Vahid Parvaresh

Selling English tuition

Business card promoting private English tuition In Iran, as in many other countries around the globe, the craze for learning English has been on the rise. This tendency is attributed…

Vahid ParvareshAugust 22, 2013

Language learning

Learning a language the easy way

The Omidvar brothers on the road: amazing feats of discovery and language learning? In his most recent round of interviews with the magazine Særzæmin-e Mæn (“My Country”), Issa Omidvar, one…

Vahid ParvareshApril 29, 2013

English as a global language

آموزش سوپرمارکتی زبان های خارجی

Constructing language learning as global choice on melale.ir Persian version of Vahid Parvaresh, "Supermarket Language Learning"; translated by Behnam Keimasi (بهنام کیماسی) در ایران، همانند بسیار دیگری از کشورها، دولت به…

Vahid ParvareshJanuary 16, 2013

English as a global language

Supermarket language learning

Constructing language learning as global choice on melale.ir In Iran, as in many other countries, the state has traditionally been a very powerful actor in the field of second language…

Vahid ParvareshDecember 10, 2012

English as a global language

Global toys in a local world

Recently, I had occasion to visit a toy store in Isfahan to buy a present for my seven-year-old cousin, who had invited me to his birthday party. Grand, impressive and…

Vahid ParvareshMay 25, 2012

English as a global language

Intercultural grocery shopping

It is now widely agreed that human beings have moved into a phase of modernity in which they have to tackle the extreme dynamism in modern institutions and provide an…

Vahid ParvareshFebruary 11, 2012

Intercultural communication

مردها، زبان انگلیسی و رومانسِ بین المللی

Persian version of Lachlan Jackson's award-winning blog post about interlingual relationships. Translated by مطهره سامری (Motahare Sameri) "وقتی پای عشق به میان می آید ژاپنی ها محبوب ترین موجودات روی کره ی…

Vahid ParvareshNovember 15, 2011

Language learning

Reading ‘Culture Shock’ in Isfahan

In the past three decades attention has shifted from communicative competence to discourse as a frame for understanding the challenges faced by language learners. Yet, the question of how stereotyping…

Vahid ParvareshOctober 12, 2011

Intercultural communication

I don’t know how to ride a donkey!

One of the most bizarre experiences I had during my stay in Australia was being asked by a European housemate whether it was difficult to ride a donkey. Huh?! How…

Vahid ParvareshAugust 9, 2011

English as a global language

Language consumption and mobility

In the past thirty years, Iran’s population has exploded from about 40 million to more than 72 million. Such rapid growth has resulted in the vast majority of the population…

Vahid ParvareshJuly 4, 2011

English as a global language

Աւելին Անգլերէնից Իրանում

Courtesy Hoda Arabi Armenian version of my blog post about English in Iran Translated by Alina Der Sookiasian (Ալինա տէր Սուքիասեան) 2006-2007 թւերին սովորում էի MA(մագիստրատուրա) Թեհրանի համալսարանում,հայրենի քաղաք,Սպահանից 450 կմ…

Vahid ParvareshMay 18, 2011

English as a global language

British Royal Wedding in Iran

Recently, the British royal wedding made international front-page news. It was globally portrayed as an auspicious occasion for the world to remember; much like a well-written fairy-tale. The outcome was record-breaking:…

Vahid ParvareshMay 12, 2011

English as a global language

More on English in Iran

In 2006 and 2007 I was doing my MA at the University of Tehran, about 450 kilometers away from my hometown, Isfahan. For this reason, I was a regular passenger…

Vahid ParvareshMarch 25, 2011

Language learning

The ethics of saving endangered languages

My 88-year-old grandma, my mamanjoon, is the most wonderful nana anyone could have and I am very close to her. She has played a significant role in my development.

Vahid ParvareshNovember 8, 2010

Intercultural communication

Total immersion

I am currently a visiting scholar from Isfahan, Iran, in Sydney, Australia. Therefore, I speak English most of the time. I use English with my colleagues at work although, interestingly,…

Vahid ParvareshAugust 25, 2010