Interviews.

Vivian Cook

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A brief conversation with Prof. Vivian Cook
Iran is not what I thought!

Kourosh Ziabari 

Last week, the international conference of Teaching English Language & Literature In the Society of Iran (TELLISI) was held at the Hekmat auditorium of State University of Guilan in the northern city of Rasht.  

170 English language scholars and researchers from US, UK, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa and Egypt gathered in Iran and presented their lectures, posters and addresses in TELLISI congress from October 8th for 2 days. 

Prof. Vivian J. Cook from the Newcastle University of England who is the editor of Oxford-affiliated journal of "Writing System Research" was the most distinguished guest attending the congress and that was why he attracted lots of students, academicians and reporters who came to Rasht from all over Iran to have a meeting with him. 

Cook is the author of several books on various branches of linguistics, and his last book named "Second Language Learning and Language Teaching" was published on 2008 by the Hodder Educational publications. 

The following is the text of interview with Professor Cook who is counted as one the most recognized linguists in UK. 

KZ: Vivian Cook; at first draw us an outline of your observations in the University of Guilan which is the first Iranian university you attended to. What are the main differences of it with your Newcastle University? 

Vivian Cook: Honestly, in comparison with the University of Newcastle where I have some courses, and the Essex University of London which I was teaching at for several years, the Guilan University has some evident privileges and distinctions; the most important of them is the structural environment of this Iranian academic institution. I see the corridors are wide, the faculties are large and constructions have beautiful architecture with bright and appealing appearance. 

But in the University of Newcastle, the academic buildings are a bit aged and not constructed exclusively for academic purposes; therefore it is slightly difficult for both the staff and students to adapt themselves to the environment and constructions. 

KZ: So what were your main perceptions of Iran before landing in Tehran? Did you observe any differences to what you had been expecting before? 

Vivian Cook: Of course everything I saw in Iran was dissimilar to what I was expecting. I was really surprised by finding large buildings and facilities in Tehran. Prior to this, I was in many countries on four continents, but it seems that Iran is somehow different to all of them. In Japan, for instance, everything happens swiftly and in a strange manner but in Iran, I feel more familiar with people and the environment. The airports, restaurants, hotels, towers and buildings are calm, oriental and understandable, especially in Tehran where I arrived first. 

The talent and aptitude of Iranian people is really appreciable because of the evidence I was given; the Persian carpet, the Persian tea, cuisines etc. Mainly the background information of English people on Iran and its culture is very insignificant and also mixed with the political stereotypes provided by the media, so it is better to witness by ones own eyes and discover the realities. 

KZ: Now let's come to your presentation. Give us an overview of your address; what topics were propounded in the lecture and how h essential were they for Iranian students?  

Vivian Cook: The English writing system was the title of presentation which I gave and I have expounded three assumptions in it. The first of them all is that the basis for teaching is the spoken, not the written language. The second one is that the aim of language teaching is to make students speak like native speakers and to help them improve their communicative skills. And the final theorem is that teachers and students should use the second language rather than the first language in the classrooms. 

Language teaching methodology should examine its assumptions taken over from the 19th century to see whether they fit the language teaching goals and classrooms of today. 

But with all these in mind, we can claim that perfection in language is inaccessible for nonnative speakers because of many physiological reasons. We can just help the nonnative students to make progress and add to their reading, listening and speaking capabilities.  

The absolute dexterity is just a goal which is naturally obtained by those who speak their mother language, but we can expect of the nonnative speakers to reach some standard levels by practicing more and more. 

KZ: Nowadays, we see that English is growing popularly as the most-used language for communicative, political, scientific and cultural purposes around the globe. What are the main reasons that caused English to rise up as an internationally-accepted dialect and a predominant L2 for most countries?  

Vivian Cook: In fact, languages are changing rapidly. I think that some historical accidents helped the English language to become the hyper-central and international language which is widely being used all around the world. We have to review these historical accidents from the perspective of the globalization process which is impacting the different aspects of our lives today. 

English language did not become popular in the world just because it was easy to learn. We have many other easy-to-learn languages that are not surviving anymore. Maybe it was a lucky for English to become an internationally consumed language besides some historical reasons that made Great Britain a powerful and influential country which expanded its monarchy worldwide.  

But meanwhile, I believe that the growth and enhancement of English language does not threaten the local dialects and languages in ancient countries such as China, India or Greece. It is necessary for every student to learn a new and foreign language, and today, English is that L2 which students in most of the countries prefer to learn. But there is a possibility that another dominant language would be replaced in the next years, so the internationalization of a specific language is not going to dissolve the other local dialects and languages. They are going to co-exist with each other peacefully, I think. 

On the other hand, the technology comes from countries that speak English as a native language, such as U.S., etc, is important to language learning, and people are today looking for ways to become acquainted and friendly with high-tech productions. Therefore, they learn a language that simplifies their relation with technology.

So you see the internet and computer users worldwide are not seeking a keyboard with Chinese or Hebrew scripts and letters on it, for example. 

I faithfully believe that technology was a main factor that caused the English language to be internationally recognized and accepted, so countries that are keen to promote their languages internationally and introduce their cultures to a wide range of global audiences must exploit the power of technology and sciences which would help them succeed. In fact, science and technology are the ways of motivating people to learn and use your language. 

KZ: And for the last question, explain a bit about the "Writing System Research" journal which is being published under the license of Oxford University and you serve as the chief editor for. 

Vivian Cook: Actually, "Writing Research System" is one of the Oxford Publications' magazines and dedicated to linguistics and literature. It has been established just less than a month ago and as you said, I serve it as an editor-in-chief. 

I invited all of the language students, professors and linguists worldwide to submit their contributions, papers and manuscripts to the "Writing System Research" journal which welcome every unsolicited contribution, but of course the articles which are being submitted should measure up to our guidelines and standards so as to be considered seriously. 

Writing Systems Research will provide an invaluable source of information for anyone involved in writing systems research, providing a unique selection of the latest developments in all relevant disciplines. We have scheduled to publish the first issue within the next few weeks which contains the contributions of scholars from various countries like Italy, US, Japan and Iran as well. 

Kourosh Ziabari, Iranian freelance journalist and interviewer, contributing author to BBC world service website and a member of Stony Brook University Publications' editorial team.