The Implications of Expanding the Instruction Time for the English Language Teaching Policy Implementation in the Sultanate of Oman: A Qualitative Study

This study asks questions and elicits answers about the importance of English language teaching (ELT) instruction time on the national curriculum in the Sultanate of Oman from an ideological perspective. It triangulates data from semi-structured interviews made with different agents involved in the Omani ELT system and representing different social, cultural, and academic backgrounds, the pertinent literature, the National English Language Policy/Plan, and other locally produced policy texts. The critical discussion, which aims at revealing and examining the degree of conflict and harmony, differences and similarities, and agreements and disagreements embodied in the various statements, has revealed variable ideologies and paradigms about the instruction time given to ELT on the national curriculum. The findings in this article have their direct implications for ELT policy in the Sultanate of Oman and other similar contexts where English and other equally important languages are taught as a foreign/second language.