Language planning and English as a foreign language in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A scoping review: English as a foreign language in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

The aim of this scoping review is to investigate the language policy’s ideological basis which mandates the learning of English as a foreign language in secondary schools all over the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It also aims to reveal the current state of affairs with regard to English as a foreign language in the Congolese curriculum. Using the approach proposed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), several published articles, books, journals and dissertations were consulted for our scoping review. Spanning a period between 1960 to 2020, the main focus was on educational language planning and policies in the DRC. After analyzing the selected publications, the results indicated that until today there is no language institution to regulate linguistic practices and teaching. The DRC’s state-owned schools still use the old national curriculum, which was left by the Belgian colonizers with some modifications. Foreign language teacher education and production of academic materials need to be integrated in the budget planning and implementation processes to accompany the policy regarding the teaching of English language at secondary schools. There is also an expressed need for a language institution engaged in research and training of different languages such as French, English and recognized national languages