The Need for English
in The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
May 5, 2013 | Tasha Overpeck | IAS 3910
Dr. Joshua Landis and Rachel Stokes
The
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has a long history with the English language and
even though the Kingdom’s only official language is Modern Standard Arabic,
which is taught in school, English is undoubtedly an undeclared second
language. Although by far not
everyone in Jordan speaks English, the majority (especially in the capital city
of Amman) can at least read and understand a good amount of the English that
they hear or read. All road signs
are bilingual in Arabic and English and nearly very place you go there will be
someone who can speak English enough to help you.
The
history of Jordan started when the British decided to create a dependent regime
to help order the tribes east of the Jordan River after World War I.[i]
They then gave the British mandate to the son of Sherif Hussein bin Ali,
Abdullah I bin al-Hussein who had been a close ally of the British. The Kingdom of Jordan was granted
independence in 1946 with Abdallah as their self-proclaimed king. After King Abdallah’s death, his
grandson, Husayn, became king at the age of eighteen in 1953. It is said that King Hussayn had
“impeccable English” because he studied at Harrow and Sandhurst, two well-known
British schools, but at the same time spoke eloquent Arabic.[ii] After his death in 1999, his second son
took the thrown, King Abdullah the Second and according to many Jordanians, the
current king actually has better English than he does Arabic since he was born
to a British mother.
Regardless
of the long political history of English being used amount the Royal Family,
Jordan is only rated as having a small market for English amount the common
people.[iii] English teachers should only
expect to break out even when working in Jordan. Like much of the current Jordanian economy, the pay rate for
English teachers is significantly low.
It is rumored that the average salary of a Jordanian family is only
300JD, which is what an English teacher starting out should expect to get
paid. Thanks to a low living cost,
this still permits English Teachers to live somewhat comfortable if they do not
have a family but doesn’t allow them to save money from their work.
Jobs
are hard to come by until you actually get to the Kingdom. To start working in Jordan, a teacher
usually needs to come and start looking for a job with face-to-face
interviews. This can be a high
start off cost with no promise of a job, but once you get on-site in Jordan,
you will realize the demand for English teachers is much higher that it appears
on paper (or more commonly on the computer screen).
According
to the ESL Base, a website that helps English teachers find English training centers
all around the world, there are thirteen English centers in Amman. Once you start to search for a job in
Amman, you will quickly find that there are many more private, small businesses
where a native English-speaking teacher can find a job with either a British or
an American accent.[iv] Students want to speak with native
speakers because they want to learn the accent. This makes it easier for native speakers to get a job even
if they do not have a degree, or even a certification, in teaching English.
Unfortunately, this high demand for native speakers is never on par with the
pay.
In
Jordan, “English is strongly emphasized in education as a language
that should open the door to the West.
English is regarded as the language that provided Jordanian citizens
with a bridge to the non-Arabic speaking world.”[v] Although English has no official
recognition in Jordan, it is a priority in the country’s foreign languages. Children learn it in school. “English language teaching is widely
supported financially: in university libraries, in book shops, and also in
schools, one can see a wide range of English teaching-materials, books in
English and about English…”[vi]
There
are many factors that contribute to this seemingly over-demand for English in
this Middle Eastern 90% Arab community, three of which include: overall functionality, internationalized education,
and the evolving job market.
When asking an English student why they want to study English their
responses are generally all the same.
It either has something to do with needing to pass an international
English test or so that they can get a better job. Commonly students might stare at you blankly as if the
question is just too obvious. The
need for English in Jordan has grown so much to the point that to most citizens
it is bluntly obvious that English will help contribute to their overall life. Ironically, English has more of an
affect on their lives then the desired affects of functionality, education, and
getting a better job, but it also changes cultural ideas in social classes and
it has profoundly impacted the younger generation in Jordan.
Overall Functionality
In
the simplest regards, by learning English, the overall functionality in the
life of the learner is greatly enhanced.
In the social realm, learning English can help you to better understand
international social medias that are commonly published in English—social media
such as Facebook or YouTube.
Although these programs are often translated into Arabic, many users
have used these social medias to help connect with the rest of the outside
world. Most people here now have some
kind of contact with people from outside of the Arab World and in order to
easily communicate with them they need English. Even if you are Arab and your friend is from Taiwan, you
will most like use English to communicate with them.[vii]
The
movie industry also has a huge influence on the younger generation and their
desire to learn English.[viii] When you go to a movie theatre any
where in Jordan, you will find at least half of the movies are in English with
Arabic subtitles. Movies on
television are often shown in English with Arabic subtitles or are dubbed in
Arabic. Although there is somewhat
of a movie industry in the Arab world, it isn’t nearly as big as Hollywood or
as advanced. The inferior Arab
movie industry helps feed into the appeal of the American movies that,
therefore, encourages Jordanians to learn English so that they can simply
understand the movies.
This
functionality also evolves beyond western-based media, to technologies that
were made in dominantly English speaking countries. The Western World (meaning primarily Europe and North
America) is the leader in developing new technologies that sweep the globe
today. Computers, which have
become a human necessity even in lower developed countries such as Jordan, are
originally programmed in English.
They might say that they are programmed for Arabic, but ultimately, you
need to know English in order to function with these new technologies.[ix] You now find that words for social
media, new electronic technology (e.g. computers and phones), and even the
mechanical industries (e.g. automobile) are commonly just called by their
English name. “A steering wheel is
just “steering,” you can’t give it another name.”[x]
At
an academic level, English is important because it allows students to stay
up-to-date with the newest research.
Whereas the Western World is developing much of the new technologies and
sciences, it is important for Jordanians to know English so that they can read
the newest bulletin about a breaking research or so that they can comfortably
attend an international conference in their field which will broaden their
understanding as well as keep them up to speed with the newest advances in
their field.[xi]
That
being said, English for functionality is mostly based on the need to be able to
stay up to par with the newest knowledge.[xii]
English is the “international language” producing new research in every
field. Instead of waiting for a
computer program to be translated into Arabic or instead of waiting for a new
research or a new service to be translated into Arabic—a language that is hardly
used outside of the Arab World—the English speaker can go directly to the
source and keep themselves at the newest standard in their field. This is one of the largest motivators
for Jordanians to learn English.
It is often why you might get so many blank stares when asking them why
they want to learn English. Even
though many students do not want to study English, it is considered the most
practical language for life therefore students learn it.[xiii] By knowing English they can keep up
with the rest of the world.
Internationalized Education
The
education system has constantly been evolving and has had some drastic changes
in the past 50 years. The
international community affects Jordan in academic concepts and presentation in
both primary education and university levels. The influence and implantation of international curriculum
and schools has continued to develop Jordan’s need of English. As the country continues to grow in
every aspect it relies more and more on foreign education standards.
Starting
with the elementary school, in the past five years there has been a change in
the curriculum where as students start to study English in KG1 and KG2.[xiv] Students start to study the basics of
English such as colors and shapes and their grammar and vocabulary is
constantly developed through the years.
Regrettably, in most public elementary schools, the height of the
education in English is largely stunted due to the lack of concentration on the
subject.[xv] In private schools on the other hand,
English is highly emphasized because many of the more expensive privates
schools are actually American or British schools. These schools can often be taught completely in English
(accept for Arabic and Religion which are taught in Arabic). This gives the upper classes in Jordan
a huge advantage over the rest of the population when it comes to their
functionality and within the job market.
In
order to graduate, ever student in Jordan has to take the national final test
that is collative for all the major subjects that a student takes while in high
school, which includes English.
The students are then scored according to their test results quick
determines which majors they are allowed to get into. If they do not score high enough in English, it will limit
their selection for not only the university that they can get into, but also
the majors that they can study. The
top desired majors, such as law or medicine, require a student to get very high
scores on their national test. If
a student does not perform well in his/her English sections of the test, the
student might not be able to get into the field of their choice.
Inside the university level,
international education standards dictate every part of their educational
expectations. The University of
Jordan was first established in 1962 and is the oldest university in Jordan as
well as the largest. In the Middle
East it is regarded as one of the best universities. In all of its scientific majors, the lectures and the
textbooks are all in English.[xvi] Students in every popular major have to
know some type of English in order to survive in their courses. The University of Jordan tries hard to
hold up to international models by holding student body elections (as a
republication of western schools), holding special topic conferences, and by
inviting new-foreign professors to guest teach at their university. All of which is greatly encourages the
use of the international language of English.
At
the graduates level, even in Jordan, students are required to take an English
Assessment Test such as the British ILETs or the American TOFEL test.[xvii] Classes might be held in Arabic (formal
or informal) but to even be accepted into a master’s program in Jordan, you are
required to prove a certain proficiency in English. The reasoning is at large discussed above—that all the
latest international research is written in English, therefore, to become more
advanced in any field, you need English to be able to understand the work of others.
Evolving Job Market
Overall,
all of the reasoning above ultimately leads to the goal of Jordanians wanting
to make themselves more marketable so that they can find a good job that pays
well. According to the Department
of Statistics of Jordan, the current unemployment rate in Jordan is officially
12.8% but according to the US’s Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook,
the unofficial rate is approximately 30%.[xviii] According to the newspaper The Jordan Times, a popular Jordanian
newspaper published in English, half of the college graduates in Jordan will be
jobless upon graduation at the end of 2012.[xix] When so many graduated students are
sitting at home for over a year after they graduate waiting to find a job,
students, young adults, and even the employed do anything they can to make
themselves as desirable as they can on the demanding job market. English is part of what makes anyone
more marketable here in Jordan.
Fridrik
Tiedemann, an American who has been living in Jordan for around twelve years
and has an organization that teaches soft skills to Jordanians, says, “Employers
overwhelmingly want English” because “knowing English means that you have a
higher level of functionality.”[xx] Interviews in Jordan are conducted
mostly in English and in order to get a pay raise in Jordan, many companies
require for the employee to pass some type of English test.
For
lower level jobs, such as factory workers, there is no need for employees to
know English but you will not find someone in any type of management that
cannot speak English.[xxi] Because Jordan is such a small country,
it requires them to go outside of the country to get any type of raw
materials. “Even the brochures
they send us from Turkey are in English.”
This requires English. Many
businesses in Jordan are international companies, whether they are just
Jordanian companies that trade internationally or if they are companies that
come from other countries. To be a
manager in any of these companies, you must know English.
Tourism
is the largest industry in Jordan and for anyone who works in the immediate
public, English is a requirement because of the high number of foreigners that
they will be working with.[xxii] As Jordan grows, much of its training
in nearly every field requires to send their employees outside of the Arab
World for training. This requires
English. Even the Jordanian Army
requires their lieutenants to train in America and Canada.[xxiii] English is simply the international
language of business and Jordan is too small of a country to not be interacting
internationally to some capacity—therefore its job market is constantly
demanding for its candidates to know English. Employers want employees that will be able to function in
any situation and who will be able to easily solve problems. English enables employees to obtain
more education and helps them to be able to manage through their
responsibilities easier.[xxiv] This makes better marketability in
individuals on the Jordanian job market.
The
saying goes in Jordan: “English is money.”[xxv] Even if you have low-test scores in
your field, you are more likely to get the job in Jordan if you know English.
The Affects of English in Jordan
As
globalization continues to develop a deeper need for English, there are two
major affects that it plays on the citizens of Jordan. First, English has established a
dividing line between the upper and lower class, which in part, gives some type
of social prestige. The second is
that by being more exposed to Western media, the western culture is slowly
creeping into the younger generation that causes strife between the new and old
generation, as well as a strong desire for youth to want to escape from their
culture.
In
the richest communities in Jordan, a Westerner can feel quite at home. One of the richest neighborhoods holds
the majority of western embassies, including the American and British
embassies. In these neighborhoods,
there are very few forms of public transportation like you would find in a poor
neighborhood (such as private buses or shared taxis) and restaurants and other
businesses commonly put their menus in only English. In the malls everything will be written in English and all
the companies are from the west.
As people walk by in the malls you can hear a combination of both Arabic
and English spoken.
In
Jordan, the wealthy like to flaunt their education and therefore money by using
English, rather than Arabic, on a common basis. Some Arab parents will even speak to their children in
English instead of Arabic in daily lives.[xxvi] Because this class of people has the
finances to be educated in the best schools, their English is usually
substantially better than the majority of Jordanians and by speaking English,
they can in part show their class.
Overall, this creates a mindset in Jordan that English is a sign of
esteem or prestige.[xxvii] In an average job, a manager might
value his English speaking employee more not only for their functionality, but
also just for the sack of stature.[xxviii] The idea is that English speakers are
better equipped to interact with all classes of people: foreigners, upper
class, and lower class.
With
an external outlook, English opens many doors for people, not just education
and occupational opportunities, but also to a different culture and a different
lifestyle.[xxix] Once a youth starts to learn English,
they are then exposed to a completely different world of ideas and
concepts. Often times, these ideas
and concepts romanticize the Western World for many Jordanians and make them
start to detest parts of their own culture. This causes many problems in the Jordanian community.
Whereas
younger people are more exposed to western ideas via the Internet or media, the
older generation is not. The younger
generation is clearly starting to evolve their way of thinking by mixing both
Arab culture and western culture as their parents stay with their own
traditional customs.[xxx] This creates a clash when it comes to
concepts such as love and marriage, work and family, and even religion. The generational gap has been widened
by this new exposure to the western world that English has.
Immigration
becomes a huge aspiration for many students. They attend western style education, they have international
friends on Facebook, and as they look around to the small country with traditional
customs that surround them, they desire to leave it.[xxxi] The more they learn about western ideas
and viewpoints they more they feel disconnected to the culture around them. More and more students not only want to
learn English to get a better job, but also just to escape the trap they feel
like they are in. English opens
doors to a new culture and new-international opportunities ready for
exploration.
Conclusion
Although
Jordan is considered to be in low demand of English, its actual demand is growing
but the amount of financial support limits its supply. Jordanians desire to learn English for
many reason including being able to better adjust to the changing world,
opening the door for international education, and helping people get a job
after graduation. “Jordanians need
to learn English to meet the challenge of the world” which face Jordanians in
media, education, and employment.
Overall this is starting to change the way that Jordanians think and
interact with the world. Because
of their exposure to western society, the younger generation is starting to
become more western minded as the older generation stays with the traditions of
their ancestors. As Jordan tries
to meet the demands of the world they are also changing themselves within.
[i]
William Cleveland, and Martin
Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, (Boulder, CO: Westview
Press, 2009), 213.
[ii]
Ibed, 331.
[iii]
International TEFL Academy,
"English Teaching in Jordan." Accessed May 3, 2013.
http://www.internationalteflacademy.com/jordan-English-teaching-jobs-abroad-middle-east/.
[iv]
ESLBase, "ESLBase Teach
English." Accessed April 29, 2013. http://www.eslbase.com/schools/jordan.
[v]
Ulle Rannut, Minority Language
Policy in the Middle East: Circassian Language Maintenance in Jordan,
(Amman: The American Center of Oriental Research, 2007), 3.
[vi] Ibed, 13.
[vii]
AlWan, Malik, (First
Lieutenant, Jordanian Army), interview by Tasha Overpeck, Amman, May 5, 2013.
[viii]
Tariq, Alia, (Recent
Jordanian Graduate and English Student), interview by Tasha Overpeck, Amman,
May 5, 2013.
[ix] Tiedemann, Fridrik,
(Director, CGE Jordan), interview by Tasha Overpeck, Amman April 30, 2013.
[x] AlWan, Malik
[xi] AlWan, Malik; Tariq, Alia
[xii] AlWan, Malik
[xiii] Tariq, Alia
[xiv] Tiedemann, Fridrik
[xv] Tariq, Alia
[xvi] Ibed
[xvii] AlWan, Malik
[xviii]
CIA, "The World
Factbook." Last modified May 1, 2013. Accessed May 3, 2013.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2129.html.
[xix]
Areej Abuqudairi, "Youth
unemployment remains a major challenge for Jordan," The Jordan Times
(2012), http://jordantimes.com/youth-unemployment-remains-a-major-challenge-for-jordan
(accessed May 3, 2013).
[xx] Tiedemann, Fridrick
[xxi] Hajeer, Asad, (Notebook
Factory Owner), interviewed by Tasha Overpeck, Amman, May 5, 2013
[xxii] Ibed
[xxiii] AlWan, Malik
[xxiv] Arabiyat, Eyad, (Senior
Accountant at the Arab Bank in Salt), interview by Tasha Overpeck, Amman, May 4,
2013.
[xxv]
Mousa, Mohammad, (Pharmaceutical
Representative), interview by Tasha Overpeck, Amman, May 5, 2013.
[xxvi] Tariq, Alia
[xxvii] Tiedemann, Fridrik
[xxviii] Ayasah, Mohammad, (TOFEL
student), interview by Tasha Overpeck, Amman, May 5, 2013.
[xxix] Tariq, Alia
[xxx] Ayasah, Mohammad
[xxxi] Ayasah, Mohammad
