College of Education

Eng. 102 Language Program

1st Semester, S.Y. 2021-2022
Dr. Emmanuel D. Dayalo, Course Facilitator

LANGUAGE PROGRAM POLICIES IN MULTILINGUAL SOCIETIES

BAHRAIN

Cindy B. Lozada, BSED English 1-B

PROGRAM

The kingdom of Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy that has a long history dating back over
5000 years. It is only island-state In the Gulf. It is also smallest, and has a lower population, of
all the Gulf Corporation Council (CCC) States. Due to Bahrain’s long political and trade
relationship with Britain (which continue in the new globalized economy), English has been an
important part of Bahrain’s economic survival. As a result, English is an integral component of
the Bahraini education system and is now taught from the first year schooling. It has also become
the medium of instruction in many higher education institutions in the Kingdom. This chapter
examines the history of English Education in Bahrain, it’s current developments, and what the
future landscape in English language policy in Bahrain may resemble. The chapter offer
suggestions on how to address some of the language and policy challenges that Bahrain is facing.
Overall, many of the English language policy decisions in Bahrain are showing signs of success
in both the K-12 and higher education sectors.

POLICIES

Bahrain is a small country In the Arabian Gulf in the Middle East with a dense population
of over a million people across a total of 770 km2 ( Survey & Language Registration
Bureau 2013a ). The official language is Arabic; however, more than half of the residents
of Bahrain are not citizens, some of whom are Arabs and some are not, while the citizens
themselves are diverse and come from various ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. The
Bahraini government allows all the residents to benefit from its state schools ( know as
government schools ) without fees on an equal basis without any discrimination. This has
created multilingual communities within schools, which are officially “ Arabic speaking”
communities. Despite this community comprising a significant population of students in
state school in the capital, Manama, no research has been published on them as a speech
community within Bahrain which can be affected by language policies. They would also
help educational institutions at all levels, curriculum developer, textbook designer in
 Bahrain, the Arabian gulf, and all over the world to design relevant language programs
that reflects the need of all Bahrainis and that are aligned with official language policies.

ISSUE

English in Bahrain is an important language which serves diverse function in the daily lives and
transactions of both Bahrainis and non-Bahrainis. One could even argue that the speaking
English at some level of competence is a necessity in Bahrain these days as it is highly used in
diverse contexts and for multiple purposes. Besides, it seems that the use of English in Bahrain
on increasingly becoming more and more widespread. Gomaa ( 2020, p 27) argues the “English
is common and most-spoken in Bahrain. It is a mandatory second language in educational
institution. Nonetheless, when academically discussing the status of English in Bahrain and the
various function it serves, some contradictory descriptions are repeatedly used to portray its
position. For instance, some language practitioners at all levels often refer to English as a second
language without estimating the implications of such labels.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION

Main focus for the development of performance in government organizations is measuring

performance, as that without the knowledge of knowing shortcoming and strength the institution
can’t improve it’s performance enable to achieve sustainable development and improving the
quality of the lives of citizens. The plans and the initiatives in the program considered to be clear
direction for the implementers in government, where it is considered as the plans to what the
ministries shall execute during a short-term, which may differs from country to country.

PROCESSES

1. Demonstrate a working awareness of the methodological processes around bilingualism

and multilingualism
2. Engage with bilingualism and multilingualism within various educational context
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the policies on bilingualism and multilingualism and
their relationships to the language classroom.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the social, cultural and educational issues specific to
bilingual and multilingual children and adults and their relationship to the layer society.
5. Review the literature and research on bilingualism and multilingualism and apply this to
their academic and professional context.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between language acquisition and
bilingualism and multilingualism.
7. Engage in critical thinking and demonstrate skills in practicing reflective teaching.

IMPLICATION TO EDUCATION

This section attempt to understand where English is used in Bahrain and how frequent
that use is within different domains. There is no clear discretion of or common agreement
on what English occupies in Bahrain. It is often referred to in various ways that do not
thoroughly and precisely reflect how it is actually used and perceived by Bahrainis.
Although English is widely recognized as the language of business in the country, it can
be easily observed that its scope goes far beyond the business domain. In addition to
woman and private companies seemingly act as an environment which boost the spread
of English in Bahrain. This study has been revealed that Arabic, the official language of
 the country is being relatively displace by English and more than one context, including
those where Arabic was traditionally the domain language. This is hope that such as
significant findings would help policy makers in Bahrain, especially those responsible for
educational policies to develop relevant language plans that are based on exact research
findings. They would also help educational institutions at all levels, curriculum
developer, textbook designer in Bahrain, the Arabian gulf, and all over the world to
design relevant language programs that reflects the need of all Bahrainis and that are
aligned with official language policies.

REFERENCES

PROGRAMS

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31245829_English_Education_Policy_in_Bahrain_-
_A_Review_of_K-12_and_Higher_Education_Language_Policy_in_Bahrain

POLICIES

https://.researchgate.net/publication/344333495_Identity_Perception_of_Pakistan_and_Balochi_
Minories_at_State_School_in_Bahrain_in_Association_with_Implicit_Language_Policy

ISSUE

https://al-
kindipublisher.com...PDFWebresultsTheStatusofEnglishinBahrain:AQualitativeAnalysisofDoma
ins..

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31245829_English_Education_Policy_in_Bahrain_-
_A_Review_of_K-12_and_Higher_Education_Language_Policy_in_Bahrain

PROCESS

https://pdfcoffee.com/language-programs-and-policies-in -multilingual-society-prelim-pdf-
free.html

IMPLICATION TO EDUACTION

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31245829_English_Education_Policy_in_Bahrain_-
_A_Review_of_K-12_and_Higher_Education_Language_Policy_in_Bahrain