ABSTRACT
This study investigates how Iranian adult learners of English feel empowered to discuss culturally and religiously sensitive topics in English as an additional language (EAL), in the religiously dominated context of Iran. Sensitive topics such as premarital relationships and alcohol consumption, for example, were observed as emerging in discussions in speaking classes at the research site. Although the assumption is that EAL students often find it easier to discuss such topics in their first language, we found that they are keen to discuss these topics in English. The present study draws on linguistic capital to discuss relationships between power and ideology in this English as a foreign language (EFL) context, and to explore how learning English may empower learners to articulate their beliefs. To this end, through a qualitative research design, four intermediate EAL learners (two male and two female), learning English in a language institute in Isfahan, Iran, were interviewed regarding their beliefs about communication in English and Persian when talking about the above topics. The analysis focuses on links between the participants' language ideologies and their language use through the lens of critical pedagogy.
