Cultural Suppression: When the Government Insists on Removing Mother Tongues from Schools

By Shahrve Mehrnami - Iranwire - February 20, 2024 

The Iranian Turk Women’s Center hosted a conference in Germany titled “Linguistic Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities.”

Around 40% of Iran’s population does not speak Persian as their first language. Their mother tongue is one of Iran’s many non-Persian languages. However, from the age of seven, when they enter primary school, they are forced to learn all academic subjects in Persian. This creates a divide between their home and school lives. Experts argue that the pressure to teach in a dominant language and the avoidance of teaching or honoring minority languages harm the cultural diversity of countries like Iran. Recognizing this issue as a global concern, UNESCO designated February 21 as "International Mother Language Day" to support linguistic and cultural diversity.

This year, the Iranian Turk Women’s Center hosted a conference titled “Linguistic Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities” in Cologne, Germany, to mark the occasion. The event featured speeches by activists and researchers, including Amir Kalan, Negar Golkar, Jaleh Tabrizi, Karina Jahani, Behrouz Shojaei, Melika Zar, Reza Moridi, Hassan Afras, Shima Silavi, and Omid Aqdami.

Symposium on Language, People, and Society: On the Necessity of Multilingual Education

Interview with Amir Kalan, Researcher

Farshteh Nezakati - Radio Zamaneh - November 3, 2023

Dr. Amir Kalan

Education in one’s mother tongue is not only a fundamental human right, but the lack of such education also causes various harms. Examining these harms is one of the main topics of a symposium at McGill University. We spoke with Amir Kalan, a professor of multilingual education at McGill University, on this subject.

The symposium, titled “Language, People, and Society: Iranian Minority Languages and Literary Traditions,” is set to take place online on November 9, 10, and 11. This symposium will address diverse topics within minority languages, the language of disability, gendered language, and language and power. In connection with this event, we interviewed Amir Kalan, an alumnus of Educational Studies from the University of Toronto, Canada, and a professor of multilingual education at McGill University.

Mother Tongue and the Necessity of Anti-Discrimination Education - Interview with Amir Kalan

Afagh Rabii-Zadeh - Radio Zamaneh - February 21, 2022

Prof. Amir Kalan

Amir Kalan, professor of multilingual education at McGill University: “Both mother tongue education and instruction in the mother tongue, as well as any use of the mother tongue during the learning process, represent forms of anti-discriminatory education.”

Multilingual Education: A Prerequisite for Sustainable Development in a Multicultural Society

Amir Kalan - Radio Farda - February 1, 2017

Amir Kalan

Recently, Radio Farda published an article titled "What Problem Does Mother Tongue Education Solve?" (January 4, 2017), written by Mehdi Jami.

This article critiques the developmental approach to language, as proposed by "Mohsen Renani" in an article titled "The Killing of the Mother Tongue and the Destruction of Development in Iran." It argues that a developmental approach to multilingual education, centered on the mother tongue, is ultimately unproductive.

Thus, the author suggests that the issue of mother tongue should be explored through the lens of "language education." Believing that Mr. Jami's critique of Renani is unfounded, I address, in this article, my reasons for supporting Renani’s perspective and offer a critique of the points raised in "What Problem Does Mother Tongue Education Solve?"

Who's Afraid of Multilingual Education?

Conversations with Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Jim Cummins, Ajit Mohanty and Stephen Bahry about the Iranian Context and Beyond

August 18, 2016 - Multilingual Matters

Author: Amir Kalan