The power and politics of English

Kachru, Braj Β.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-971x.1986.tb00720.x

Cited by 188 publications

(140 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…This article attempts to investigate the perceptions of the first BES graduates about the implementation of the system, any perceived changes in their language, and the implications this can have to ELT in the neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCCC)-Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia & the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E. )-the Middle East and North Africa countries and other "expanding circle countries" (Kachru 1986), which might be embarking on ELT reform projects endeavours.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

English language teaching reform in Sultanate of Oman: The case of theory and practice disparity

Al-Issa

Al-Bulushi

2011

Educ Res Policy Prac

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Sultanate of Oman is one out of many developing countries around the world which have valued English as a very important international language and a tool for achieving multiple purposes. When His Majesty the Sultan came to power in 1970, the government accepted English as the only official foreign language and allocated huge budgets and resources for its implementation through education. However, almost three decades after this, it was found that students exiting the ELT system in Oman suffer from various inadequacies in their English language proficiency, which has had negative implications for Oman's national development. This has driven the government to attempt to revolutionize English language teaching (ELT) through pursuing a reform plan-Basic Education System (BES). This paper attempts to examine the attitudes of 141 freshmen, who have exited the BES and joined Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in September 2009, about their teachers and the curriculum. The results have shown that there have hardly been any significant changes in the BES reform project, as compared to the previously implemented system-General Education System (GES) mainly due to implementation shortcomings.

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confidence: 99%

English language teaching reform in Sultanate of Oman: The case of theory and practice disparity

Al-Issa

Al-Bulushi

2011

Educ Res Policy Prac

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“…Students, therefore, and according to Warrington and Jeffrey (2005) need to see English as an international language, which is used widely by native and non-native speakers and one which stretches beyond national boundaries to help its users achieve multiple significant aims. Kachru (1986) suggests that English has "material parameter" where it is considered as a "tool for mobility, economic gains and social status" (p. 130). English, hence, is "… functionally attractive" and provides "… access to higher education" (de Klerk 1999, p. 316).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Examination of Motivation in the Omani English Language Education System

Al-Issa

2014

JLTR

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Abstract-This study asks questions and elicits answers about the factors that influence E/FL motivation in the Sultanate of Oman from a critical perspective. It triangulates data from semi-structured interviews made with different informants involved in the Omani English language teaching (ELT) system and representing different social, cultural, and academic backgrounds, the Philosophy and Guidelines for the Omani English Language School Curriculum (Nunan, Walton, & Tyacke, 1987) -herewith referred to as the National English Language Policy/Plan (NELP), the pertinent literature and the national textbook Our world Through English (OWTE). The critical discussion has revealed variable ideologies and statements about various factors influencing motivation for learning F/EL. The findings of this study have their direct and important implications for other similar F/EL planning and policy contexts. Index Terms-ELT, NELP, OWTE, motivation, ideology I. ENGLISH IN OMANEnglish in the Sultanate of Oman is the only official foreign language. It has been receiving political, economic, and legislative support from the government, which has determined its place on the social hierarchy. It has institutional domains like the mass media, education, and business (Al-Busaidi, 1995). People in Oman learn English for several significant purposes like inter-lingual communication inland and abroad, conducting business, finding a white-collar job, pursuing higher education domestically or abroad, acquiring science and technology and analyzing and understanding the English language cultures. In their Philosophy and Guidelines for the Omani English Language School Curriculum document (Nunan, Walton, & Tyacke, 1987) -herewith referred to as the National English Language Policy/Plan (NELP), the three authors describe English as central to Oman"s continued national development and a pivotal tool for transition and "Omanization" -a process through which gradual replacement of expatriate manpower by Omani qualified and skilled working force occurs. The statistics revealed by the 2010 national census indicate that the number of the expatriate labor force has exceeded 800,000, bearing in mind that the overall population of Oman is about 2.9 million. Most of this relatively cheap workforce comes from countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.In spite of the importance of English as a powerful tool for achieving multiple purposes, students have always exited the Omani system with a poor functional level. Much of this is attributed to motivation, as a powerful factor that drives foreign language learning and success. This study, therefore, attempts to discuss the factors that influence E/FL motivation from an "ideological" perspective. A thorough survey of the literature on F/EL has revealed that no work discussing this issue from an ideological perspective has been carried out or published.Within this context, the following research questions are asked: 1. What are the key discourses in NELP about the factors influencing motiv...

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“…Linguistic imperialism includes the export of teaching methods and materials as well as the (attempted) transfer of ideologies from English-speaking nations to EFL-teaching nations. In this regard, it is important to fully understand the power dynamics that are established between what has been described by Kachru (1986Kachru ( , 1992Kachru ( , 2006 as the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding-Circle, and the teaching of EFL.…”

Section: B What Does Research Tell Us About the Challenges Of Implemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Mismatch in Pedagogy Workshops: Training Non-native Teachers in Communicative Language Teaching

Spicer-Escalante¹,

deJonge-Kannan²

2014

TPLS

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The power and politics of English

Cited by 188 publications

References 29 publications

English language teaching reform in Sultanate of Oman: The case of theory and practice disparity

English language teaching reform in Sultanate of Oman: The case of theory and practice disparity

A Critical Examination of Motivation in the Omani English Language Education System

Cultural Mismatch in Pedagogy Workshops: Training Non-native Teachers in Communicative Language Teaching

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