Abstract
In 2012, the Supreme Education Council of the State of Qatar decreed a change from English to Arabic as a medium of instruction in four of the colleges of Qatar University. This surprise move created much controversy, especially among the students, the first stakeholders to be affected by this decision, related to the impact this change would have on their futures. The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes of college students at Qatar University concerning the shift from English to Arabic as the language of instruction. The sample includes 295 students from the four colleges affected by this decision. Data were collected using an Arabic version of the standardized Student Attitudes Towards the Instructional Medium questionnaire. The findings of the study are interpreted in the light of students' perceptions about the place of English in Qatari society, the role of Arabic and English in their educational careers, and the importance of each language for their futures. Findings are also interpreted in the light of a review of previous findings on the attitudes of students on this issue. Discussion and recommendations may inform language policy decisions.
Highlights
In an attempt to meet the country’s economic and social challenges, the Qatari government launched a comprehensive reform of the K-12 education system in 2001
This decision was applied at the level of higher education so that most majors offered at Qatar University (QU) would be taught in English
From the researchers’ experience as instructors in a teacher education program, they can attest to the challenges that teachers are facing in teaching content courses in English [11]. Many of these practitioners were required by their schools to take English courses in the British Council to improve their English proficiency level
Summary
In an attempt to meet the country’s economic and social challenges, the Qatari government launched a comprehensive reform of the K-12 education system in 2001. After completion of the Foundation program, students were required to take an English proficiency test (International English Language Testing System or Test of English as a Foreign Language), yet many of them never managed to obtain the scores required by their majors and could not continue their educations. This caused much discontent and frustration among students as well as parents
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