Suchergebnisse

The Lebanese use a combination of Arabic and English telegraphic speech, along with gestures and other forms of speech adjustments to address their domestics. This pattern of inadequate speech is based on the misconception that domestics understand exactly the same way they speak. Using interviews, questionnaires, and participant observations, the researchers identified some of the underlying issues, power and trust, related to this form of fragmented speech. The investigators recommended that communication with domestics be in one language and in complete sentences, not only for the sake of language acquisition but to ensure a fair treatment of foreign helpers.

In Algeria, the educational system, as much as the use of languages (foreign and national) are the preserve of politicians. Thus, these thorny domains are rarely dealt with in a way that avoids increasing the level of sensitivity about them, leading to a deepening social fracture. If the debates, more often than not, verge on partisanship rather than objectivity, it is because of the scramble for power between French- and Arabic-speaking intellectual communities. Politics rules even when the concern is that of the technicians or the experts in education or didactics. In a situation where the French language has lost much of its ground in the sociocultural and educational environments of the country, the introduction of English is being heralded as the magic solution to all possible ills-including economic, technological and educational ones. The whole process is being implemented with an immediate result: the popular vernaculars are outlawed, French is being compartmentalised in domains which are decreasing in number, while foreign languages are being called upon to supposedly help Arabic come to terms with the demands of a globalised and technological world. Language policy is not planned according to objective and realistic criteria. It is mostly the outcome of individual or group political take-over. The educational system is also taken hostage by jingoistic attitudes expressed in hasty and unrealistic educational reforms. This is no less the case of English teaching and its early introduction in the primary level, a roundabout way to end the influence of French inside and outside the school system. ; peer-reviewed

In the 'knowledge' economy the provision of high levels of human skills and competencies in generating wealth are crucial. Recent developments in theories of human capital formation are particularly relevant to the Gulf and MENA regions. Recent reconfigurations of the theory in the West are discussed; much local work needs to be done to reshape theory to make it useful in the Middle East. Understanding of entry into the labour market in the West has become more sophisticated, and the impact of the global economy on skills and employment has been investigated. Despite great variation amongst Gulf and Middle Eastern states, issues relating to employment, education and training are of widespread concern. Coordinated planning and policies and the role of government there are important, and a critical factor is the ability of individuals, firms, institutions and even cultures to learn from technological innovation and change and thus to indigenise it successfully. ; peer-reviewed