English as a Second Language in the Republic of Yemen - Research Paper Example

An Investigation About The Importance Of Speaking English As A Second Language In The Republic Of Yemen in terms of its significance in the public sector, private sector, education system, media and government departments in the south and north of Yemen: attitude and history about English in Yemen. Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction………………………………………………………………… p.3 Chapter 2-Methodology…………………………………………………………………...p.4 Chapter 3 - Public Sector…………………………………………………………………p.5 Chapter 4 - Private Sector……………………………………………………………….p.6 Chapter 5 - Education System………………………………………………………… p.9 Chapter 6 – Media………………………………………………………………………..p.11 Chapter 7 – Linguistic Landscape in Yemen………………………………………….p.12 Chapter 8 – The major English speaking institutions and their role in Yemeni society……………………………………………………………………………………..p.13 Chapter 9 – Conclusion……………………………………………………………… p.14 Annex tables……………………………………………………………………………..p.15 Introduction The relationship between the Republic of Yemen and Great Britain dates back to 1839, when the British East India company conquered the strategically crucial port of Aden (Dear, 2010). South Yemen had been ruled as a part of British India until 1937, when it became a British colony. In the colonial times, until 1967, English was a second language in Aden, used in public administration, law, and education. In 1973 the British Council was opened in North Yemen, providing Yemenis with a wide variety of activities: English language teaching for key Yemenis, ODA educational aid program, study scholarships in Great Britain, an English-language library, educational information service, and a program of events related to British culture. Since the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990, the activities have been expanded to Aden, particularly English language teaching (Dear, 2010). In 2004 alone, the British Council was teaching English to 400 students in Yemen, many of them oil company officials and aid project workers. Following development and modernization of Yemen and the country’s increasing openness to the outside world, creating a great number of proficient English speakers has become a high national priority (Ghanim, 2009). English is widely used in Yemeni schools, mass media, internet, and commercial and business activities. The public space in Yemeni cities, especially in Sana, has become increasingly decorated with all kinds of public signs in English (Al-Thwary, 2009). A good level of proficiency in English is essential in a whole range of professions, businesses and enterprises. Thus, numerous English medium schools and language institutions offer a variety of English courses at all levels. However, there is still a concern about a low quality of teaching of English in Yemeni schools and, consequently, poor language skills in the society (Anam, 2008). Even though Yemeni students have the opportunity for a variety of scholarships from English-speaking countries, their applications are rejected due to a low level of English. At the professional level, many organizations complain about lack of workers with good English skills (Anam, 2008). Given the importance of a great number of proficient language speakers for the development and foreign relations of Yemen, British Council undertakes several actions aimed to promote English as well as British educational and training products as development tools (McSharry, 1996). Such initiatives can contribute significantly to a good level of English in Yemeni society and, consequently, further development of the republic of Yemen. Methodology I have collected the data for the purpose of this research from English-speaking journals and newspapers published in Yemen as well as from several books on Yemen and Yemeni issues. Due to a relatively small amount of specific sources related to the role of English in Yemeni society, my research procedure was severely limited. However, I have benefited from the publications and articles published by such organizations as British-Yemeni society and the World Bank, which include relevant information. I hope that this investigation will contribute to the research on the use of English in the Republic of Yemen. Public Sector Following the process of modernization and reform of public sector in Yemen, supported by the World Bank and various international donors, English has gained increasing importance in the public sector. In Yemen, the wages in public sector are relatively low when compared with the private formal sector salaries. According to the World Bank report (2000), a senior public servant earns only 11 percent of an average private sector salary. The lowest skilled public workers gain only 34 percent of the wages of private sector workers. Due to these discrepancies, there is a low interest of high-skilled workers in the public position sector. Such deficiencies of the Yemeni public administration system as inadequate core systems, duplicative and unnecessarily complex organizational structures, and virtually absent human resource make the government unable to deliver basic public services. Extremely low pay scales and capacity, corrupt hiring and promotion practices, and virtually absent enforcement mechanisms lead to poor and unsatisfactory public sector performance (The World Bank, 2000). In response to these issues, Yemen developed an economic, financial and administrative reform program, supported by the World Bank and numerous international donors. This program aimed to improve the core public services, rationalize size and capacity of civil service, and enhance the quality and efficiency of government. Due to an international character of this cooperation, it was necessary to raise the level of English and the knowledge of Western standards among project workers (The World Bank, 2000). Thus, there were several programs aimed to teach English to the public sector reform project workers as well as to senior public servants (Dear, 2010). Private Sector English is being widely spoken in business environments of the private sector of Yemen, which is becoming increasingly open to the outside world. The private sector in Yemen plays a very important role in the country’s thriving for modernization, economic growth and poverty reduction. Private businesses, enterprises and organizations can both increase the income of Yemen and provide employment, which may lead in enhanced standards of living (Private Sector Development Project, 2009; The World Bank, 2000). Thus, given rising poverty and an unemployment rate of 30% in Yemen, the development of a private sector has become a national priority. While it is essential to strengthen the partnership between the public and the private sector, the latter one has still the primary role in realizing social and economic development. The Government has taken measures to improve the political, legal and institutional conditions for investment and, consequently enhance the development of the private sector. The initiatives aimed to contribute to the development Yemen involve the long-term Strategic Vision 2025 and the Second Five Years Plan, both of which stress the importance of the private sector for economic growth (The World Bank, 2000). The use of English in the private sector is important for several reasons. To start with, there have been several international interventions aimed to support the development of the private sector in Yemen. As an example, the German government has established together with the Yemeni government the Private Sector Development Project, with the objective of enhancing the business environment in Yemen and facilitating easy access to business-orientated services (Private Sector Development Project, 2009). As the project language is English, this cooperation requires a good proficiency in English from Yemeni project aid workers. All partner institutions, like Small and Micro Enterprises Services, the Small Enterprise Development Fund, or the Central Bank of Yemen offer bilingual services, have advertisements and websites in English. All workers in these institutions are required to have a good level of proficiency in English. Furthermore, given a dramatic increase in the number of foreign investors in Yemen it is particularly important to raise the level of English among the private sector workers. As we can see in the figure, the number of private foreign investment projects has increased dramatically, reaching YR 22 billion in 2000. Foreign investments and, consequently, the flow of foreign currency to Yemen, can contribute significantly to the economic growth. Figure 1: Investment project licensed by the general investment authority by nationality, 1992-2000. Source: The World Bank, 2000 Furthermore, a good knowledge of English in Yemeni society can contribute to the development of international tourism, which still represents a marginal economic sector (The World Bank, 2000). Such factors as poor and expensive transportation, difficult operating environment, lack of promotion activities, and security impede tourism from development. Moreover, many potential foreign tourists are discouraged from visiting Yemen due to the negative image of kidnappings; according to the largest tour operators, nearly 60% of hotel reservations are cancelled following the announcement of a kidnapping. This fear is due to common misinformation about the actual kidnapping rate in Yemen, which is relatively low when compared with that of South American countries. The research conducted by the London-based Control Risks Group reveals that only 52 people were reported as kidnapped from 1992 to 2000, which was the height of kidnapping era in Yemen. In contrast, there were 521 kidnappings reported in Brazil and 5300 in Colombia (Das and Kratcoski, 2003). Thus, specialized English-language press, media and Internet websites should provide potential tourists with accurate information on tourism in Yemen as well as lead well-targeted and effective tourism promotion campaigns (The World Bank, 2000). Moreover, hotels and restaurants that have their offers and price lists will definitely attract foreign tourists. British Council organizes several events aimed to demonstrate the excellence of Yemeni culture and arts to the British public and, thus, to overcome negative stereotypes (Mc Sharry, 1996). All possible efforts should be made to enhance the development of tourism in Yemen and, consequently, contribute to the economic growth of the country. Finally, private sector companies are becoming increasingly involved in teaching English. As creating a great number of proficient users of English has become a national priority, the government actively encourages the private sector initiative to take up teaching activities. Thus, there is a wide variety of language schools that offer English courses at all levels of proficiency (Ghanim, 2009). Education system Historically, there has been a major discrepancy between the role of English in schools in North and South Yemen. As South Yemen, namely the town of Aden remained under the British rule from 1839 to 1967, during that time English was an official language in education, administration and law. In North Yemen, English was introduced through textbooks in 1926. The teaching of English in North Yemen was entirely grammar-translation based, with use of such textbooks as Egyptian “English for use” and, from 1968, “Living English for the Arab World”, used widely in the neighboring Arab Gulf countries (Ghanim, 2009). In the school year 1982/1983, British Council team prepared “The English for Yemen” course book, based on primary investigation about the educational and social needs of the learners of English in Yemen. Following the union of the two Yemeni countries as the Republic of Yemen in 1990, it was necessary to introduce one common textbook for all Yemeni schools (Ghanim, 2009). Thus, in the school year 1992/93 the old textbooks were replaced with new course books called English Course for Yemen, printed in cooperation with Oxford University Press. Given the nation’s drive towards modernization and opening up to the outside world, there is a need of Yemeni citizens with a good level of proficiency in English. In order to fulfill the learners’ communicational needs, the English Course for Yemen requires teachers to teach their students the communicative functions and to provide them with a meaningful exposure to the target language. At the tertiary levels, English is the medium of instruction at the faculties of Medicine, Engineering, Education, Arts, and Languages. Thus, it is playing much more important role than other languages, like Italian or German, which are taught only in some language colleges as a major specialization (Al-Thwary, 2009). Many Yemeni students study English in order to join these faculties and to study abroad or work in the multinational companies in the future (Ghanim, 2009). There have been several initiatives aimed to raise the standards of teaching English in Yemen. The Curriculum Reform Project, funded by the British Government, involves new teacher educational programs that qualified Yemeni teachers for working with children (Anam, 2008). The teachers participating in the project are trained by British experts how to interact with children to obtain the best learning outcomes. The Curriculum Reform Project has also introduced English as an obligatory school subject for students in 4th grade. Children were provided with new curriculum materials that reflected Yemeni culture, traditions, and contexts, which facilitated their learning process. Given the lack of training programs for teachers of young children in Yemen, the Curriculum Reform Project helped teachers in many new ways to develop their methodology and to further improve their teaching practice (Anam, 2008). The Connecting Classrooms program, supported and run through the British Council, enables teachers and students from Yemen and Great Britain to share their knowledge, culture, and skills (Gamal, 2009). In this program British teachers visit Yemen and observe classes conducted in English. After that, teachers from both countries participate in a workshop held at the British Council, aimed to design a joint curriculum project for British and Yemeni students. The students exchange emails with their foreign peers, telling each other about their lives, cultures, and traditions. They also share videos, images and Power Points presentations (Al-Hilaly, 2010). This program also enabled a group of Yemeni students to visit Great Britain and to participate in common activities with British students. Connecting Classrooms plays a very important role in developing the attitude of respect and tolerance for different cultures. It also increases the perceived value and prestige of English in Yemeni society. Media English is widely used in Yemeni media, including television, newspapers, and a large number of Internet websites. The first English-speaking newspaper established in Yemen was Yemen Times, founded in 1990 (Yemen Times, 2009). This paper has provided consultancy services about Yemen and Yemeni issues to many international organizations, thus contributing to the country’s promotion in the outside world. Yemen Times is the most popular English-speaking newspaper in the country, which is widely recognized for promoting freedom of the press, human rights and democratic values. Other English-speaking newspapers include News Yemen, Yemen Observer and Yemen Post. Young people are provide with an independent newsletter Shabab Yemeni, which aims to share resources, experiences, and knowledge among Yemeni youth and, thus, enable them to create positive changes in the society (Shabab Yemeni, 2005). The state-run Yemeni television, which operates Channel 1 from Sanaa and Channel 2 from Aden, broadcasts news in English. The Yemen official news agency, Saba, also offers English-language pages. All these media play a very important role in the country’s development as they provide the outside world with accurate information concerning Yemen and Yemeni issues and, thus, help to overcome negative stereotypes about this country. Moreover, exposure to English in their everyday life enables Yemenis to practice their language skills and, thus, to fully participate in and benefit from their country’s increasing openness to the outside world. Linguistic Landscape in Yemen The importance of English in Yemeni society is clearly perceived as public space in many Yemeni cities, especially in the capital city of San’a, is being increasingly decorated with all sorts of written discourse in English (Al-Thwary, 2009). Numerous restaurants, hotels, commercial centers, and other companies in the public space have their signs in both Arabic and English. English is also increasingly seen on public road signs, neon advertisements, traffic and direction guidance, street names, etc. The use of language in public space is referred to as linguistic landscape, which does not only provide information of urban life, but also defines the social and linguistic identity of a certain region. Thus, an increasing use of English on public and commercial signs shows clearly an important role of this language in the republic of Yemen. The major English speaking institutions and their role in Yemeni society The two most important English speaking academic institutions in Yemen are the British Council and American Institute for Yemeni Studies. The British Council, founded in Sanaa in 1973 with the support of the British Embassy, has played a very important role in teaching English and promoting British culture throughout the years (Mc Sharry, 1996). The British Council has contributed significantly to the development and economic growth of Yemen as it offered English courses for aid project workers and, thus, allowed them to collaborate with international donors. With the support of the Yemeni-British Association and the British-Yemeni society, the British Council provides Yemeni society with a program of varied and educational events, educational information service, and scholarships for Yemenis of all ages to study in Great Britain (Mc Sharry, 1996). The British Council has three centers in Yemen: in Sanaa, Aden, and Hodaidah. The total cost of the British Council program in Yemen to the British tax payer is estimated at 182.000 pounds. There are four main aims set by the British Council to enhance Yemeni development and support UK-Yemen relations: To support the development of schools, universities, sports, youth services and primary health units in Yemen, To promote learning English and using of British educational and training services as developmental tools, To promote Yemeni arts in the British society and vice versa for British arts, To motivate Yemeni women to participate in public life and contribute to the development of their country, The American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS) was established in Sanaa in 1973. It is the only American interdisciplinary academic organization working on the Arabian peninsula (AIYS 2009). AYIS enables Yemeni officials and academics contact with the American community, thus promoting the share of knowledge, ideas and skills between the two countries. The AYIS activities involve: acting as an information exchange, providing fellowships to Yemeni and American scholars, conducting lecture series, workshops, conferences and orientation sessions on various topics, publishing books about Yemen, promoting Yemeni Studies to general, academic, and governmental audiences, Conclusion . Following Yemen’s increasing openness to the outside world, English is playing a very important role in nearly all spheres of the society. Thus, a good level of proficiency in English does not only allow Yemenis to fulfill their academic and professional goals, but also to contribute to development and economic growth of their society. Aid project workers, who are involved in the public sector reform projects, need to speak English in order to communicate with foreign donors and collaborators. Given the important role of the private sector in economic and social development of Yemen, employers should have good English skills to deal with foreign investors and tourists visiting Yemen. Furthermore, due to a great number of international interventions aimed to support the development of the private sector in Yemen, all individuals and entities engages in these programs need to speak English, which is the working language of these projects. The programs run by the British Council, such as the Curriculum Reform Project, or the Connecting Classrooms program, raise the level of English in Yemeni schools and promote the use of English among the youth. Young people with good English skills can benefit from a variety of school exchanges and scholarships abroad, and study at the faculties, where English is used as a medium of instruction, which can contribute to their further professional success. A wide use of English in media provides Yemenis with a meaningful language exposure, thus allowing them to improve their English skills. English-speaking websites about Yemen and Yemeni issues also contribute significantly to the country’s positive image in the outside world, providing accurate and reliable information. Finally, an increasing use of English in public space in Yemeni cities shows clearly the importance of English in the society, contributing to the new social and linguistic identity of the republic of Yemen. Annex tables Annex A: The history of use of English in Yemen 1839 The conquest of the port of Aden by the British East India company. 1926 The introduction of English to school curricula in North Yemen. 1937 South Yemen becomes a British colony; the use of English in education, administration and law. 1967 The liberalization of Yemen from British forces. 1973 The establishment of British Council in Sanaa. 1978 The opening of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS). 1982/83 The introduction of the Crescent and the “English for Yemen” textbooks in preparatory schools. 1990 The unification of South and North Yemen; the expansion of British Council activities in Aden. 1992/93 The revised Crescent, under the name of “English Course for Yemen”, becomes the official textbook in the whole country. 2005 The Curriculum Reform Project: the introduction of English as an obligatory school subject from the 4th grade; teacher education programs. 2006 Connecting Classrooms program: Yemeni and British teachers and students share their ideas, culture, and skills. ANNEX B Questionnaire The role of English in Yemeni society British Council Answer the questions: (very strong-strong-regular-average-weak-no interest) 1. How do you rate the interest in English courses, offered by the British Council, among different age groups? ( very strong-strong-regular-average-weak-no interest) I am sorry we don’t have any teaching centre in Yemen and we don’t have formal request. a) Children (0-12 years old) b) Teenagers (13-19 years old) c) Young adults (20-39 years old) d) Middle-aged persons (40-65 years old) e) Elderly persons (over 65 years old) 2. How do you rate Yemeni’s interest in different courses of English: a) Elementary - very strong b) Intermediate - very strong c) Advanced - average d) English for special purposes (business, medical English) - don’t know e) Others:…………………………………………………….. 3. What activities and services offered by the British Council do you find the most popular in Yemeni society? a) library services - not sure b) events promoting British culture ( Which of them?) Strong - Connecting classroom and English for the future, Higher Education link) c) Courses of English (don’t have it) d) Information centers e) Scholarships in Great Britain - Very strong f) Other:………………………………………………………… 4) What are the Yemenis’ motivations to learn English you can observe among the students? a) The interest in British culture - average b) Professional and educational demands - strong c) Willingness to live and work in Great Britain - not sure d) Other:………………………………………………………………… References: Al-Hilaly, K. (2010) “Connecting Classrooms” helps correcting stereotypes. Yemen Times. Retrieved from http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=33359 on 24 January 2010 Al-Thwary, A. (2009). Linguistic Landscape in Yemen. Yemen Times. Retrieved from http://www.yementimes.com/DefaultDET.aspx?i=1130&p=education&a=3 on 25 January 2010 The American Institute for Yemeni Studies(AIYS), (1997-2009). Introduction: about AIYS. Retrieved from http://www.aiys.org/index.html on 28 January 2010 Anam, F. (2008). Curriculum Reform Project to train English teachers. Yemen Observer. Retrieved from http://www.yobserver.com/reports/10013780.html on 24 January 2010 Carapico, S. (1998). Civil society in Yemen: the political economy of activism in modern Arabia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Das, D. and Kratcoski, P. (2003) Meeting the challenges of global terrorism: prevention, control, and recovery. Oxford: Lenington Books Dear, P. (2010). Britain’s long relationship with Yemen. BBC News, Magazine. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8441263.stm on 24 January 2010 Gamal, R. (2009). UK program merges international education system. Yemen Observer. Retrieved from http://www.yobserver.com/culture-and- society/10017597.html on 24 January 2010 Ghanim, M. (2009). History of English Teaching in Yemen. Yemen Times, Issue No. 1331. Retrieved from http://www.yementimes.com/DefaultDET.aspx?i=844&p=education&a=3 on 24 January 2010 McSharry, B. (1996). The British Council in Yemen. The British-Yemeni Society. Retrieved from http://www.al-bab.com/bys/articles/mcsharry96.htm on 25 January 2010 Private Sector Development Project (2009). Private Sector Development Project. Retrieved from http://www.psdpye.org/home.psdp on 26 January 2010 Shabab Yemeni (2005) About us. Shabab Yemeni. Retrieved from http://www.shababyemeni.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=41 on 26 January 2010 The World Bank (2000). Yemen - Civil Service Modernization Project. Retrieved from http://www-wds.worldbank.org The World Bank (2002). Economic growth in the Republic of Yemen: sources, constraints, and potentials. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Yemen Times (2009) About Yemen Times. Yemen Times. Retrieved from www.yementimes.com on 27 January 2010 Read More