Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis and Strategic Planning for Iranian Language Institutions Development

Abstract

As the competition among language institutions in Iran increases, the need for applying a strategic framework to know institution strengths and weaknesses and make use of opportunities to remove treats sounds necessary. The purpose of the current study is to plan strategies for language institutions using SWOT analysis to establish a unique difference and to give the learners a reason to choose that institution. A questionnaire was developed based on Kotler and Fox's (1995) marketing mix elements (7Ps). The participants were four experienced language institution teachers in Chabahar, Iran, aged between 25 and 35. Based on the results, the instructor’s competency; social events the institute organizes; the books taught in the institute and the tuition fees were among the most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, respectively. The most top identified strategies that must be considered, according to importance factor, were ‘employing knowledgeable foreign language teachers; determining less tuition than the other institutes; increasing institute publicity by advertising in mass media and distributing brochures; offering special language courses suitable for specific goals of language learners’.