English for Policing Purposes: Utilizing Communicative Approach and Cooperative Learning in I.R.I Police

In Language teaching and learning context, English Language for Law Enforcement purposes may be considered as a great challenge. This challenge is mostly related to the specific context within which police officers are working and the needs emerging from this specific environment. Therefore, English for Policing Purposes requires its own teaching methods, learning materials, and language teachers, specifically intended for this setting. To this end, the current study attempted to evaluate a communicative-based approach in language teaching and learning implemented in the context of policing in Iran via observation, journal writings, an open-ended questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. The results of the study illustrated some unique characteristics or elements for cooperative language teaching (as a technique in communicative approach) in the context of EPP that might be peculiar to the police language environment in Iran. As the study suggested, communicative approach principles can be implemented in EPP context only if language teachers pay attention to these context-based elements.