Language and schooling in Morocco

The prevailing language situation in Morocco is quite complex due to the presence and interference of three Berber dialects, three variant forms of colloquial Arabic, two foreign languages (French and Spanish) and one national language, classical Arabic. This article seeks to examine the educational implications of this multilingualism. For this purpose, a three-step analysis is carried out, involving a summary presentation of the linguistic setting in Morocco, an outline of the language situation in the schooling system and an assessment of the pedagogical impact of these factors. Two main conclusions are reached on the basis of this analysis. First, it appears that the language policy constitutes a major source of wastage in educational terms. Second, there is a close relationship between socio-cultural origin and the vehicles of instruction used at school, which introduces an element of social bias in the educational process. The object in which power has become inscribed, in all human eternity, is: language. Roland Barthes