English language teaching and conflicting visions of change within Algerian higher education

As universities attempt to ‘internationalise’, an emerging discourse is the implementation of English as ‘the global academic language’. This thesis critically explores the politics of this ubiquitous educational transfer, and how it impacts English Language Teaching (ELT) in Algerian Higher Education (AHE). This research tethers ELT to policies, teachers’ practices, and learners’ experiences, unlike current debates on the status of ELT in higher education that tend to focus on the policy level. Through the nuanced perspectives gained from stakeholders, this thesis demonstrates the conflicting discourses around English teaching and learning.
Following a qualitative enquiry, the findings indicate that the politics of ELT in Algeria are multi-layered and framed by complex global, national, and micro forces. First, the vision of internationalising AHE appears to drive the promotion of English. Through institution discourse, English language policy is presented as a modern educational reform to tackle youth unemployment, upgrade educational standards, and boost Algerian university visibility and rank. My analysis shows that the advocacy of English interlocks with Algerian colonial history since English is presented as a decolonialised alternative to French linguistic imperialism. These findings add new dimensions to research studies on the growth of English within expanding circle countries.
Participants’ accounts, however, describe disjointed classroom conditions vis-à-vis the intended reform. The lack of pedagogic training and the absence of a well-defined ELT curriculum were major concerns. Findings indicate local constraints that further endorsed the nativespeakerism ideology. The latter inhibited teachers’ ability to relate English to their learners' experiences and explore the global ownership of English. Nonetheless, the ways learners interpreted their learning convey their agentive role to redefine the English classroom as a symbolic space for self-expression. These multiple perspectives and local insights offer a new angle to discern interactions between global educational tendencies, national forces, and micro classroom conditions within postcolonial societies.