Majority of Algerians favour English as their first foreign language instead of French -Video
By: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- The majority of Algerians, especially students, welcomed the decisions of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to wean them away from the language of Molière and bolster English tuition in the country.
Algeria is moving further away from its francophone history by introducing instruction in English in primary schools. The country is trying to improve learning and academic and professional opportunities.
Algerian primary schools have scrambled to introduce English lessons, under the instructions of President Tebboune, who announced, in the midst of the summer holidays, that the authorities would add English to the primary school syllabus at the start of 2022-2023 new school year.
“The French language is war booty, but English is the international language,” President Abdelmadjid Tebboune told journalists in July.
President Tebboune reiterated his determination to review the law governing the teaching profession, in application of his commitments in terms of reforming the education system, while stressing the need to review educational curricula with reference to the pedagogical spirit, which has enabled the training, since independence, of an elite in various specialties.
The presidential speech did not fall on deaf ears. Just a few hours later, the National Education Minister, Abdelhakim Belabed announced the “implementation” of the President’s decision at the beginning of the school year in September.
To this end, thousands of English-language teachers were hired as a first stage in a broader plan to boost English tuition in the coming years.
For their part, educationalists, teachers’ unions, and politicians agreed that bringing in the language of Shakespeare “is a good thing”.
“I want to drop the language of the colonizer and adopt the language used worldwide—the language of science and technology,” said Hacene, the father of a primary pupil in the capital, Algiers.
Asked by Dzair Tube TV, a student said: “I think English is better than French…”We have been taught French since our childhood, and I think that it is time to switch from the French language to English.” She emphasized that learning English is worthwhile as it is an international language.
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