“Make them take an ‘IELTS test’ in Arabic”! Resentment of and resistance towards English and English-medium instruction in the UAE

Abstract

English in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has grown to become the primary language of trade and retail, the mass media and advertising, and the de facto medium of instruction in federally-sponsored institutions of higher education (HE). In recent years, however, the widespread proliferation of the English language in this otherwise conservative Arabicspeaking country has become increasingly controversial. Indeed, resentment of and resistance towards English on the part of Emiratis has been found to exist in relation to English-language mass advertising (Nickerson & Crawford Camiciottoli, 2013) and English-medium instruction (EMI) within HE (Issa, 2013, March 6). In addition, there is growing concern that 'native'-English-speaking teachers from largely secular, 'inner circle' countries will inadvertently transmit values, ontologies, and epistemologies contrary to those of their Muslim students (Ibrahim, 2013) and their traditional, tribal-based, gender-segregated society. In order to determine whether there existed any evidence of resistance towards the place of English in the present-day UAE on the part of Emirati HE students, a bilingual (Arabic/English) survey was conducted with a group of students completing a foundation programme at a major federal HE institution. The findings reveal some not inconsiderable ambivalence towards English and EMI, especially in the realms of cultural integrity and language policy.

Perceptions and attitudes of Qatar University students regarding the utility of arabic and english in communication and education in Qatar

“…The sampling for this study was cluster sampling which included cross-section of forty female students aged eighteen to twenty-four years studying English in the highest level of Academic Bridge Program at Zayed University and divided into three classes. Similar results were obtained by Solloway (2017Solloway ( , 2018. Kuwait University students expressed the same attitude towards the spread of English as a dominant language in a study conducted by Bouhmama and Bouhmama (2015) which was based on a convenience sample of 180 undergraduate students.…”

Bilingual Policy Implementation in Ras Al Khaimah

“…-Cycle 3 school leader One school leader spoke at length about the importance of foreign teachers understanding the community›s culture in which they teach in order that they can inculcate behaviors and attitudes in accordance with the local culture. They argued that the current lack of cultural understanding is a significant hindrance, echoing concerns in the literature that Emirati teachers are concerned that foreign teachers may transmit cultural and behavioral patterns that run counter to conservative Emirati culture (Ibrahim et al, 2013;Sadek, 2016;Solloway, 2018): ". .…”

Multilingualism and the role of English in the United Arab Emirates

“…However, in 2007, it introduced the CEPA (Farah & Ridge, 2009). Interestingly, the instructions on the CEPA exam are in both English and Arabic, possibly to make certain that students can fully understand it (Solloway, 2018). Graduates who score 180+ on their CEPA examination can matriculate immediately into one of the Federal Higher Education Institutions to pursue their undergraduate studies.…”

“…However, results show otherwise. In fact, low levels of proficiency in English in the UAE are ‘well‐documented’ (Solloway, 2018, p. 466). Moreover, on the 2010 IELTS exams the UAE came in ‘second to last among the 202 countries who took the test’ (IELTS, 2010, cited in Moore‐Jones, 2015).…”

“…Recently, two separate studies carried out in the UAE, in which nearly 800 Emirati university students took part, found that more than half of the participants reported preferring a bilingual model for higher education instead of EMI (Belhiah & Elhami, 2015; Kennetz & Carroll, 2018). A third study of Emirati female students found that 81.39 per cent of those surveyed wanted the option of choosing which language they wished to study in, either Arabic or English (Solloway, 2018, p. 470). These studies reveal an interest and desire by some Emirati youth to have options regarding the language of higher education in the UAE.…”