Bilingual Policy Implementation in Ras Al Khaimah

Abstract

Discourses on globalization and knowledge societies have encouraged an increasing number of governments to institute bilingual education policies to develop citizens’ fluency in English and a native language. To diversify the country’s economic activity, extensive bilingualism in Arabic and English has long been a goal of governments in the United Arab Emirates. Utilizing questionnaires and interviews with school teachers and school leaders, this study investigates the processes by which they are embedding this policy in government schools in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.