Algeria Replaces French with English as First Foreign Language

Algeria is turning a sharp page away from France by making English the first foreign language taught in its primary schools. The shift marks a decisive break with decades of colonial influence, where French held sway as the nation's second tongue even after independence.

Ahmed Krim watched this dynamic for thirty years while teaching English in middle schools. Now retired at age sixty, he remembers how his subject was consistently overshadowed by French in every classroom conversation. The language of Algeria's former colonizer remained dominant long after the country won its freedom six decades ago.

On July 25, Education Minister Mohamed Seghir Saadaoui declared that English will replace French as the sole foreign language for third-year students starting the 2026-2027 academic year. French instruction moves back to fourth grade. Eight-year-olds across the country will learn English before they touch a single word of French in their formal education curriculum.

"It is a very good decision. But it requires thinking, planning and resources," Krim told Al Jazeera. The change demands more than just swapping textbooks; it calls for serious preparation and funding to support teachers and students alike.

This move signals the start of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's broader linguistic overhaul first outlined in 2022. English entered primary schools under that vision, while universities have already begun shifting medicine and science faculties from French to English. Even utility bills and Air Algerie tickets are erasing French text as part of this wider effort. The government is rewriting the rules of communication for a new generation.

Road signs now display English alongside Arabic, and government ministers will offer English versions of their websites too. This move marks a massive structural shift away from French as Algeria's secondary language. It happens right now during the worst diplomatic row between the two nations since independence in 1962. Back in July 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron openly supported Morocco's claim over Western Sahara. Algeria, which backs the Sahrawi Polisario Front and shelters more than 170,000 refugees from that region, saw this as a huge provocation. That tension led to the expulsion of diplomats on both sides. The switch from French to English sped up once the diplomatic crisis deepened.

A classroom without enough teachers The entire education system in Algeria might need a complete rethink. "First and foremost, specialised training centres must be restored," said Krim. He added that candidates cannot be forced into teaching if they do not want it. We need people who genuinely care about this work. These dedicated institutes opened after independence to train primary and middle school teachers like himself. The model combined classroom instruction with direct placements at schools to fix the shortage of Arabic instructors. Those centers operated until the late 1990s, when an economic crunch replaced them with fewer and more selective Ecoles Normales Superieures. Most current teachers hold university degrees but lack the practical, hands-on grounding that the older model offered. Krim insists that school curricula must be designed by a qualified body with both linguistic and pedagogical expertise, free from all ideology.

But journalist and analyst Noureddine Bessadi says the ideological dimension matters deeply in Algeria. The country overthrew colonialism after a bloody struggle against France. "Since independence in 1962, every shift in language policy has been fought as much on political as pedagogical grounds," Bessadi told Al Jazeera. After gaining freedom, the Arabisation drive kicked French out of government and education. This was part of state building and enforcing Algeria's identity by centering Arabic and Islam. Tamazight, a non-Semitic language spoken by about a quarter of the population, remained marginalized until 1995, Bessadi said. It suffered from an ideological perception of unity that prioritized linguistic and cultural harmony. Critics argue that moving from French to English is happening faster than the system can handle. There simply are not enough qualified English teachers to make these reforms work effectively. Yet one source familiar with the matter told Al Jazeera there are enough teachers for primary schools right now. Any shortage could be filled through contractors. In February, Algeria's education ministry reportedly recruited about 15,000 English language teachers for primary schools. Rafik Laceb, a lecturer in English at Mouloud Mammeri University in Tizi Ouzou, is cautiously optimistic about this primary school reform.

But he views the parallel push to teach university subjects in English as rushed and poorly executed.

"Frankly, and beyond any chauvinism, I believe this decision is positive," Laceb said. "I believe there is, today, sufficient supervision and evaluation work from the first experience." He spoke about the previous introduction of English in later primary school years.

That university experiment began in 2023-2024 yet produced insufficient contact hours. There was a lack of genuine assessment for students' English levels. No one tracked their progress either.

Around 50 percent of teaching at Tizi Ouzou University's English department comes from younger contract staff. This brings other challenges to the surface.

"A young contract teacher must first master the basic principles of medicine before attempting to teach medical terminology in English," he said.

Currently, children only begin learning a foreign language in the third year of state primary schools. Private schools teach multiple languages starting from kindergarten though.

Djamel Merah saw his daughter attend private schools before transferring to public secondary school. She studied Arabic, French and English simultaneously from kindergarten level.

Merah welcomes the government's language reforms at state primary schools. They will provide more children with the opportunity to learn English.

"It addresses a question about the gap in opportunities between children who get multilingual education from the start and those in public schools who don't get the same chance," he said.

There also appears to be a more organic response among the public that precedes government promotion of the English language.

Krimo Taleb works as a bookseller at the Libre Pensee bookshop in Tizi Ouzou. He has seen growth in English-language book sales, particularly among female readers.

"In my opinion, it has nothing to do with government decisions," he said. "The majority of young readers today speak three languages fluently."

His own daughter is a middle school student who reads fluently in Arabic, English and French.

Colleen Hoover, Ana Huang and J. K. Rowling are some of the best-selling authors at his shop now.

"Previously, our bookshops provided for English literature students the works of Shakespeare," Taleb says. "Today, there is a diverse range of English-language titles aimed at the general public."

French remains Algeria's most influential foreign language nonetheless. The International Organisation of La Francophonie reports that Algeria has approximately 15 million French speakers. That number represents nearly a third of its population.

There is not a single newspaper published in English currently. Written English by Algerians remains in its infancy as well.

Yet signs show former colonies are turning their backs on France's linguistic legacy, particularly in Africa. Paris's military and political presence made a resurgence there in recent decades.

In March 2025, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso withdrew from the OIF. They accused it of being a political instrument of Paris.

"Mali made its national languages official in 2023, demoting French to a working language," Bessadi added. "Burkina Faso followed the same year and Niger in 2025." Even Senegal has begun encouraging local languages at the expense of French without removing it as an official language.

For Krim, Algeria's linguistic ambitions are not far-fetched. For it to work though, the country needs necessary resources and transparency.