Bilingual education in the UAE: factors, variables and critical questions

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the macro‐factors and contextual variables surrounding the recent introduction of compulsory bilingual schooling in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, in order to generate informed discussion, and in order for stakeholders to understand the sociocultural, linguistic and pedagogical issues involved.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an analytic one which examines language‐in‐education in Abu Dhabi through a framework of the operational, situational and outcomes factors involved in bilingual education, as identified by Spolsky et al. and Beardsmore. Insights gained from international empirical research into bilingual education are applied to the Abu Dhabi context, and key questions about the specific model of bilingual education selected are posed for future local research to answer.FindingsThe paper concludes that bilingual education is likely to confer linguistic, academic and socioeconomic benefits on future generations of Emirati school leavers. However, the acquisition of biliteracy is likely to be challenging because of the diglossic features of Arabic, as well as the linguistic distance between Arabic and English. Because of the ambiguity of international research findings with regard to the appropriate age to begin second language learning, as well as uncertainty about the merits of simultaneous versus sequential teaching of biliteracy, research must be undertaken in Abu Dhabi schools into the effects of bilingual education under conditions of early Arabic/English immersion.Originality/valueThis paper is timely given the recent announcement of compulsory and universal bilingual state schooling from an early age in Abu Dhabi, and necessary given the dearth of discussion and research on language‐in‐education matters in the Arab world. While the paper is contextualised within the school system of Abu Dhabi, it has resonance for adjacent Gulf States and for the many expatriates from across the Middle East who teach and study in Abu Dhabi's schools.

Integrating Content and English-Language Learning in a Middle Eastern Information Technology College: Investigating Faculty Perceptions, Practices and Capabilities

“…English-medium tertiary education is also commonplace in the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the context of the present study, where the vast majority of courses at university-level are conducted in English (Gallagher, 2011). The motivations for this trend are various and include a desire to facilitate cross-border mobility of academic staff and to attract international students (Coleman, 2006).…”

“…English has become the medium of choice for African HE, and its position as a medium of instruction in the Europe and Asia is strengthening (Coleman, 2006;HU, 2009). English-medium tertiary education is also commonplace in the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the context of the present study, where the vast majority of courses at university-level are conducted in English (Gallagher, 2011). The increasing use of English-medium programs presents particular challenges for content-area faculty who are in effect called upon to provide disciplinary instruction to students who may not be adequately language proficient.…”

Female Arab EFL Students Learning Autonomously Beyond the Language Classroom

“…The majority of taxi drivers, health care professionals, employees in the hospitality sector and a variety of other professionals in the country are capable of dealing with clients and customers in English. Tertiary education, media, tourism and international business are almost exclusively based on the use of English (Gallagher, 2011).…”

Ecletic Method for Arabic Learning in Islamic School of Indonesia

“…Occasionally, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills can't be maximized simultaneously and in balance. A learning process should be departing from basic assumption that materials and their branches were a coherent whole (Gallagher, 2011;Wilson et al, 2013;Wekke, 2016).…”