Language Debates and the Changing Context of Educational Policy in Morocco (original) (raw)
Related papers
Moroccan language-in-education policies have been conducted in a confused way since the country achieved independence in 1956. While their stated aim was Arabisation, i.e. giving back to the official language – namely, Standard Arabic – the dominant social and institutional roles that it had lost under the French colonisation, their actual outcome was not only the maintenance of a situation of bilingualism (where French is still nowadays the dominant language in a range of key domains, such as business and private sector, and strongly influences media), but also the perpetuation of social inequality. The latter in Morocco consists of a deep social divide between Westernised, French-speaking Moroccans, whose families could afford providing them a better – and often private – education, and “Arabised” Moroccans, i.e. still culturally attached to the traditional Arabic-Islamic heritage, who either went through the low-quality formation of the public school system, or could not even afford attending school, or completing their studies, and thus ended up illiterate. Most usually, the former group forms the national elite, while the latter swells the lines of unemployed graduates or illiterate people, both suffering a high degree of exclusion from social privileges.
Any country's choice of the medium of instruction (MOI) reveals a lot about its social, cultural, economic, and political agenda. The question of MOI in North Africa, and more precisely in Morocco, has been a thorny issue since the country's independence in 1956. This article aims at contributing to the debate around which of Morocco's two main languages, French and Modern Standard Arabic, should be chosen as MOI in public schools. The article discusses some of the reasons that led to the recent decision to reinstate French language as a MOI in Morocco's education after decades of Arabization policy. Moreover, the article examines the effects of language planning on the quality of education and the identity debate as conservative Islamist ideologies have begun to play an important role in Morocco's political discourse and cultural debate. In addition, following the recognition of Amazigh language, the paper discusses the sensitive debate concerning Morocco's multilingual and multicultural identity.
Language and schooling in Morocco
International Journal of Educational Development, 1987
The prevailing language situation in Morocco is quite complex due to the presence and interference of three Berber dialects, three variant forms of colloquial Arabic, two foreign languages (French and Spanish) and one national language, classical Arabic. This article seeks to examine the educational implications of this multilingualism. For this purpose, a three-step analysis is carried out, involving a summary presentation of the linguistic setting in Morocco, an outline of the language situation in the schooling system and an assessment of the pedagogical impact of these factors. Two main conclusions are reached on the basis of this analysis. First, it appears that the language policy constitutes a major source of wastage in educational terms. Second, there is a close relationship between socio-cultural origin and the vehicles of instruction used at school, which introduces an element of social bias in the educational process.
English Language Teaching Development in the Midst of Morocco’s Continuing Language Policy Conundrum
2021
Language policy in multilingual Morocco has been extremely controversial and largely politicized. It has historically sparked an enormous debate and engendered multiple reforms that have relied on political manoeuvers rather than educational and experts' opinions. This chapter provides a description of Morocco's complex linguistic landscape and discusses the impacts of the implemented language policy reforms on multilingualism in Morocco and the quality of education. It further evaluates the development of English language teaching (ELT)/English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in Morocco and its relation to other existing languages. The chapter then highlights the challenges in promoting a linguistic environment where national/official languages (Modern Standard Arabic and Tamazight) and foreign languages (French, English, and Spanish) can coexist and develop under cultural harmony.
The geography and history of Morocco have largely determined language policy in the educational systems of this country. Geographically, Morocco is at the crossroads of the Greater Maghreb (Mauritania, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia), Europe, and the rest of the African continent. This fact rendered its frontiers porous, hence, historically, Morocco has been the target of repeated invasions and conquests by Greeks, Phoenicians, Arabs, and more recently Western Europeans. All these civilizations have deeply influenced Morocco and contributed to its linguistic and cultural diversity. This diversity was, in turn, bound to affect language policies in the educational systems of Morocco.
Language Policy and Planning in Morocco: A Critical Approach. . Benmamoun.E; Bassiouney, R (eds.).
The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics, 2018
This contribution is a critical sociolinguistic overview of language policy in Morocco. For this purpose, I will analyze the language policy model implemented by the Moroccan state since independence. I will also present the evolution of Moroccan language policy since 2000, and how this evolution has created a dynamic of change in the linguistic market. Looking at LPP from a critical perspective, I will try to analyze some new categories introduced into a new agenda concerning the analysis of language policy in Morocco. This analysis will be focused on two aspects: firstly, I will examine how a new sociopolitical context, which has emerged since the Arab Spring, has introduced a new power relationship between the languages used in Morocco, as seen in new language practices. Thus we observe a new glottopolitical model that resists the Moroccan sociolinguistic regime and its approach to language policy. Secondly, I wish to explore how the new Moroccan economy is currently considered a key element in the emergence of a Moroccan cultural model of communication. In this model, the local languages (Moroccan Arabic and Amazigh) are resourced, valued, and measured in accordance with the process of construction of a new language policy in Morocco. Finally, I will propose a new direction for the study of LPP in Morocco, from an ethnographic sociolinguistic perspective (Duchêne and Heller 2007; McCarty 2011; and Madison 2012).
Language policy and planning in Morocco: a critical approach : A critical approach
Routledge Handbook of Arabic linguistics, 2017
This contribution is a critical sociolinguistic overview of language policy in Morocco. For this purpose, I will analyze the language policy model implemented by the Moroccan state since independence. I will also present the evolution of Moroccan language policy since 2000, and how this evolution has created a dynamic of change in the linguistic market. Looking at LPP from a critical perspective, I will try to analyze some new categories introduced into a new agenda concerning the analysis of language policy in Morocco. This analysis will be focused on two aspects: firstly, I will examine how a new sociopolitical context, which has emerged since the Arab Spring, has introduced a new power relationship between the languages used in Morocco, as seen in new language practices. Thus we observe a new glottopolitical model that resists the Moroccan sociolinguistic regime and its approach to language policy. Secondly, I wish to explore how the new Moroccan economy is currently considered a key element in the emergence of a Moroccan cultural model of communication. In this model, the local languages (Moroccan Arabic and Amazigh) are resourced, valued, and measured in accordance with the process of construction of a new language policy in Morocco. Finally, I will propose a new direction for the study of LPP in Morocco, from an ethnographic sociolinguistic perspective (Duchêne and Heller 2007; McCarty 2011; and Madison 2012).