AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STORY OF ENGLISH

English is set in Karaj, Iran in 2009. MARJAN is teaching a class to help her adult students prepare for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Marjan has always loved speaking English, and starts the first class with a clear directive: English Only. GOLI, age 18, is the youngest student, and has always wanted to learn English. She is considering leaving home and knows that a passing test score could be her ticket out. OMID has American cousins and a green card interview coming soon. His classmate Roya acknowledges that “they’re harder on men. With visas and green cards.” ROYA wants to be able to communicate with her granddaughter Claire, who lives in Canada with her parents and only speaks English. ELHAM is humiliated that she has already taken the TOEFL five times, and not yet passed. She wants to attend medical school and already has an MCAT score of 40 (which puts her in the 99th percentile of med school applicants). Marjan loves her job, but might be headed for the most challenging class of her life.