Session Information
31 SES 09 C, Negotiating Identities in Multilingual Contexts
Paper Session
Contribution
Language policies in the Moroccan national school system are highly complex and controversial politically and socially (Boutieri 2016). As the official language of Morocco, Arabic is the main language of literacy instruction in state schools since the gradual Arabization of the education system in the nation-building process following independence from the French protectorate (1912-1956). Diglossia furthers the complexity of schooling for pupils and teachers whose mother tongues (Moroccan Arabic and/or Berber) differ greatly from school Arabic and are disregarded as mere daily communication tools for illiterate people (Ennaji 2005; Giolfo & Sinatora 2011). French, although it has no official status in the kingdom, is taught as a second language from primary school onwards and is also the language of instruction for sciences and economics in most secondary schools and in higher education. Paradoxically it remains the main language for qualified positions on the national job market, so that state school graduates who are merely Arabic-speaking have very little access to them due to their low skills in communication French (Boutieri 2016). Besides, pupils start to learn English or Spanish as foreign languages of communication at the secondary school level. Hence multilingual literacies and different approaches to language learning and skills are intertwined in a context of social and political conflicting language ideologies (Ziamari & Ruiter 2015; Miller 2017).
The existing literature on language-related education issues in Morocco mainly focuses on linguistic and sociolinguistic approaches (Tamer 2003; Ennaji 2005); on colonial, postcolonial and development studies (Moatassime 1992; Segalla 2009); on technical assessments of learning difficulties and school drop-out rates (Wagner 1993; UNESCO 2010). Very little ethnographic work has been done within schools and classes except Boyle (2004) who did research in Qur’anic schools and Boutieri (2016) who draws on class observations as an interesting set-up for her sociological analysis on language politics and neo-liberalism.
Based on extensive ethnography conducted in language classes in Moroccan state schools over a period of three years, this paper seeks to investigate how conflicting notions of national, cultural and individual identity are constructed through the different curricula, approaches to literacy and teaching practices in three languages: Arabic, French and English. Literacy and language teaching do not merely amount to teaching neutral linguistic and communication tools but rather participate in shaping pupils’ understandings and wordings of the world, their definitions of the self and the other as well as their social interactions and representations. Pioneer literacy theorists such as Scribner & Cole (1981) and Street (1984; 2000) have shown that literacy is not a straightforward concept but that multiple literacies do exist: each of them is related to a different learning place and is embedded in different social practices and representations of what is valuable knowledge. Street’s distinction between Maktab (i.e. Qur’anic school) literacy and commercial literacy in village schools in Iran (ibid.) is particularly helpful for us here. This paper will show how, in Moroccan state schools, literacies in Arabic, French and English differ, how curricula and teaching practices in each of these languages convey competing values and notions of what it means to be a literate Moroccan in the 21st century, of what is considered valuable knowledge and literacy (religion, high culture and literature and/or practical skills) and of what is valued as useful literacy skills on the national and international job market.
Method
The findings of this paper are based on the ethnographic research I conducted for my PHD in Moroccan state schools between 2016 and 2018 in urban, rural and mountainous areas. I spent extensive periods of time (between 1 and 3 months) in 9 different schools: 3 primary schools, 3 middle schools and 3 high schools. I conducted participant observations in language classes (Arabic, French, English and Spanish), playgrounds and teachers’ rooms. In total I observed 12 Arabic teachers, 12 French teachers, 8 English teachers and 3 Spanish teachers with their different classes. I also made interviews with them and with some pupils and their parents, as well as with headmasters, inspectors and officials from the ministry of Education and local education administrations. I was given the opportunity to stay with families and to spend time and interact with their children during playtime and homework. To support and complete the ethnographic findings, I translated, analysed and compared the official curricula, pedagogical guidelines, textbooks and examinations for each language.
Expected Outcomes
This paper seeks to show how multilingual literacies are constructed through curricula and teaching practices in classrooms and how they convey competing notions of identity, social and cultural belonging and knowledge. The main argument will be that two types of literacy are at stake: the teaching of Arabic and French belongs to what I call “identity” literacy, although differently. Indeed Arabic literacy, which is highly valued as the sacred language of the Qur’an and as a language of high culture, is taught in schools through the focus of religion, nation-praising and Arab-Muslim identity as opposed to the rest of the world. It is merely taught as a language of recitation and praising rather than a language that can be owned and manipulated by pupils. French is also taught as a language of high literacy and culture but its teaching is mainly restricted to classical French literature, stylistics and grammar so that the language itself is kept at bay from pupils who can hardly appropriate it. This distancing with the ex-colonial language is at odds with the usage of French as the language of sciences, economics and the national qualified job market so that pupils are both attracted to it and repulsed by it. On the other side, the teaching of English belongs to what I call “performance” literacy. I will show how English is merely taught as a fun foreign language which pupils are invited to appropriate confidently. It is mainly focussed on developing useful and pragmatic communication skills meant to help pupils to engage with globalisation and the international job market.
References
Boutieri C., 2016, Learning in Morocco: language politics and the abandoned educational dream, Indiana University Press, Bloomington (Indiana) USA Boyle H. N., 2004, Quranic schools: agents of preservation and change, RoutledgeFalmer, New York, USA De Ruiter J.J., 2006, Les jeunes Marocains et leurs langues, L’Harmattan « Espaces discursifs » 44, Paris, France Ennaji Moha, 2005, Multilingualism, cultural identity and education in Morocco, Springer, New-York Giolfo M. & Sinatora F., 2011, « Rethinking Arabic Diglossia, language representations and ideological intents » in Valore Paolo (ed.), Multilingualism. Language, Power and Knowledge. PISA : Edistudio Hoffman K., 2008, “Purity and contamination: language ideologies in French colonial native policy in Morocco”, Comparative Studies in Society and History 2008;50(3):724–752 Miller C., 2017, “Contemporary dārija writings in Morocco : ideology and practices”, in Jacob Høigilt and Gunvor Mejdell (ed), The Politics of written languages in the Arab world, Written Changes, Leiden, Brill, p. 90-115. Moatassime A., 1992, Arabisation et langue française au Maghreb : un aspect sociolinguistique des dilemmes du développement, IEDES Collection Tiers Monde, PUF, Paris Segalla S.D., 2009, The Moroccan soul: French education, colonial ethnology and Muslim resistance, 1912-1956, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA Scribner S. & Cole M., 1981, The Psychology of Literacy, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. Street B., 1984, Literacy in theory and practice, Cambridge University Press, London, UK Street B. (ed.), 1993, Cross-cultural approaches to literacy, Cambridge University Press, London, UK Street B. (2000), “Literacy events and literacy practices. Theory and practice” in “New Literacy Studies”, in M. Martin-Jones & K. Jones (eds), Multilingual Literacies, Amsterdam, Johns Benjamins (p. 17-29). Tamer Y., 2003, Language and elementary education in Morocco: a sociolinguistic approach, unpublished PHD, Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco UNESCO, 2010, « Education au Maroc : analyse du secteur », Bureau Multipays pour le Maghreb, Rabat, written by Tawil S. (dir.), Cerbelle S. and Alama A. Vermeren P., 2011(b), « La formation des élites marocaines : un miroir de la mondialisation ? », Le Télémaque 2011/1 n°39 (p.53-56), Presse Universitaires de Caen, France Wagner D. A., 1993, Literacy, culture and development: becoming literate in Morocco, Cambridge University Press, USA Ziamari K. et de Ruiter J.J., 2015, « Les langues au Maroc : réalités, changements et évolutions linguistiques », in Dupret B., Rhani Z., Boutaleb A. et alii (dir.), Le Maroc au présent, Publication du Centre Jacques Berque, Rabat, https://books.openedition.org/cjb/1068?lang=it#authors
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