An Ecological Study of Language Teaching: Parent's Role in Improving the Learner's Proficiency Level of English

The process of learning never happens in vacuum، and the final product encompasses the various interactions between the language learner and the surrounding world. Most often، the language learner is assessed in a two-way relationship and in this respect، the academic environment and the classroom are the first and the last destinations، which are considered. Considering the importance of ecological and environmental factors in learning a foreign language، the present article tries to investigate the parents’ role in learning English language qualitatively. The amount of effective interaction between the parents and the child، the amount of accessibility to cultural goods such as computer and the Internet and that the effects of these goods on learning، as well as the parents` values with respect to learning English language were included as the purpose of this study. The study was conducted based on the following assumptions: (a) Intelligence and aptitude are not the only way toward success or failure in learning English language، and (b) there may be some discrepancies between the set of values advocated by schools and institutes with those of the parents. Thirty-five families participated in this study whose children were instructed in English language institutes in Mashhad. We interviewed all of these families as well as their children. The results revealed that families in both more-proficient and less-proficient learners use various strategies. At the end، some recommendations were given to improve the quality of education within families.