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Pomona College

Publication Date

Fall 2011

Program Name

Oman: Political Culture and Economic Development in the Gulf

Abstract

Given that the Omani government has undertaken in recent decades a massive education reform to improve, among other things, the English level of Omani students, it is now time to evaluate how the system is faring, where it is failing and why. Under the new Education system enacted in 1998, Omani students begin learning English from grade one with the aim that, by grade twelve, students know enough English to be able to study at a university level in English. Unfortunately, a vast majority of students who enter university in Oman are forced to enroll in one to three semesters of intensive English classes, simply to get them up to a functional English level before starting credit courses. This study sought to investigate why, with all the control that the government exerts over the education of its students, and, with the twelve years of English education that Omani students undergo, Omani students still struggle with the English language.

Disciplines

Education | Education Policy | First and Second Language Acquisition

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