Importance of English Proficiency Among Algerian Youth: Promising Prospects and New Horizons

NESBA Asma & GHEDEIR BRAHIM Mohammed
Hamma lakhdar university in El-Oued, Algeria

Abstract

The present research aims at investigating the benefits of English learning among the Algerian youth. English is the lingua franca. Hence, an increase demand for learning English is noticed especially by university students in different fields. To investigate the motives behind this interest in English, the present resarch is conducted at the university of Hamma Lakhdar in El- Oued, Algeria. A questionnaire was used as the data gathering tool. One hundred students from different departments were the target population of the study. Results of the study reveal that students have different motives that drive them to learn English. Most of them argued that English can increase their chances in gaining jobs after graduation, they added that most of the advertising sites for job opportunities are in English. Others argued that English gives them promising prospects since it enables them to apply for the different programmes devoted to the youth such as the AIESEC programmes which require, most of the time, English proficiency for application or conducting interviews. English also enables them to participate in different students’ congresses held in different parts of the world. Others learn English because they have intention to complete their studies abroad. Some students need English to cope with the novelties in their speciality. Results also show that the university students learn English via online education, private language schools or in El-Oued university’s Intensive Learning Center for Languages because the one hour and a half compulsory English module in the curriculum is not satisfactory and does not meet their needs. The research ends up with recommendations to direct students towards the best and the cheapest ways to master English with less expenses since most of them have financial burden to afford extra fees for English courses. Therefore, there had been suggestion to benefit from distance education provided by the University of Continuuing Education or by online education.

Keywords: Learning English; Promising prospects; Job opportunities ;Youth programmes

0. Introduction

Algerian youth nowadays are much more interested in learning English than in any other time. This interest in the Englsih language is a natural consequence of the openness to the world and globalization. A great number of students are searching to improve their levels by resorting to other alternatives because they consider that the English courses provided by the public educational institutions unsatisfactory. They are having lessons in private schools or by online education provided by different foreign educational institutions. To investigate the benefits of English learning among the youth as well as the motives behind the increasing demand for learning English, the present resarch was conducted at the university of Hamma Lakhdar in El- Oued, Algeria. The study aims at finding answers to the following questions:

– What are the reasons for the increasing demand for learning English?

– What benefits can the English language offer to Algerian university students?

– How can the Algerian university students improve their levels of English?

1.Literature Review

    1. This part is concerned with defining concepts such as ‘lingua franca’ and  ‘English as a global language’ . It also provides a brief overview about the position of the English language in the Algerian context and how English can open promising prospects for the Algerian Youth

    1. English as a ‘Global Language’

David Crystal (1997) states that « A feature of English that makes it different compared with all other languages is its global spread“. This reveals that English has dominant position in comparison with other languages. The great number of English language speakers around the world is a sign of its spread. English is not only used by native speakers, it is also spoken by millions outside the English speaking countries. Crystal also states that “[…] English is the medium of a great deal of the world’s knowledge, especially in such areas as science and technology” (Crystal, D. 2003, p. 110).

English is also given the status of a lingua franca. Jennifer Jenkins defines lingua franca as “ A contact language used among people who do not share a first language, and is commonly understood to mean a second (or subsequent) language of its speakers” (Jenkins, 2007, p. 1).

Barbara Seidelhofer defines the term as any use of English among speakers of different first languages for whom English is the communicative medium of choice, and often the only option” (Seidelhofer, 2011, p. 7).

The above definitions are adopted by the present researchers when analysing and discussing issues related tot he study

    1. The Position of the English Language in the Algerian Context

In the Algerian context, English becomes important. For many years French was the only dominant foreign language in Algeria. The status of French was inherited from the colonization period. However with the changing economic policies and the openness to the world together with conducting economic deals and agreements with foreign partners from different countries the need for English in Algeria in different domains is more than necessary. Graddol (1997) identified the major domains of English as:

1. Working language of international organizations and conferences

2. Scientific publications

3. International banking, economic affairs and trade

4. Advertising for global brands

5. Audio-visual cultural products such as film, TV, popular music

6. International tourism

7. Tertiary (university) education

8. International safety (airline and maritime travels)

9. International law

10. As a “relay language” in interpretation and translation

11. Technology transfer

12. Internet communication.

(Graddol, 1997, p. 8)

The domains of using English listed above presents a clear idea about the new orientation of the Algerian youth, especially the intellectual ones towards an incresed interest in English.

1.3 Promising Prospects of English for the Algerian Youth

English is becoming of great importance to university students. Mastering the English language before and after graduation can open new horizons to the students as follows:

– Before Graduation: students can increase their chances in gaining short or long term scholarships provided by foreign university institutions , or in participating in exchange programmes. The applicants for such events have to write CVs, letters of motivations, Letters of intentions and other types of texts . Therefore, students lacking English proficiency will be excluded.

Students with good command of English can be more advantageous than others when they decide to take part in international students events such as internships programmes or being a member in an international studentsassociation. AIESEC for example is attracting more and more students from different parts of the world. AIESEC was originally the French acronym for‘‘ Association internationale des étudiants en sciences économiques et commerciales“ which is the equivalent of ‘‘International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences“ in English. It is an international non-governmental not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural global internships, and volunteer exchange experiences. Participants in this organization then will require the mastery of English for application or conducting interviews.

– After Graduation: An increasing number of students plan to continue their studies abroad in English speaking counties or other international universities in other parts of the world where the medium of instruction is English. Mastering English also can increase the graduates chances of job opportunies or to do training abroad for maintaining professional development. Many national and international campanies in Algeria opt for recruiting graduates with a good level of English.

2. Methodology

This part presents the methodology adopted while conducting the present study. Information about the participants, the data gathering tool are presented. It ends with a discussion of the research findings, recommendationsas well as a conclusion.

2.1 Participants : One hundred (100) students, aged between 17 and 25, from different departments were the target population of the study. They are studying at Hamma Lakhdar University in the academic year 2017/2018.The table below gives detailed information about the population of the study.

Table 01 : The Target population of the study

2.2 Data Gathering Tool and Its Description :

A questionnaire was administered to the students. It was designed in a form that qualitative data were collected. The deliberate sampling was adopted as the sample design. The selection of the number twenty five (25) students in each department was done intentionally so as to vary the academic speciality of the respondents.The questionnaire is composed of two parts:

Part One: it is concerned with the demographic and background information of the respondents: age, gender and academic specialty. Respondents were asked to tick in the appropriate choice.

Information gathered from this section are presented in the sectio n oft he participant’s desceiption. Concerning the age, it was noticed that all respondents are aged between 17 and 25.

Part Two: this part is composed of three sections.

Section I: is concerned with the reasons of the increasing demand for learning English . This section comprises five items. The students are asked to tick in the appropriate choice (s) in the first four items or to provide other reasons not mentioned earlier in the fifth one.

Information gathered from this section were helpful to know about what make respondents interested in English. Analysis of the data shows that all of them are aware about the importance of English for different reasons.

Section II : is concerned with the benefits the English language can offer to Algerian university students. This section also comprises five items where the respondents are asked to tick in the appropriate choice (s) in the first four ones and to provide further benefits in the fifth item. Most of the students agreed about the fact that English can offer students many benefits. A student with good command of English is more advantageous than other students.

Section III : is concerned with ways and methods adopted by students to improve their level of English. It is composed of five elements where the students can tick more than one appropriate answer. Data analysis shows that the students resort to different types that can help in improving their level. These methods can be personal or outside helpers.

3. Discussion of the Research Findings and Conclusions

Results reveal that students have different motives that drive them to learn English. Most of them argued that English can increase their chances in gaining jobs after graduation, they added that most of the advertising sites for job opportunities are in English. Others argued that English gives them promising prospects by being able to apply for the different programmes devoted to the youth such as AIESEC which requires, most of the time, mastering English for application or conducting interviews. English also enables them to participate in different students’ congresses held in different parts of the world. Others learn English because they have intentions to complete their studies abroad. Some of them need English to cope with the novelties in their speciality. Results also show that the university students learn English via online education, private Language schools or in the university’s Intensive Learning Center for Languages because the one hour and a half compulsory English module in the curriculum is not satistactory and does not meet their needs.

4. Recommendations

The research ends up with recommendations to aid students to find the best and the cheapest ways to master English. Therefore, it advises them to benefit from distance education provided by the University of Continuuing Education or by online education. Universities should also provide more human and financial resources to learning English.

5. Conclusion

The purpose of the present study is to shed light on the benefits of learning English for the youth and to investigate the motives behind the increasing demand for learning English as well as how to improve the university students level of English .The results of this study show that students have different motives to learn English such as gaining jobs after graduation; having promising prospects when applying for different programmes devoted to the youth or when participating in different international students’ congresses; having the intention to complete the studies abroad; or coping with the novelties in their speciality. Results also show that the university students learn English via online education, private Language schools or in the university’s Intensive Learning Center for Languages.

The findings of the study are useful for raising the university students awareness about the importance of learning English in their academic or their future professional domains. Results can inspire polymakers to take decisions to ameliorate the teaching of the English language in the the Algerian universities.

The limitation of this study can be in the choice of the sample design. Deliberate sampling is based on a purposive aim. This can affect the representativeness of the sample and the generalization of the results.

Bibliography

1- Crystal, D. (1997). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. [2nd ed.]. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

2- Crystal, D. (2003). English as Global Language. [2nd ed.]. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

3- Graddol, D. (1997). The future of English. London: The British Council.

4- Jenkins, J. (2007). English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

5- Seidlhofer, B. (2011). Understanding English as a lingua franca. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Appendix: The Students‘ Questionnaire

The Students’s Questionnaire

Dear students,

This questionnaire is part of a study on the Importance of English Proficiency among Algerian Youth. The pupose of the study is to investigate the benefits of English learning among the Algerian youth.

We highly appreciate your contribution in filling in this questionnaire. The researchers will keep the anonymity and confidentiality of the information.

Please tick () the right answer or give a full statement when required.

Miss. NESBA Asma

Mr. GHEDEIR BRAHIM Mohammed

Teachers at Hamma lakhdar university in El-Oued, Algeria

PART ONE: Background Information:

Tick(√) the appropriate choice and provide the necessary information.

PART TWO:

SECTION ONE: The Reasons of the Increasing Demand for Learning English 

Tick(√) the appropriate choice (s) or provide a full statement.

  1. Are you interested in learning English?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

  1. English is important for your studies.

Yes [ ] No [ ]

  1. English can incease your chances of gaining jobs

Yes [ ] No [ ]

  1. English is important while participating in international students’events.

Yes [ ] No [ ]

5- Other Reasons: ……………………………………………………..

SECTION TWO: The Benefits of English to Algerian University Students

Tick (√)the appropriate choice (s) or provide a full statement.

1-Do you see that English is beneficial for Algerian youth?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

2- Can English help to cope with the novelties in your speciality

Yes [ ] No [ ]

3- The knowledge of English is the key to have a good job

Yes [ ] No [ ]

  1. English enables you to participate in AIESEC programmes.

Yes [ ] No [ ]

5- Other benefits………………………………………………………………

SECTION THREE: Methods Adopted by Students to Improve their Level of English.

You can tick more than one appropriate answer.

  1. Have you done efforts to improve your level of English?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

  1. Is it

– a personal effort? [ ]

– a resort to others’ help? [ ]

  1. If it is a personal effort, do you use

  1. Online education ? [ ]

  2. Cd Rooms? [ ]

  1. If you get help from outsiders, which of the following language centers do you prefer?

  1. private language schools [ ]

  2. the university’s Intensive Learning Center for Languages [ ]

  1. Do you want to allote more time to English in your university curriculum?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION