The Role of Sociolinguistics in Teaching Arabic

for Non-Native Speakers

Abstract

The State of Qatar seeks to achieve economic diversification and growth in non-oil sectors where efforts are directed towards transforming the state’s economy into a knowledge-based economy. These words from Qatar Vision 2030 have shaped the history of Qatar, and have led to a set of structural transformations in economic, educational, and social systems in Qatar during the past two decades.

Among the most significant transformations was adopting the English language as a language of instruction in government education institutions in 2002, then reverting to the use of Arabic in instruction from 2012. This study aims to present a sociolinguistic examination and analysis of the relationship between language policies in education in Qatar and government endeavors to reconstruct the national identity, accommodate these cultural pressures, regional distinctions, and building of a knowledge economy.

This study provides a theoretical framework for understanding language policy changes in Qatar in light of the elastic shift towards globalization and national identity, drawing on three main approaches: the processes of integration, fragmentation and distanciation (Salomon, 2013), the concept of constructing a new collective consciousness through education (Bourdieu, 1991), and the concept of flexible citizenship (Kymlicka, 2011).

The study also highlights the significance of the role of language in education and consequently in the construction of national identity. The study calls for language planning in education to be based on extensive research, systematic procedures, and emerging language policy and planning frameworks and tools, in order to achieve the desired goals.