Teaching English in the context of educational policies in the GCC countries

After the discovery of oil in the Gulf countries, the number of labor migrants in these countries, mainly from South and Southeast Asia, as well as Africa, increased sharply. This led to the strengthening of the role of English as the language of intercultural communication, including the fi of education: now a signifi number of higher education programs in these countries are being taught entirely in English. This is due to a number of reasons, including the signifi number of foreign (both skilled and unskilled) workers, as well as the desire of the region’s leaders to transform their countries into regional and international economic and educational hubs. This study examines the language policy of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) countries in relation to English language teaching in secondary and higher education institutions. Existing studies, focusing mainly on the topic of globalization, pay little attention to the educational policies of the GCC countries in the fi of teaching English. Considering this fact, the purpose of this study is to identify the features of the state policy of the GCC countries in the fi of teaching English, as well as to identify the factors infl the formation of this policy. By analyzing the legislation and practical methods of implementing the language policy, the dynamics in the fi of teaching English in the countries of the region are shown. We have shown that the GCC countries are currently relying on Western models of education, including English-language higher education, which leads to a number of practical problems. In addition to this, the leaders of the countries of the region are attracting branches of leading Western educational institutions to the GCC countries. The prospects of this study include a comparative study of educational policies in other Arab countries, as well as further analysis of trends in English language teaching in the GCC region. This study contributes to the study of the language policy of the Arab countries and will be useful for Arabists and specialists in language policy.