Physics teachers' attitudes towards content and language integrated learning: Morocco's multilingual context

Salah Ben Hammou and Abdelaziz Kesbi
Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco

The present study seeks to contribute to the ongoing debate about the integration of foreign languages as media of instruction in secondary schools, through exploring Moroccan physics teachers' attitudes towards the use of English and French as media of instruction in secondary schools. Grounded theory methodology, in which data is analysed to generate new hypotheses, is suitable for such studies which seek to describe the reality of bilingual education as perceived by practising teachers. The fifteen physics teachers interviewed in this study show a level of satisfaction in teaching their subjects through a foreign language, French. They think the bilingual program, implemented in Moroccan schools, is a good opportunity for both students and STEM teachers to improve their language proficiency. However, they seem to critique the Ministry of Education for not involving them in the conception of this new language reform. With respect to English-medium instruction, the participating teachers do not think Moroccan schools are ready for the use of English as a medium of instruction. They suggest upgrading the status of English as a foreign language in all levels of schooling and improving both teachers' and students' English proficiency before moving in such a new direction.
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Authors: Salah Ben Hammou (corresponding author) is a third-year PhD student at Hassan II University of Casablanca, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Mohammedia, Morocco. Mr Ben Hammou is also a teacher of EFL in a public secondary school and a Fulbright alumnus. He attended a five-month professional training program in the Faculty of Education at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. His research focuses on bilingual education, content and language integrated learning, language policy and planning, english-medium instruction, sociolinguistics and EFL teaching. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8002-4288 Email: salahbenhammou937@gmail.com, salah.benhammou-etu@etu.univh2c.ma Professor Abdelaziz Kesbi holds a PhD in sociolinguistics. Currently Dr Kesbi is a lecturer at the Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco. He has been teaching for nearly three decades. He was head of the English department in the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences and a member of different laboratories of research. His research focuses on sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, pedagogical and cultural studies issues, presenting and publishing locally and internationally. Dr Kesbi is the author of The issue of Arabization in Morocco and language planning and education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5957-6739 Email: aabd.kesbi@gmail.com Please cite as: Ben Hammou, S. & Kesbi, A. (2021). Physics teachers' attitudes towards content and language integrated learning: Morocco's multilingual context. Issues in Educational Research, 31(4), 1029-1048. http://www.iier.org.au/iier31/ben-hammou.pdf