Omani young children’s language proficiencies: The outcomes of a Bilingual education program

Abstract

Due to a globalizing world context and contemporary trends in society, today’s parents are more interested in having their children acquire English language skills as early as possible. In Oman, the movement to offer early childhood education in two languages—English and Arabic—has been accelerating. Through the efforts of Sultan Qaboos University, a model Child Care Center (CCC) was established on campus to pioneer bilingual education in the early years of life. This type of educational program also has the potential to impact young children’s development and acquisition of their primary language. In addition, bilingual children’s language usage outside the school in daily communications is another significant topic for study. However, there has been little solid research on this topic. Hence, this research study aimed to assess and evaluate English and primary language proficiency levels of young children enrolled at CCC and their language usage in communications outside the school environment. Implications are discussed and recommendations are made for teachers, parents, policy makers, researchers, and other stakeholders.