Rabat – Slowly but surely, English has crept up on French in Morocco over the years, as younger demographics adopted it more. Recent reports and numbers around Morocco’s linguistic landscape have all concluded that even among those who do not speak it, English is steadily being considered the most important language to learn.
This transition, undoubtedly interesting for Morocco’s anglophone partners, has spurred Britain to increase its cooperation with the North African country’s government and launch new projects to accelerate the trend of English.
Talking with Morocco World News, British Ambassador to the UK Simon Martin spoke about the transition, as well as Britain’s place in it.
A natural evolution
“This is a trend that’s happening. It’s not me or the British government that is doing it,” Martin told MWN, stressing that “the explosion of interest and knowledge of English is a factor in this country.”
The ambassador does not believe that English will replace Arabic or French, but suggested that it could serve as an additional language.
He went on to add that English brings the Moroccan citizens increased opportunities abroad with it being an international language.
A 2021 report by the British Council, entitled “Shift to English in Morocco,” supports these statements, showing that more and more of Morocco’s youth are considering English the most important language to learn.
Language of the internet
Martin believes that internet access can account for a large part of this evolution.
“It’s the language of the internet, often people tell me that they studied English from Netflix,” Martin told MWN.
The British Council report shows that young people consider the internet, as well as movies and TV shows a primary method of learning the language, with them being second only to school.
Whether other languages like French decline or stay relevant in Morocco’s future, it is undeniable that English has an increasingly growing foothold in the nation due to organic changes brought on by the internet and the prevalence of western media.
Read also: English: Morocco’s Promising Language For the Future
The potential of English
With the advent of the language, Morocco and its citizens alike could use it to further develop ties with anglophone partners and expand influence in the region.
“More and more, Morocco is developing its relations with non-francophone countries in Africa, particularly commonwealth anglophone countries,” Martin said, emphasizing the value of English for the kingdom as a gateway for the world into Africa.
The adoption of English is catching eyes in Britain, he says, as investors and businesspeople have been looking more favorably at Morocco as an investment center. National institutions and brands such as Morocco Now have also been pushing an image of a Morocco open to work with anglophone partners.
The most significant sector where cooperation opens up due to this evolution is also education, Martin argues. Not only is English language education becoming increasingly popular in Morocco, the British system of education itself could see rapid growth.
“In my two years here, we’ve seen the number of British schools go up from three to seven with the prospect of many more,” he said, adding that the number of Moroccan students in England has also gone up.
The ambassador pointed to the Chevening program, one of Britain’s most popular scholarship programs, which allows students to pursue Master’s degrees in the UK with the promise of bringing their acquired skills back home afterwards.
Martin commended the program’s popularity in Morocco, before teasing future projects that the embassy has to accelerate the adoption of British education in Morocco.
“I don’t want to let you in on any secrets before I should, but we’re looking forward, Inshallah and very soon, to the announcement of the opening of the first British university campus here in Morocco,” he said.
English in Morocco
English language education is not a new phenomenon in Morocco, particularly in higher education, but the country has been exerting more efforts to support the language’s growth.
In September, Morocco’s Minister of Higher Education Abdellatif Miraoui announced that Ph.D. candidates will need to provide proof of competency in English as well as French, in the form of TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test scores.
The ministry will also introduce programs in the country’s universities to help all students reach at least intermediate and upper-intermediate levels of English by the time they graduate.
This encouragement of English is also seen in other academic levels, as the Ministry of National Education, Pre-School, and Sports announced it would increase the number of English teachers this academic year to advance the level of English in the middle school level.
These developments also come in the midst of tensions with France, with many campaigns and petitions calling for the French language to be ditched, many arguing that it is not as useful on the world stage nowadays, and that its usage represents a symbol of the country’s colonial past.
