Have you thought about the dynamic relationship between culture and language? Jump into an eye-opening cultural experience as Amirpooya D. Dardashti, talks about how the two (culture and language) can shape our everyday communication.

I was born in Tehran, the capital of Iran. From a very young age, my parents emphasized the importance of learning languages, particularly English. In fact, I was very fortunate to attend a bilingual preschool in Tehran that provided the opportunity to not only learn Farsi (Persian), but also English. When I was only six years old, my parents decided to move to the US. I quickly began to appreciate and reap the rewards of my early language endeavors as that allowed me to smoothly transition into the American educational system. I spent ten years attending elementary and middle school in the US before we ultimately relocated again, this time back to Tehran.

Growing up in Iran and the United States gave me the opportunity to develop two very different world perspectives that have shaped me into the person I am today. During my time in Iran, I began my teaching career, that has continued up till this very day. I also graduated with a B.A. in English Literature and Language and M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Iran. I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology emphasis in Bilingual/ESL education at Texas A&M. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx