Volume 7-5 October 2011.

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Title
Policy and English Language Teaching (ELT) in Iran

 Authors
Mehry Haddad Narafshan (Ph.D. candidate)
Islamic Azad University, Kerman Branch, Iran
Mortaza Yamini (Ph.D.)
Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Bio Data

 Mehry Haddad Narafshan is a Ph.D. candidate of TEFL at Islamic Azad University, Shiraz Branch, Shiraz, Iran and a faculty member at Islamic Azad University, Kerman Branch, Kerman, Iran. Her research interests include first and second language acquisition, teacher education, and language teaching.
Mortaza Yamini Ph.D. and assistant professor of teaching English at Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. His research interests include reading comprehension, learning strategies, research, and testing.

Abstract
   The overall goals of a language teaching program usually derive from a national language policy with many associated implications for the development of the curriculum. The goals stated in terms of a national language policy will be directly related to the whole educational setting in which the teaching is to take place (Mc Donough & Shaw, 2003).Statement of the goals , related to the language policy leads to the selection of an appropriate type of syllabus content & specification. The materials and methods can not be seen in isolation, but are embedded within a broader language policy. Language policies decide which languages to select as the second or foreign language, when to begin teaching the second or foreign languages, how much time and effort to devote to these languages, and what to set as appropriate proficiency goals. Policy consequences or policy effects often develop in unintended or unplanned ways, but wherever on the educational landscapes language policies fall, they have some consequences for the language teaching and learning. The present study shows the importance of the policy in ELT. Open questions and the answers to these questions are used to know the kind of the policy which is controlling English teaching at Iranian high schools. Through analyzing English books and English teachers, it wants to find in what ways do policies affect language teaching and learning in Iran and how policies get thought about and enacted in the curriculum.

Keywords: Policy, English teaching & learning, Governments, Families, Schools, English books, English teachers