1.4.1. The introduction phase: from independence until
the end of the 1970s
During this period, especially with generalising the teaching
of English in 1958 with the first educational reform, English was taught from
the second to the sixth year of secondary school for all sections, which were
scientific, literary, technical, commercial, teacher training, and economic
sections (Derbel, 2001). As described by Salhi (1984), this stage is
characterized by the absence of a clear efficient policy concerning teaching
English. The position of English was similar to that of other languages like
Italian, German, and Spanish. There was no Tunisian syllabus and no Tunisian
made textbooks for teaching English as textbooks were brought from France. In
fact even when teaching English at this stage one could easily infer the French
style revealed by the French-English vocabulary lists and translation from
French into English (Daoud, 2001). After the evacuation of Bizerte and the
nationalisation of agricultural lands, De Gaulle ended the French support for
teaching foreign languages in Tunisia, except for French. This decision opened
the doors in the 1970s for the United States of America and the United Kingdom
to participate in teaching English in
Tunisia through providing teachers and organisations working in
the field namely the Ford Foundation and Overseas Development Agency (Daoud,
2001; Derbel, 2001).
Concerning this stage, Salhi (1984) wrote:
While little encouragement was shown by [Tunisian] educational
authorities towards English in the sixties, a major project developed mainly by
foreign organisations- American and British- was drawing to its close, namely
the consolidation of the Institut Bourguiba des Langue Vivantes
(I.B.L.V) as an institution for English language teaching. Although it was
marginal to the mainstream of education, the I.B.L.V was the first planned
action in favour of English in Tunisia. (p. 82)
Clearly, the British and the Americans acted in favour of
introducing English in Tunisia. The British and the American assistance helped
the establishment of the I.B.L.V in 1964 that worked mainly on teaching English
to the public for acceptable prices and later on English for Specific Purposes
(ESP) in 1980s (Daoud, 2001). The introduction of English was followed by some
measures taken in order to promote learning it, which are to be reviewed in the
forthcoming second sub-section.
1.4.2. The generalisation phase: from 1970s until
1984
Daoud (2001) gathered some facts about this stage. He
mentioned that during this period, Tunisia started trying Tunisian textbooks
and teaching English became limited to scientific, literary and economic
sections. Moreover, in 1983, the Ariana Pilot School was established and it
taught pupils scientific disciplines in English instead of French from the
seventh year (Daoud, 2001). This was in basic and secondary education but in
higher education only students who chose to study English and students of
scientific sections got access to English thanks to the ESP project. In 1981,
the Transfer of Technology Program started with American assistance allowing
holders of baccalaureate to study in the United States of America in scientific
sections.
Such an act reflected the government's concern at that time to
have access to science and technology directly from the source without the
mediation of French. Such an objective could be revealed from the goals of the
Sixth Development law (ibid).
In spite of the increase in graduate and post graduate
students going to study in English speaking countries, and the number of
institutions providing students with ESP courses increased, Salhi (1984) argues
that there still «[was] no clear English language policy in Tunisia and no
coordination at the level of the ministry of higher education». Therefore,
more efficient measures are to be taken to promote the study of English, which
are going to be reviewed in the next sub-section.
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