II-The Algerian Educational System and approaches to
English Teaching
3-1-General objectives
Generally, ELT has many objectives; they are of social,
political, economic and cultural order. Socially, ELT aims at supplying
learners with all the magnitudes which make them social beings who take part in
the making of the world around them. This can be done through taking charge of
their learning process, sharing and collaborating with each other and making
decisions and choices regarding their learning. Politically, ELT makes learners
more engaged in open conversations and communicative situations where they
develop a democratic freedom of interaction and negotiation with others. At the
economic level, English serves as the language of today's world markets and its
functional use in economics makes it a means of common understanding between
nations around the globe. Moreover, ELT plays a key role in keeping learners in
touch with the English culture and even with other cultures of different
countries.
Thus, it contributes in developing their open-mindedness,
enriching their knowledge and expanding their cultural background.
In short, the general objectives set to ELT in Algeria can be
summarized in the official text in which the Ministry of Education affirms
that:
«The second foreign language is covering seven
years of study (four years in the middle education and three years in the
secondary education). English language teaching aims at establishing and
developing communicative, linguistic, cultural and methodological skills that
will enable the learner to face situations of oral or written
communication.»
(Ministry of Education, 2005: 4)
3-2-Communicative Objectives
The main objective behind teaching foreign languages, such as
English, is to make learners capable to communicate in the target language with
different peoples around the world and have access to high technology and
modern sciences.
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II-The Algerian Educational System and approaches to
English Teaching
3-3-Linguistic Objectives
The language or linguistic objectives refer to the students'
mastery of the target language through the four language skills: reading,
speaking, writing and listening. In Algeria, the linguistic objectives of ELT
can be summarized as follows:
- To improve the learners' basic knowledge
and support the continuity of English language learning.
-To reinforce the learning strategies which
facilitate for them the language acquisition. -To provide the
learners with the necessary tools, skills and techniques to carry on their
learning.
3-4-Methodological Objectives
In Oxford dictionary, the term methodology is defined as a
system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity. Teaching
English in Algeria aims at:
- Fostering learner autonomy which is seen as the most
important methodological objective of ELT in Algerian schools. According to the
Ministry of Education, the use of autonomous strategies in learning English
helps learners in expanding their knowledge and getting more information.
- Making the learners actively involved in the learning
process through engaging them in different learning tasks related to their
real-life situations.
- Developing the learners' mental capacities such as analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation though intellectual activities.
3-5-The Objectives of ELT in Middle Education
According to the Orientation Law on National Education No.
08-04 23 (January 2008), the school has four main missions: education,
training, socialization and qualification, the new English curriculum has been
designed appropriately to cover these missions and facilitate their
accomplishment. The four years of the middle education are very important in
the child's school life; he can develop his mental, emotional, physical and
social capacities.
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