Modern Standard Arabic As A Second Language For Its Own Speakers

Abstract

Algeria is a diglossic community, the existence of MSA as the only means of instruction on one hand and AA, the mother tongue of the Algerian learner on the other, makes the process of learning an arduous one. This reseach examines the classroom environment in primary school. It first describes how primary school teachers have constructed the environment of their foundation phase classrooms. It then considers why the teachers have assembled their classrooms in such ways by exploring their awareness, knowledge and understanding of, and attitudes and feelings towards, monolinguilism, bidialectalism and Second Language Acquisition. The study also briefly considers whether teacher training has amply prepared these teachers for the confrontation of a bidialectal classroom. The data is discussed in terms of education and Second Language Acquisition theory and the Algerian education and language policies. The results of indicate that the teachers have two fundamental suppositions that support their action and classroom construction. The first is that a lack of exposure to MSA is the primary cause of language problems for learners and the second is that AA, the mother tongue, does not need to be maintained or promoted in the school environment because learners are sufficiently exposed to their L1 in the home. The thesis concludes that shortcomings in training and information encourage teachers’ assumptions to take root and that the founding of two years of pre-schooling in which the instruction will be in both AA and MSA is necessary.