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National Pride and the New School Model: English Language Education in Abu Dhabi, UAE

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English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa

Part of the book series: Language Policy ((LAPO,volume 13))

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief history of the English Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and policies surrounding the status and position of English and Bilingual – Arabic and English – Education. While Dubai and the Northern Emirates are briefly mentioned, the focus is on the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and its New School Model (NSM) approach to education. The factors that have driven and had an impact on policy making in the UAE and NSM are discussed. The history and role of agencies and individuals in its initiatives, some of the challenges and potential that are part and parcel of its policy on bilingual education reform, are described. In the conclusion, there is a brief analysis of crucial issues surrounding bilingual education for realistic goal setting for children of Abu Dhabi Emirate in becoming bilingual.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emirates College for Advanced Education, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Fiona S. Baker

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  1. Fiona S. Baker
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Correspondence to Fiona S. Baker .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gulf University for Science & Technology, West Mishref, Kuwait

    Robert Kirkpatrick

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Baker, F.S. (2017). National Pride and the New School Model: English Language Education in Abu Dhabi, UAE. In: Kirkpatrick, R. (eds) English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa. Language Policy, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46778-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46778-8_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46776-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46778-8

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