When English-language learning was introduced last year, Algerian officials reaffirmed their commitment to French and said it would continue to be taught widely. It will continue to instruct students in French for three hours each week in elementary schools. However, in recent years they have sparred repeatedly over immigration, extradition and how each country memorializes colonialism and the brutal war that resulted in Algeria's independence in 1962.Īlgeria plans to expand its current program to fifth grade next year. ![]() The two share security interests over the political upheavals shaping contemporary West Africa. The expansion of English language learning comes as tensions increasingly flare between France and Algeria. But at that time, French-speaking factions in Algeria had a lot of decision-making power in institutions.” “We should have introduced the English in primary schools when President (Abdelaziz) Bouteflika laid out his reform after coming to power in 1991. Previous leaders also tried to expand English but failed to overcome the French-educated elites who have long wielded power in the country. The current initiative was launched by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who came to power in 2019. Retired high school principal Mohamed Arezki Ferdi believes Algeria should have begun the shift to English decades ago. Its officials frame English classes as a practical rather than political shift, noting the language's importance in scientific and technical fields.īut questions about French's position in Algerian society have long been polarizing, as teachers and former education policy officials acknowledge. Nearly 15 million out of the country’s 44 million people speak it, according to the International Organization of the French Language. ![]() This year, neighboring Mali changed its constitution to remove French from its list of official languages and Morocco made English classes compulsory in high schools.Īlgeria has more French speakers than all but two nations - France itself and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ![]() And as France’s economic and political influence wanes throughout Africa, Algeria is among a longer list of countries gradually transitioning toward English as their main foreign language. “Teaching English is a strategic choice in the country’s new education policy,” Education Minister Abdelkrim Belabed said last week, lauding the move as an immense success.Įnglish is the world's most widely spoken language, accounts for the majority of content on the internet and remains a lingua franca in business and science. Additionally, the country is strengthening enforcement of a preexisting law against private schools who operate primarily in French. Students returning to third and fourth grade classrooms this fall will participate in two 45-minute English classes each week as the country creates new teacher training programs at universities and eyes more transformational changes in the years ahead. ALGIERS – More than a year after Algeria launched a pilot program to teach English in elementary schools, the country is hailing it as a success and expanding it in a move that reflects a widening linguistic shift underway in former French colonies throughout Africa.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |