Historic Decision
On July 25, 2024, Algeria’s Education Minister Mohamed Seghir Saadaoui announced that English will become the sole foreign language taught in the third year of primary school for the 2026-2027 academic year, while French will be pushed back to the fourth year. Starting next month, eight-year-old children will be the first in Algeria to learn English before French.
Political Background
This decision comes as part of a linguistic overhaul launched by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in 2022, following the diplomatic crisis between Algeria and France in July 2024, when French President Emmanuel Macron backed Morocco’s sovereignty claim over Western Sahara, provoking anger in Algeria, which hosts more than 170 000 Sahrawi refugees.
Teacher’s Experience
Ahmed Krim, who spent 30 years teaching English in middle schools, describes the current situation: “English is less valued than French, which was the colonial language, but it remains present in every dialogue after six decades of independence.” He adds that there is a shortage of qualified teachers, but the Ministry of Education reported in February the recruitment of 15 000 English teachers for primary schools.
Challenges and Infrastructure
Krim stresses the need to restore specialized training centers that existed after independence and notes that most teachers today hold university degrees but lack field experience. He calls for curricula to be designed by a qualified body combining linguistic and pedagogical expertise, free from ideology.
Public Response
Bookseller Krimo Taleb in Tizi Ouzou reports a rise in English-language book sales, especially among female readers, saying this is not due to government policy but to the multilingual reality of young people. He notes that English titles now range from classic literature such as Shakespeare to contemporary works like Colleen Hoover.
Comparison with Other Countries
Algeria follows a similar path to other African nations such as Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which withdrew from the Francophonie in recent years and reduced French to a working language. In Algeria, about 15 million people speak French, roughly a third of the population.
Conclusion
This move marks the beginning of a structural overhaul of Algeria’s education system, focusing on English as a tool for global communication amid profound shifts in international relations and national identity.
