TY - JOUR
T1 - The language planning situation in the Sultanate of Oman
AU - Al-Issa, Ali S.M.
N1 - Funding Information:
I would like to thank Professor Allan Luke, my Ph.D. thesis supervisor at the University of Queensland in Australia (1998–2001) for introducing me to the field of LPP, inspiring me to pursue my research in this highly critical field of study and to develop my professional critical thinking skills. I would like to gratefully acknowledge the comments made by the three anonymous reviewers and thank Dr Kerry Taylor-Leech and Dr Pauline Bryant for their help in preparing this monograph. I also thank Mrs Maryam Al Biloshi and Mr Ali Al Riyami from the Ministry of Educationfor providing important information on the teaching of Arabic and English. I extend my thanks to Mr Mohammed Al Wihaibi from the Ministry of Education for providing important information on the teaching of French and German. I am further grateful to Mrs Nada Ambousaidi from the Ministry of Education and Dr Noor Al Najjar from the College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University for their help with finding the maps of Oman. I am also thankful to Mr Nassir Al Yahyai from the Civil Service Employees Pension Fund for providing data about the labor force in Oman. Finally, my thanks are due to Hussain Taqi Al-Lawati from the Diwan of Royal Court for the important information he provided on the structure and function of the Diwan.
Funding Information:
Abbreviations : AALIM: Arab American Language Institute in Morocco; ACTFL: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages; AFL: Arabic as a Foreign Language; ALT: Arabic Language Teaching; BES: Basic Education System; BTEC: Business and Technology Education Council; CA: Colloquial Arabic; CEFR: Common European Framework; CELTA: Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults; CfBT: Center for British Teachers; CFO: Centre Franco Omanais; CLS: Critical Language Scholarship; CLT: Communicative Language Teaching; CoE: College of Education; DAAD: German Academic Exchange Service; DALF: DiplômeApprofondi de Langue Française; DELF: Diplômed’Etudes en Langue Française; DELTA: Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults; ELT: English Language Teaching; EMI: English-medium instruction; FPEL: Foundation Program English Language; EU: European Union; GCCC: Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; GFP: General Foundation Program; GPA: Gulf Pidgin Arabic; GUtech: German University of Technology; H: High; ICC: Intercultural Communicative Competence; IELTS: International English Language Testing System; IESCO: Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; IGCSE: International General Certificate of Secondary Education; KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; L: Low; LEP: Language in Education Planning; LPP: Language Policy and Planning; LWC: Language of Wider Communication; MENA: Middle East and North Africa; MoE: Ministry of Education; MoHE: Ministry of Higher Education; MSA: Modern Standard Arabic; NCATE: National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education; NRAA: National Records and Archive Authority; OAAA: Oman Academic Accreditation Authority; OIF: International Agency of La Francophonie; OPA: Oman Pidgin Arabic; OPEC: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries; PDO: Petroleum Development Oman; PFLOAG: Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf; PHEIs: Private Higher Education Institutions; QA: Quranic Arabic; RWTH: Rheinisch-WestfälischeTechnischeHochschule; SCPTT: Specialized Centre for Professional Training of Teachers; SQU: Sultan Qaboos University; TCF: Test de connaissance du Français; TEF: Test d’ Evaluation de Francais; TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language; TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication; TVET: Technological Vocational Education and Training; UAE: United Arab Emirates; UN: United Nation; UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; ZD: Zertifikat Deutsch
Funding Information:
Several different dynasties have ruled Oman over the past 14 centuries. Between 751 and 1406, Oman was ruled by Imams. The Nabhani dynasty ruled the country from 1406 to 1624, followed by the Yaruba dynasty for the next 135 years. The Bu Saidi dynasty came to power in 1749 and has ruled Oman until the present day. The late Sultan, Sultan Qaboos, who died on 10 January 2020,was the 14th-generation descendant of the founder of the Al Bu Saidi dynasty. He received his primary and secondary education in Salalah and India, where he was the student of Shankar Dayal Sharma, the former president of India. When he reached the age of 16, his father sent him to a private educational establishment in England. He joined the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst at the age of 20. After passing out of Sandhurst in 1962, he joined a British infantry battalion on operations in Germany for one year and held a staff appointment with the British Army. After his military service, Sultan Qaboos studied local government at Oxford University and the British Military Academy and, after a world tour, returned home to Salalah where he studied Islam and the history of his country (Fattahi, ). Covertly assisted by the British and supported by MI6 and by civil servants at the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office and sanctioned by the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Sultan Qaboos overthrew his father Said Bin Taimour Al Said in a bloodless palace coup and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1970 (Cobain, ). He moved to Muscat, the capital, where he declared that the country would no longer be known as the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman but would be united as the Sultanate of Oman.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2020/8/7
Y1 - 2020/8/7
N2 - This paper examines the language planning situation in the Sultanate of Oman with emphasis on the planning of Arabic, English, French and German, and their choice and spread in serving different interests and purposes. The paper explores the historical, social, political, and ideological processes and complexities of the language policy and planning (LPP) situation in the Sultanate. The discussion attempts to show that language planning, as carried out by the elites, is top-down and ideologically oriented and motivated, as it favors certain knowledge and traditions, while marginalizing and oppressing others. A brief introductory history of Oman is followed by an account of the language profile of the country. The paper then examines the role of Language in Education Planning (LEP) in the spread of Arabic, English, French, and German in schools and higher education. It concludes that there is an ideological struggle, contest, and conflict at the LEP level resulting in a lack of strategic planning and organized effort affecting language choice, language spread, language contact, language preservation, language maintenance, and language shift. Finally, the paper recommends avenues for further research and ways forward for LPP and LEP in Oman. Abbreviations: AALIM: Arab American Language Institute in Morocco; ACTFL: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages; AFL: Arabic as a Foreign Language; ALT: Arabic Language Teaching; BES: Basic Education System; BTEC: Business and Technology Education Council; CA: Colloquial Arabic; CEFR: Common European Framework; CELTA: Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults; CfBT: Center for British Teachers; CFO: Centre Franco Omanais; CLS: Critical Language Scholarship; CLT: Communicative Language Teaching; CoE: College of Education; DAAD: German Academic Exchange Service; DALF: DiplômeApprofondi de Langue Française; DELF: Diplômed’Etudes en Langue Française; DELTA: Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults; ELT: English Language Teaching; EMI: English-medium instruction; FPEL: Foundation Program English Language; EU: European Union; GCCC: Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; GFP: General Foundation Program; GPA: Gulf Pidgin Arabic; GUtech: German University of Technology; H: High; ICC: Intercultural Communicative Competence; IELTS: International English Language Testing System; IESCO: Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; IGCSE: International General Certificate of Secondary Education; KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; L: Low; LEP: Language in Education Planning; LPP: Language Policy and Planning; LWC: Language of Wider Communication; MENA: Middle East and North Africa; MoE: Ministry of Education; MoHE: Ministry of Higher Education; MSA: Modern Standard Arabic; NCATE: National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education; NRAA: National Records and Archive Authority; OAAA: Oman Academic Accreditation Authority; OIF: International Agency of La Francophonie; OPA: Oman Pidgin Arabic; OPEC: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries; PDO: Petroleum Development Oman; PFLOAG: Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf; PHEIs: Private Higher Education Institutions; QA: Quranic Arabic; RWTH: Rheinisch-WestfälischeTechnischeHochschule; SCPTT: Specialized Centre for Professional Training of Teachers; SQU: Sultan Qaboos University; TCF: Test de connaissance du Français; TEF: Test d’ Evaluation de Francais; TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language; TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication; TVET: Technological Vocational Education and Training; UAE: United Arab Emirates; UN: United Nation; UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; ZD: Zertifikat Deutsch.
AB - This paper examines the language planning situation in the Sultanate of Oman with emphasis on the planning of Arabic, English, French and German, and their choice and spread in serving different interests and purposes. The paper explores the historical, social, political, and ideological processes and complexities of the language policy and planning (LPP) situation in the Sultanate. The discussion attempts to show that language planning, as carried out by the elites, is top-down and ideologically oriented and motivated, as it favors certain knowledge and traditions, while marginalizing and oppressing others. A brief introductory history of Oman is followed by an account of the language profile of the country. The paper then examines the role of Language in Education Planning (LEP) in the spread of Arabic, English, French, and German in schools and higher education. It concludes that there is an ideological struggle, contest, and conflict at the LEP level resulting in a lack of strategic planning and organized effort affecting language choice, language spread, language contact, language preservation, language maintenance, and language shift. Finally, the paper recommends avenues for further research and ways forward for LPP and LEP in Oman. Abbreviations: AALIM: Arab American Language Institute in Morocco; ACTFL: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages; AFL: Arabic as a Foreign Language; ALT: Arabic Language Teaching; BES: Basic Education System; BTEC: Business and Technology Education Council; CA: Colloquial Arabic; CEFR: Common European Framework; CELTA: Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults; CfBT: Center for British Teachers; CFO: Centre Franco Omanais; CLS: Critical Language Scholarship; CLT: Communicative Language Teaching; CoE: College of Education; DAAD: German Academic Exchange Service; DALF: DiplômeApprofondi de Langue Française; DELF: Diplômed’Etudes en Langue Française; DELTA: Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults; ELT: English Language Teaching; EMI: English-medium instruction; FPEL: Foundation Program English Language; EU: European Union; GCCC: Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; GFP: General Foundation Program; GPA: Gulf Pidgin Arabic; GUtech: German University of Technology; H: High; ICC: Intercultural Communicative Competence; IELTS: International English Language Testing System; IESCO: Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; IGCSE: International General Certificate of Secondary Education; KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; L: Low; LEP: Language in Education Planning; LPP: Language Policy and Planning; LWC: Language of Wider Communication; MENA: Middle East and North Africa; MoE: Ministry of Education; MoHE: Ministry of Higher Education; MSA: Modern Standard Arabic; NCATE: National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education; NRAA: National Records and Archive Authority; OAAA: Oman Academic Accreditation Authority; OIF: International Agency of La Francophonie; OPA: Oman Pidgin Arabic; OPEC: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries; PDO: Petroleum Development Oman; PFLOAG: Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf; PHEIs: Private Higher Education Institutions; QA: Quranic Arabic; RWTH: Rheinisch-WestfälischeTechnischeHochschule; SCPTT: Specialized Centre for Professional Training of Teachers; SQU: Sultan Qaboos University; TCF: Test de connaissance du Français; TEF: Test d’ Evaluation de Francais; TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language; TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication; TVET: Technological Vocational Education and Training; UAE: United Arab Emirates; UN: United Nation; UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; ZD: Zertifikat Deutsch.
KW - Arabic
KW - English
KW - French
KW - German
KW - Language policy and planning
KW - language in education planning
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U2 - 10.1080/14664208.2020.1764729
DO - 10.1080/14664208.2020.1764729
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85085014902
SN - 1466-4208
VL - 21
SP - 347
EP - 414
JO - Current Issues in Language Planning
JF - Current Issues in Language Planning
IS - 4
ER -