well because they did not They study it when they are young, and this is what makes things difficult for them. "

They demanded "to teach a second language besides Farsi since the student entered school, because the student in Iran begins learning English and Arabic from the first preparatory grade, because the school curricula in Iran are not developed and have not been modified for a long time."

Civil engineering student Hussein Zadeh recounts his experience with learning languages. He learns German and English, and he says that "English is the language of the world and wherever you go, you speak it and everyone understands you, while German is for travel and work in Germany."

Languages ​​to confront unemployment
"Languages ​​help you cope with unemployment and create new opportunities inside and outside your country, and I want to immigrate. You like the foreign language or not, you should learn it to immigrate and work."

We leave the street and move to the language learning centers in Tehran, but the classes are closed and the students did not come because of the fear of spreading the Corona virus, only the director and the staff are on duty.

On the demand of young people to learn, the director of the National Institute for Language Education in Iran, Qassem Moulay, says, "I am not satisfied with the number of those requesting to learn foreign languages, there is no education and guidance from the government to learn the second language, as politicians and the Ministry of Education are not interested in this issue and do not support us. Style and rules Language teaching in schools is very old and does not help the student to learn the foreign language. "

Personal initiative is not enough
He compared the government's calls to prevent corona virus and teaching foreign languages, saying, "When the state asked the people to wear masks and sterilize hands permanently for fear of spreading the Corona virus, everyone committed, and if the state did the same with languages, the turnout would double."

Anyone who is affiliated with the centers to learn the second language - regardless of his social and economic level - will be at his personal initiative and his understanding of the importance of learning a foreign language, according to Kassem Moulay.

He added, "Even schools do not direct their students towards learning a second language, and what is more important is that universities of different levels, diplomas, postgraduate and doctoral degrees, do not urge students and graduates to learn the English language or explain to them the importance of languages ​​for their future and increase their chances of finding work, and when they graduate they are shocked by the bitter reality."