Attitudes Toward Arabic as a First Language Among Arab University Students in the UAE

Zeineb Al-Hilali

University of Exeter, UK

GCES 2015

Overview

1. Background

2. Context

3. Literature review

4. Methods and methodology

5. Results

6. Discussion and Conclusions

7. Recommendations

1. BACKGROUNDVarious attitudes among Arab students towards Arabic .

Factors:

1. Globalization

2. Language policy and planning

3. English as a medium of instructions (EMI).

How Arabs perceive:

• their identity

• their mother tongue

2. THE CONTEXT

- A university in UAE

- EMI

- English Preparatory and Writing Programme

The Research Question

- A critical inquiry

- “Should Arabic be the medium of instruction in the UAE?”

3. LITERATURE REVIEWThe Status of Arabic: locally and internationally

- Arabic Language Charter (2012, p.4)

“Higher education institutions and scientific research centers in the United Arab Emirates [. . .] shall encourage Arabic language studies and research so that Arabic regains its historical role as a language of innovation and creativity”

- Speaking English as a mean of gaining high status (Ismail, 2012, p. 10)

Challenges to Arabic:

1. Globalization

Troudi and Jendli (2011); Ferguson (2006); Phillipson (2009); Fairclough (2004); Ahmed (2010); . . .

2. Language Policy and Language Planning in the UAE and EMI

- Arabic “non-useful”, “the other”, “imitating the colonizer” Findlow (2006).

- Students may feel that whatever is not valued (Arabic in this case) by school is not worth learning (Banks, 1995; Diamond & Moore, 1995) quoted in Ahmed, 2011, p. 127).

- 60% of young UAE female students investigated preferred studying in a dual language system English and Arabic at university, while 25% preferred EMI at tertiary level (O’Neil, 2014).

- 50% of students preferred studying in both languages, while 32% preferred EMI (Findlow, 2006).

3. METHODOLOGY- Sequential mixed methodology:

- Survey: agreement Likert scale. Students’ perception, family and society’s influence.

- Interviews: five questions on EMI and preference of speaking Arabic over English.

- Data collection: May 2014.

- Sample: Public University – 16 Arab female students.

- Limitations: small sample, females only, mainly UAE citizens

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

- Mean, standard deviation and variance were calculated by Qualtrics.

- 69% attended high school in UAE.

- 10 spoke two languages, five spoke three or more.

Table (1): (6) Knowledge of Arabic is important in order to live in the UAE.

- 75% said they speak Arabic within the family most of the time.

Table (2): (Q. 15) I believe that speaking Arabic in the UAE is prestigious

- 88% strongly agreed/agreed that speaking English provides better employability – “linguistic capital”.

- 50% strongly agreed/agreed that Arabic is no longer internationally respected.

- 60% were for EMI at tertiary level.

- 69% believed that employers do not resort to employ Arabs unless they have to.

- Only five replied to the interviews. Two preferred bilingualism at home.

- All believed Arabic should be preserved as a mother tongue.

- All for Arabic as a medium of instructions at school – strong emphasis on English.

5. CONCLUSIONS- Positive perception of Arabic among UAE and Gulf citizens

due to benefits gained

- Factors such as globalization and employment affects the

perception of Arabic and Arab identity.

- Echoed the view of Skutnabb-Kangas (2000) that opposes EMI.

- 60% of Students were in favour of EMI at tertiary level. Higher than O’Neil’s and Findlow’s findings (25% and 32%) respectively.

- 25% regarded speaking Arabic as not prestigious. Skutnabb-Kangas (2000, p. 399) calls this ‘subtractive bilingualism’.

6. RECOMMENDATION - Northern African experience after French colonization

(Troudi and Jendli, 2011).

- Scandinavian experience, Irish revival after Ireland’s independence 1921.

- Important to maintain a language in order to maintain the country’s identity.

- Arabic as a medium of instructions is possible at the tertiary level but with strong emphasis on English.

- Due to UAE’s demography, bilingual policy could be enforced to replace English as the lingua franca

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