Running Head: ESL in Yemen 1 Teaching English as a Second Language in Yemen Lindsey Houseman St. Lawrence University Running Head: ESL in Yemen 2 Abstract Situated in South Arabia, the official language of Yemen is Arabic. Although education in Yemen is a government priority there are still many challenges in the educational system. Yemeni students encounter many challenges in learning English so therefore ESL teachers would play a major role in helping out. The main difficulty is that the curriculum in Yemen is outdated and only focuses on grammar and how to use it the correct way. The curriculum does not include listening, reading, speaking, and writing. ESL teachers would need to take into account the lack of resources such as books and computers as well as take into consideration that nearly all people who live in Yemen are Muslim and the dress and topics should be more conservative. In order to be an ESL teacher in Yemen, one needs to obtain a university degree or teaching institution qualification. The average pay for a Yemeni teacher is $150 per month. Keywords: education, Yemen, primary education, considerations, teaching Teaching English as a Second Language in Yemen There is a high need for teaching English as a second language (ESL) all over the world. One country that could use help with teaching and learning English as well as learning styles is the country of Yemen. Situated in South Arabia, the people who live in Yemen speak Arabic. Yemen is an extremely poor country with very little of anything especially resources for schooling. It is very important that the education in Yemen is a government priority or else there would most likely be very little education. Most children only attend school until they are 14 years old. The schooling they go through is called primary education where they learn the basics of subjects like math and literature. It is important that teachers understand what problems arise Running Head: ESL in Yemen 3 in Yemen with the educational system but also just pertaining to the problems of the country itself. Teachers should take in all considerations before teaching in the country of Yemen. In order to succeed in Yemen, teachers need to be motivated and understanding to the different culture and especially about the lack of resources. Background and History Yemen dates back from the 7th Century AD when the Caliphates decided to expand their territories and spread the Islamic region. Before getting annexed by other empires such as the Ethiopians and the Persians, Yemen was known as one of the oldest important centers in the Near East region (Tharoor, 2010). It was between the 12th BC and the 6th AD when Yemen was important. Once the Caliphates took over the territories, Yemen feel under the Egyptian Sunni Caliphate throughout the 11th Century (Historical Background). By the 16th Century the territory was claimed by the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th Century, all of North Yemen was controlled by the Ottoman Turks. During that time, the Ottomans only controlled South Yemen for brief periods because the British Empire had a lock on the southern part of the country making it impossible for the Ottomans to fully control (Tharoor, 2010). North Yemen gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918, and in 1962 became a republic. At this time, the British Empire was still in control on South Yemen. However, in 1967, the British decided they did not want control over South Yemen and completely cut all ties (Historical Background). South Yemen established its own government with the independence they had after the British Empire pulled out. In 1970, South Yemen became a Communist state where it adopted a Communist form of government. By 1990, North and South Yemen realized it would be easier if they united. On May 22, 1990, North and South Yemen officially became one. Since then, they Running Head: ESL in Yemen 4 have remained united and are officially known a the Republic of Yemen (Historical Background). Yemen is located right at the top of the Arabian Peninsula. It is centered between Oman and Saudi Arabia. Yemen sits at the opening of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. The Bab-el-Mandeb links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Because of this, Yemen is part of one of the most active shipping lanes in the world (Tharoor, 2010). The temperatures in Yemen are very high and there is very limited rainfall in all of the country. Although there is limited rainfall some parts have more rain than others, it depends on the elevation. The average rainfall per year is 5.12 inches. Humidity is also very high ranging between 50-70% all year. Only 3% of the land in Yemen is good enough for crops. There are many sand and dust storms, resulting in soil erosion and crop damage. The country also has very limited natural freshwater. The population of Yemen is 26,832,000 with the primary language being standard Arabic. In total there are 11 different languages used in Yemen and all the languages are considered living. Seven of the languages spoken are indigenous and four are non-indigenous (Tharoor, 2010). Unfortunately, three of those languages are dying out and one is in trouble and may die out soon. The immigrant languages brought to Yemen were Egyptian Spoken Arabic, Hindi, and Somali. Education Education in Yemen is run through the government. The government has made education their top priority and is working hard to develop a good system (Education System in Yemen). The main problem that occurs with the development of the education system is the poorness of the country. But the government has a high budget for the system itself averaging between 14 and 20 percent of the total government expenditure (Education System in Yemen). The country Running Head: ESL in Yemen 5 struggles to provide requisite infrastructure. There are very few classrooms, the teaching is inadequate and few in numbers, and the school facilities and educational materials offered are of very poor quality. There are four different levels of education in the country; primary, secondary, vocational, and tertiary (Education System in Yemen). Primary education in Yemen, also known as basic education is the most common path of education. It is a 9 year program for students between 6-14 years of age and is most Yemenis major education experience (Yemen-Preprimary Primary Education). The primary levels cover what other countries consider elementary and middle school. This is the mainstream level of education before students have the option to move on with their education and get accepted into various streams of secondary school which prepares them for a career in education or for a tertiary education. By the end of nine years of primary school, students are expected to have basic skills in literacy and mathematics mainly with a few other subjects that aren’t focused on as much as math and literacy to have demonstrated they have gone through primary school and their level of scholarly talent (Yemen-Preprimary Primary Education). As stated earlier, most Yemenis do not move on to more education after primary school. But if they decide they want to, they will continue on with three more years of school called secondary education. For the first year of secondary school, a common curriculum is followed (Jamal). In grade 11 they switch to literary or scientific tracks of education and continue on those preferred tracks for the next two years (Jamal). At the end of 12th grade they receive a secondary education certificate (Education System in Yemen). Although most students who attend secondary school choose a literacy or scientific track, they are also offered other possibilities. This is called vocational education. During vocational education students can move to a technical secondary school, which is called a vocational Running Head: ESL in Yemen 6 training center (Jamal). A vocational training center is a health manpower training institute or and agricultural secondary school. The students choose the one they want to attend depending on their needs. A variety of different skills at a range of all levels is acquired at this education level. Tertiary education is the final and hardest level of education offered in Yemen. Tertiary education is what we consider college or university. In Yemen this level of education was established in the 1970’s with the creation of Sana’a University (Education System in Yemen). There are now 9 Universities in Yemen that are state-funded and there are also a few private liberal arts universities and colleges as well. There are four main categories offered at these universities and colleges; medical sciences, science and engineering, science and humanities, and an international college that specializes in business, arts, design, and information technology (Jamal). Problems with Education As previously stated the main two subjects focused on during primary school are mathematics and literature. While those are very important subjects to learn. There needs to be more of a variety in subjects (Moheyddeen, 2016). Students need to have a basic understanding for subjects such as science and history. It would be very beneficial for them to understand science especially when it comes to climate and weather. They could learn all about why sand and dust storms happen in their country instead of just living them and having no understanding. Along with the lack of educational subjects being taught, there is also a lack of resources in the school system (Moheyddeen, 2016). There are very few books in the school, for reading or for teaching out of. There is also no technology offered to the students or the teachers in school.