This presentation explores the connection between language ideologies and identities negotiated in the context of teaching and learning English as a foreign language in private language institutes in Iran. Taking the approach that language ideologies are beliefs about languages as articulated by the speakers (Silverstein, 1979: 193), I turn to Irvine (1989) and Kroskrity (2000) to include ‘ideology as doxa’ to also unpack those aspects of ideology that do not usually rise to discursive consciousness in different individuals. Utilizing the combination of explicit and implicit representations of language ideologies, this research explores how Iranian teachers perceive speaking English in situations where they might as well choose Farsi, i.e. when they are not in classroom contexts. Based on participant observation and interviews from private language schools in Mashhad, Iran, I argue that understanding English language teachers’ values their language ideologies was made possible by considering arbitrariness and social constructed-ness of the values that underlie their inclinations towards each language ideology. In line with the literature on language ideologies and identity construction, the findings of this study confirm the arbitrariness of placing such variables as classiness and categorizations of naevus riche vs. being learned or well educatedness both on choices of English and Farsi. Claiming and positioning other teachers with religious/non-religious identities, classiness, accents and intonations of certain Hollywood actors, similarity to certain American or British politicians, BBC or CNN standards of pronunciation and accent variations, or owning ones very own Farsi undertones and accents are among the identity negotiations of the English language teacher participants in this study. Some of the participants in the interviews would boast on how they never sound Persian and everyone thinks they listen to native speakers when they are heard, and others negotiate that certain teachers are in denial of their very Persian accents, especially when they try to sound like native speakers. Bourdieu (1977:164) argues that social groups produce arbitrary modes of thinking and acting and social structures. Informed by this element of arbitrariness of promotion of certain language ideologies, I conclude that choices of languages as modes of communication and variations of English among language teachers on this study happens based on interests of certain social, political and groups who negotiate respective identities.