The ILI’s director along with deputies and managers held a meeting with two scholars following the President Masoud Pezeshkian’s recent stress on presenting an educational program based on a revolutionary approach to language teaching and learning.
According to the Public Relations and International Affairs Department of the Iran language Institute, Dr. Ali Karimi Firoozjaei, Auditor-General and Advisor to the Director of the 14th Board of the Supreme Audit Court of Iran visited Dr. Mahdi Zolfaghari, Director of the Iran Language Institute along with some ILI’s deputies and managers.
In his visit, Dr. Karimi emphasized that the starting point for reforming and strengthening the educational system is language learning, and if Iran is supposed to pursue the path of progress and development, it has no way but education.
He also said, “Language learning is not merely an educational matter; rather, it has evolved into a cultural and economic phenomenon and even an influential factor in diplomacy and international relations in the world.”
Reviewing the historical background of language teaching, Dr. Karimi explained that the Muslims were the founders and pioneers of language teaching.
He added that what we saw over the last 150 years in Europe such as theories of first and second language teaching and learning had all been first articulated by Islamic scholars centuries ago; our shortcoming, however, was that we failed to formalize these insights into theories and present them to the world.
Referring to the guidance from the martyred Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Karimi noted that he had rightly addressed the issue of Farsi and English language instruction on various occasions. More recently, the martyred Leader had stated that the educational system must move beyond a one-dimensional approach and incorporate other foreign languages into its framework.
Expressing his gratitude to the President for his concern, Dr. Karimi remarked that it was highly significant that the Iran Language Institute had taken the initiative on this matter.
Referring to the ILI’s over-a-century background in language education, he went on saying, “The ILI is definitely an ideal place to carry out such matter and we, too, will assist you to the best of our ability.”
Later in the meeting, Dr. Sohrab Rezaei, a faculty member at Allameh Tabataba'i University and an expert in the field of language education, with the emphasis on the role of the ILI within the country's educational system, stated that the ILI was the only entity capable of serving as the primary authority for language education outside of the formal school system.
He then suggested that language instruction in schools could be carried out in collaboration with the ILI, noting that language instruction differs from the teaching of other subjects.
In this meeting, Dr. Mahdi Zolfaghari, with introducing the institution and presenting a report on its activities and services, highlighted the visit of the President to the ILI’s booth on the sidelines of the "Homeland's Smile” celebration, emphasizing the President's special attention toward the ILI.