Abdelmalek Essaadi University

Department of English

Tetouan

English as a Foreign Language in Moroccan Schools

Prepared by : Supervised by :

Yasmine Serraj : 15030200 Dr. Mokhtar Fathallah

Nahla Oulad Chair : 15031767

NAIMA BENMANSOUR : Motivation and Learning Preferences of Moroccan High

School Learners of English as a Foreign Language

2017/2018
Contents :

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….… 1

Chapter One :

English Background in Morocco …………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

1-1 The Position of English in Morocco ……………………………………………………………………….. 2

1-2 Aims of ELT at Secondary School …………………………………………………………………………… 3

1-3 ELT Approach, Procedures, and Teaching Materials ……………………………………………… 4

Chapter Two :

Background to Second Language Acquisition …………………………………………………………………. 6

2-1 The Learning Process : Description ………………………………………………………………………… 6

2-2 The Learning Process : Explanation ……………………………………………………………………….. 7

2-3 Language Teaching Methods ………………………………………………………………………………… 8

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
Introduction :

English has undeniably become the lingua franca of the world . It has become the

predominant language of globalization . Also , English has managed to pervade into the

Moroccan society as well as the Moroccan educational system during the pre-colonial stage,

colonial stage, and post-colonial stage. The present paper consists of two chapters. The first

one provides a historical overview of the spread of English in Morocco. In addition to, the

objectives of ELT at secondary schools and its approach, procedures, and teaching materials.

The second one involves background to second language acquisition, specifically the learning

process: description and explanation and language teaching methods. Moreover, language

teaching curricula often tend to suggest that there is a fairly clear distinction between

linguistic knowledge and cultural knowledge. Finally, those chapters are backed with

examples and methods of some linguistic scholars and researchers such as Jean Piaget and

Chomsky. To meet this end, it has been pointed out that English has been integrated into the

Moroccan linguistic landscape and that English enjoys a prestigious status.

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Chapter One : English Background in Morocco

1-1 The Position of English in Morocco

Morocco had relationships with both US and UK due to its geographical position .This

latter led to the emerge of English language and culture in Morocco. This relation marked by

the visit of the Prince of Wales to Morocco in 1995; Ahmed Alaoui reported the connection

between the two kingdoms: In the Saadienne era, the Queen Elizabeth was the first who

encouraged the alliance with Morocco and we have seen the British influence on sports like

‘tennis and golf’ as well as the British lifestyle that impregnated in some Moroccan cities.

This cultural interaction between the two kingdoms was accompanied with the introduction

of English language in the 19 th century where Moroccans attended English classes,

especially in Tangier and Gibraltar. Also, English was taught undirectly for better access to

the Bible during the settlement of American and British missionaries (Benmansour, 17-18) .

In 1956, the desire for learning English increased in Morocco because it was seen as a

language of prestige , development , and technology. The interest in English led to the

increase of British and American centers in addition to other institutions where English was

used such as Al Akhawayn University and the Institute of Higher Education in Rabat . In

secondary schools, English is an important subject in the curriculum, and it is a required

subject in Baccalaureate exam . On the other hand , it is more used in scientific materials

and researches at university level (Benmansour,18-19 ) .

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1-2 Aims of ELT at Secondary School :

As it is setted out in official Ministry texts, here are some of the objectives behind ELT

at secondary school:

1- To assist students to pass the English Baccalaureate exam.

2- To aid learners to be able to communicate with English native speakers.

3- To raise consciousness among learners about English language system.

4- To help learners to understand and to be open to other cultures.

5- To make learner able to meet the demands of job market ( Benmansour,20 ) .

6- Learners should be capable to listen , speak , and write .

7- To assist students and learners to participate in group discussions .

8- Development of intellectual abilities such as critical thinking and ability to read,

grasp , and analyse.

9- To raise awareness among global issues.

10- To learn study skills and how to express yourself fluently ( Ministry of Education

Curriculum,2-3 ) .

Academic learning consists in general of reading , listening , speaking , and writing. In

reading , educators usually focus on reading comprehension and learning two main ways

of reading which are skimming and scanning . In listening , the focus is on listening

capability and understanding and how learners can be active listeners . In speaking , it is

about delivering your messages fluently and accurately and to be able to express

yourself . In writing , it is about writing one developed paragraph with a topic sentence ,

body , and concluding sentence with the use of linking words and punctuation . Last but

not least , grammar lessons that include the correct use of tenses , sentence structure ,

and part of speech ( Ministry of Education Curriculum ,6-7 ) .

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 1-3 ELT Approach , Procedures and Teaching Materials :

The Ministry of Education approach is characterized by multiple principles , some of

them are :

1- Balance between accuracy- based and fluency- based activities because some learners

may speak fluently but they make errors . Conversely , others speak haltingly but in an

accurate way , so accuracy is about raising students awareness of details : pronunciation ,

grammar , and the use of vocabulary . Fluency is about being able to speak without

interruption , and we can develop it by free writing , extensive reading , and listening (

Sheppard , 1-2-3 ).

2- Balance between receptive and productive learning . The first one is understanding while

listening and reading ( decode the meaning ) , and the second one is speaking and writing

while using the required language from listening and reading .

3- Conscious formal learning and subconscious informal acquisition . The first one is not

communicative and it is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language where

students have conscious knowledge of the new language . The second one is subconscious

process where learners are unaware of grammatical rules and the emphasis here is on

communication ( Benmansour , 22 ) .

 Many language skills are developed due to these principles :

 Teaching Vocabulary : It is critical to reading comprehension where learners are

supposed to define words while reading and try to memorise them by repetition

and frequent use .

 Teaching Structures : A structure consists of patterns and students have to

derive rules , meaning , and form from those patterns .

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  Teaching Receptive Skills : They are listening and reading . Learners have to

receive , understand , and identify rethorical structure of the text ( Benmansour,

23 ) . In addition to , teaching of communicative functions , teaching of speaking,

teaching of writing , and so on …

The last issue that is related to ELT is the target culture . It is argued that the presence of

English culture in textbooks “might uproot learners” 1, which means that the target

culture forms a threat to Moroccan culture and that why “Morocco has a case for

making pro-active strategies in ELT to protect the national culture and language.”2

1
Naima Benmansour, “ Motivation and Learning Preferences of Moroccan High School Learners of
English as a Foreign Language” , (University of York : Department of Educational Studies,1996 ),p.25.
2
Martin Hyde , “ The Teaching of English in Morocco : The place of culture”, (ELT Journal ,
1994) ,p.296.

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Chapter Two : Background To Second Language Acquisition

2-1 The Learning Process : Description

Linguistics scholars conducted contrastive analysis about the second language

learning process in which first language and second language have points of convergence

that assist for positive transfer from first language , and points of divergence which is sign in

errors such as overgeneralization errors in which learners derived one rule and generalized it

. For example : I goed. Additionally, learners are influenced by their mother tongue and

applied its patterns in the learning process of second language. According to

Chomsky,learners play an active role in forming their own assumptions. Developmental

stages supported Chomsky’s proposal that learners were not reforming their mother

language to accord the second language, but learners were in fact constructing the second

language in a creative way . As it is known , learning is a creative process in which learners

must be given freedom to apply their creative powers ( Benmansour,30-31). As it is

confirmed by Jean Piaget in constructivism ,students tend to be active and exercise their

personal knowledge and they understand and manipulate the information constituted by

themselves . While teachers are playing a passive role and they just instruct learners on how

to construct meaning . Indeed, constructivism focused on transfer of knowledge and skills in

different ways ( Wijayant,12-14).

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2-2 The learning process : Explanation

The learning process consists of a number of Second Language Acquisition models.

First, we have the Universal Grammar model that was developed by Chomsky in the 1980s,

which include a set of general principles that apply to all grammars .It sets the limits within

which human language can differ ( Cook, 3). The Universal Grammar gives us the idea that

the human mind equipped learning languages naturally. Universal Grammar theory affirms

that language input makes the learner able to construct knowledge of the language

(Benmansour, 32-33) . Second, we have the Information Processing model that is based on

two essential presumptions. On one hand, learners are gifted with limited cognitive

capacities. This limitation reflects constraints on how knowledge has a process in regard an

individual’s information, past experiences, and expectations. On the other hand, learners

utulise multiple techniques to surpass these limitations such as information handling

procedures and routinization of skills that help to overcome long and short term memory

limitations regarding the storage and improvement of information (Benmansour, 33-34-35).

Finally, we have the Monitor model that was developed by Krashen in the 1970s and 1980s

and is based on five hypothesis, three of them are :

Acquisition –Learning Hypothesis : According to Krashen , there are two ways of developing

language ability . Acquisition involves the subconscious acceptance of knowledge where

information is stored in the brain through the use of communication . Learning on the other

hand is the conscious acceptance of knowledge about a language .

The Monitor Hypothesis : This hypothesis explains how acquisition and learning are used ;

the acquisition system , initiates an utterance and the learning system performes the role of

the monitor . Krashen states that monitoring can make some contribution to the accuracy of

an utterance but its use should be limited.

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The Natural Order Hypothesis: According to Krashen , learners acquired parts of language in

a predictable order . Certain grammatical structures are acquired early while others are

acquired later in the process ( Schûtz;2-3) .

2-3 Language Teaching Methods

There are three categories of language teaching methods . The psychological tradition

which consists of two main parts, audiolingualism , and cognitive code learning . The first

was used in the 1950s and 1960s , and its focus on the acquisition of structures and patterns

(Taylor,2-3) . The second was used in the 1970s , asserted that language learning

approaches active mental procedures such as thinking. Its emphasized the importance of

meaningful practice ( Benmansour,53). The second method is humanistic tradition that gives

priority and importance to emotional features within the learning process. Here are three

main principles that characterized humanistic education : 1- A concern with educating the

whole person : Learners are emotional and cognitive beings. Intellectual and affective needs

must be both involved in learning process , and they are the foundation of humanistic

techniques of teaching which explores learners ideas , experiences and values. 2- Emphasis

on self –actualization as opposed to self-denial: The objective of self-actualization is to allow

learners to use their creativity , in order to be independent and to be themselves . This will

help teachers to recognize the mental abilities and potential of learners. 3- Teacher as

facilitator : Humanistic teachers play an important role in promoting personal security of

students and provide them with an appropriate environment for learning . According to

Stevick and Curran , providing a tension-free atmosphere for learners will assist them to

learn and grow ( Benmansour,54-55). The third method involves the second language

tradition (The Communicative Approach) which is based on the idea that learning language

successfully comes through having to communicate real meaning . When learners are

involved in real communication , their natural strategies for language acquisition will be

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used , and this allow them to learn to use the language . Its emphasis is on communication

and meaning rather than accuracy.

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Conclusion:

To conclude, English usage has been growing rapidly throughout Morocco. It involved

different aspects including economics, politics, tourism,and especially education. The locus

of interest of this paper has been to present the position of English in Morocco where it is

being taught in both high schools and universities as well as it is used in a number of formal

and informal spheres. In addition to , the procedures and teaching methods that have been

updated to respond to the learning requirements and to fit the latest developments of the

field of foreign language education. Indeed, the language used in our educational system

plays a key role in our identity and culture.

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 Bibliography

Primary Source :

 Benmansour, Naima . “Motivation and Learning Preferences of Moroccan High

School Learners of English as a Foreign Language”. University of York : Department

of Educational Studies, 1996.

Secondary Sources :

 “National Curriculum : English as Foreign Language”.Morocco: Ministry of

Education,2002.

 Sheppard,Robert. “Fluency and Accuracy Activities: Striking a Balance”. TESOL

International Association advances the quality of English language teaching

worldwide, 2015.

 Hyde, Martin. “The Teaching of English in Morocco : The Place of Culture”. ELT

Journal, 1994.

 Dina, Novita, Wijayant. “The Essay of Behaviorism Theory of Language Teaching and

Learning”. 2012.

 Cook, Vivian. “Chomsky’s Universal Grammar and Second Language Learning”. 1985.

 Schûtz, Ricardo. “Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition”. 1998.

 Taylor, Alex. “The Audio-Lingual Teaching Method”. 2003.

Electronic Sources:

 https://www.etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/4270/1/DX195070.pdf

 https://www.ibe.unesco.org

 https://www.blog.tesol.org

 https://www.academic.oup.com

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  https://www.thesideriver.wordpress.com

 https://www.viviancook.uk

 https://www.sk.com

 https://www.blog.tjtaylor.net

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