Language learners as mediators between cultures: some implications for teaching and assessing English in the Algerian context
Language learners as mediators between cultures: some implications for teaching and assessing English in the Algerian context
Keywords:
English as a lingua Franca, English for specific purposes, hybridity hypothesis, the Algerian educational systemAbstract
The Algerian ministry of higher education and scientific research has recently embarked on a policy aimed at enhancing the role of English in higher education. This new policy seeks to ensure a higher visibility for academic and scientific activities as well as the recognition of Algerian diplomas abroad. To achieve these aims, a national commission of experts in the field of English for specific purposes, constituted for this task, has issued a report outlining a series of measures that are susceptible the achievement of this goal. However, an analysis of this report as well as some related official documents showed that the suggested measures are deeply entrenched in the norms of native-speakerism. In this regard, the present paper raises the following question: do English native speakers’ norms represent a major obstacle in the way of a rapid enhancement of the role of English in the Algerian system of higher education? To answer this question, this theoretical paper explores the potential of Alcón ‘s (2007) hybridity hypothesis to serve as a framework for a more realistic policy geared towards the gradual enhancement of the status as well as the quality of teaching and assessing English for specific purposes in the Algerian system of higher.
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References
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