Morocco appears to be shifting to English. The Ministry of Education has announced, last Tuesday, that it will gradually introduce English language learning at middle schools to meet the growing demand. An announcement was also made recently by Mohamed Mehdi Bensaïd, Minister of Youth, culture and communication, about a future English-language news channel that will be launched in Morocco.
Moroccan youth are increasingly favoring English over French as reported by Aurélie Collas from French media Le Monde, which stated that expanding English language learning in schools does not mean that it will replace French, as the latter continues to be vital for the country’s economy, administration, and media. However there are concerns about the language’s survival as a significant proportion of Moroccan youth appear to be converting to English.
According to Soukayna Mahandi, a 19-year-old Moroccan medical student at the first English medical university established in 2021, her generation uses English extensively for communication, messaging, reading, and watching movies. “English is the main language of scientific research, publications, and conferences.”
English seems to be permeating Moroccan university campuses, with some viewing it as easier, more useful, and more popular than French. This shift towards English is seen as a move towards a more modern and open Morocco, according to Othman Al-Gorch, 20 years old, economics student.
Jawad Touzribt, an engineering student, believes it is time to move on after more than sixty years of independence. French has long been the language of the country’s elites, but power relations are shifting. English is more democratic and everyone has access to it, and these distinctions are no longer desired by today’s youth.
The article also revealed that, according to a survey published by the British Council in 2021, 40% of respondents consider English to be the most important language to learn, compared to 10% for French. Two-thirds believe that English will outrank French as the primary foreign language in the coming years.
This preference is also reflected in their academic performance with only 11% of students meeting the French language requirements by the end of middle school, according to the latest national assessment published in 2021.
Fouad Chafiqi, Inspector General of Pedagogical Affairs at the Ministry of National Education, explained that despite receiving over 2,000 hours of mandatory French instruction from the first year of primary school until high school, students often have a higher level of proficiency in English.
He attributed this disparity to their “self-learning practices” and “linguistic immersion” in a predominantly Anglophone cultural environment. He also noted that English is becoming a second language for them, rather than a foreign language, stating that French is an element of our heritage to be preserved, but the question of replacement is now regularly resurfacing in societal debates, even in Parliament.
Since 2019, seven British schools have been established, an addition to the 5 existing American schools, competing with the well-established network of 42 French schools.