Iranian officials have banned the teaching of English in primary schools.
伊朗官员已经禁止在小学教授英语。

Mehdi Navid-Adham, chief of Iran's High Education Council, informed state television of the ban last Saturday.
伊朗高等教育委员会主席迈赫迪·纳维德-阿德姆（Mehdi Navid-Adham）上周六向国家电视台通报了这一禁令。

The move came after Islamic leaders warned that early learning of the English language has led to a Western "cultural invasion".
此举发生在伊斯兰领导人警告过早学习英语导致了西方的“文化入侵”之后。

"Teaching English in government and non-government primary schools in the official curriculum is against laws and regulations," Navid-Adham said. He added that the government may also stop non-curriculum English classes.
纳维德-阿德姆表示：“在公办和民办小学的正式课程中教授英语违反法律法规。”他补充说，政府可能还会禁止课外英语课程。

The reasoning, Navid-Adham said, is that the groundwork, or basis, of Iranian culture should be taught to young children.
纳维德-阿德姆称原因在于，应该向儿童传授伊朗文化的基础内容。

In Iran, English language training is usually offered in middle school, to students from 12 to 14 years of age. However, in some primary schools, students may begin taking English classes at younger ages.
在伊朗，通常在中学为12岁到14岁的学生提供英语教学。然而，在一些小学中，学生们可能会在更小的时候开始上英语课程。

Some Iranian children also attend foreign language classes at private education centers after normal school hours.
一些伊朗儿童还在放学之后到私营教育中心上外语课程。

The dangers of a "cultural invasion"
“文化入侵”的危险性

Iran's Islamic leaders have often warned about the dangers of "cultural invasion."
伊朗的伊斯兰领袖经常警告“文化入侵”的危险性。

In 2016, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced concern over the "teaching of the English language spreading to nursery schools".
2016年，伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊对“英语教学传播到托儿所”表示担忧。

In a speech to teachers, Khamenei said that his concern, "Does not mean opposition to learning a foreign language, but (this is the) promotion of a foreign culture in the country and among children, young adults and youths."
哈梅内伊在对教师们的讲话中表示，他的担忧“并不意味着反对学习外语，而是反对在伊朗以及在儿童和青少年中推广外国文化。”

Khamenei accused Western countries of promoting their cultures with Iranian youth as a way of expanding their influence in Iran, according to his office's website.
根据哈梅内伊办公室网站的介绍，哈梅内伊指责西方国家在伊朗年轻人中推广西方文化，将此作为扩大他们在伊朗影响力的一种方式。

In the same speech, he urged Iranians to spend more time and money on the teaching of the Persian language, instead of English.
还是在这次讲话中，他督促伊朗人把更多时间和金钱花在波斯语教学上，而不是花在英语上。

Last Saturday, Navid-Adham told state television that government officials want to strengthen "Persian language skills and Iranian Islamic culture at the primary school stage." He added that it would now be against the law to teach English at the primary school level, either during or outside of normal school hours.
纳威德-阿德姆上周六对伊朗国家电视台表示，政府官员希望在小学阶段强化波斯语技能和伊朗伊斯兰文化。他补充说，目前在小学阶段，无论是在课内还是课外教授英语都是违法的。

The Reuters news agency reported that in the past, other languages have also been targeted by Iranian officials. In 2017, Iran's intelligence agency banned the publication of a Kurdish-language instruction book.
路透社报道称，在过去，其它语言也曾经是伊朗官员的打击目标。2017年，伊朗情报部门禁止了库尔德语教学书籍的出版。

No link to protests
和示威无关

In his announcement, Navid-Adham did not link the new language education rules to recent anti-government protests. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have blamed foreign enemies for the unrest.
在声明中，纳威德-阿德姆并未将新的语言教育规定同最近的反政府示威联系起来。伊朗革命卫队指责外国敌对势力应该对这次骚乱负责。

A video dealing with the announcement of the ban was widely shared on social media on Sunday. A number of Iranians have jokingly called it "The filtering of English." Some compare it to the blocking of the popular app Telegram by the government during the protests.
周日，一则回应这一禁令公布的视频在社交媒体上广泛传播开来。一些伊朗人开玩笑地称之为“过滤英语”。有的人将此同政府在示威期间屏蔽热门应用Telegram相比较。

I'm Phil Dierking.
我是费尔·德尔金。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)

Iranian officials have banned the teaching of English in primary schools.

Mehdi Navid-Adham, chief of Iran's High Education Council, informed state television of the ban last Saturday.

The move came after Islamic leaders warned that early learning of the English language has led to a Western "cultural invasion".

"Teaching English in government and non-government primary schools in the official curriculum is against laws and regulations," Navid-Adham said. He added that the government may also stop non-curriculum English classes.

The reasoning, Navid-Adham said, is that the groundwork, or basis, of Iranian culture should be taught to young children.

In Iran, English language training is usually offered in middle school, to students from 12 to 14 years of age. However, in some primary schools, students may begin taking English classes at younger ages.

Some Iranian children also attend foreign language classes at private education centers after normal school hours.

The dangers of a "cultural invasion"

Iran's Islamic leaders have often warned about the dangers of "cultural invasion."

In 2016, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced concern over the "teaching of the English language spreading to nursery schools".

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Photo was released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader.

In a speech to teachers, Khamenei said that his concern, "Does not mean opposition to learning a foreign language, but (this is the) promotion of a foreign culture in the country and among children, young adults and youths."

Khamenei accused Western countries of promoting their cultures with Iranian youth as a way of expanding their influence in Iran, according to his office's website.

In the same speech, he urged Iranians to spend more time and money on the teaching of the Persian language, instead of English.

Last Saturday, Navid-Adham told state television that government officials want to strengthen "Persian language skills and Iranian Islamic culture at the primary school stage." He added that it would now be against the law to teach English at the primary school level, either during or outside of normal school hours.

The Reuters news agency reported that in the past, other languages have also been targeted by Iranian officials. In 2017, Iran's intelligence agency banned the publication of a Kurdish-language instruction book.

No link to protests

In his announcement, Navid-Adham did not link the new language education rules to recent anti-government protests. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have blamed foreign enemies for the unrest.

A video dealing with the announcement of the ban was widely shared on social media on Sunday. A number of Iranians have jokingly called it "The filtering of English." Some compare it to the blocking of the popular app Telegram by the government during the protests.

I'm Phil Dierking.

Phil Dierking adapted this report for VOA Learning English based on Reuters news reports. The story also includes information from The Washington Post newspaper and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. George Grow was the editor.

Do you think teaching English at the primary school level in a non-English speaking country is cultural invasion? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on 51VOA.COM.

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Words in This Story

app - n. a computer program that performs a special function

curriculum - n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.

filter - v. to pass something, through a filter to remove something unwanted

nursery - adj. a room where children sleep, play, and are sometimes taught

promotion - n. something that is done to make people aware of something and increase its sales or popularity

regulation - n. an official rule or law that says how something should be done