Language Policies and Ideologies in Qatar: Is Resistance to English-Medium Instruction the Right Resistance?

Neoliberalism, globalisation, and English-language hegemony have contributed to the adoption of Western “travelling policies” (Phan, 2017, p. 12), such as building knowledge-based economies and the implementation of English-medium instruction (EMI) in schools and universities across the Arab Gulf states(Barnawi, 2018). In Qatar, as well as other Arab Gulf states like the United ArabEmirates (UAE), this has led to ideologies of EMI and Arabic-medium instruction (AMI) being in competition with each other ( Graham et  al., 2021 ; Hill-man, 2019; Hopkyns, 2020). There are concerns about the impact of EMI andEnglish-language hegemony on Arabic language attrition and on cultural and linguistic identities in the region (Al-Issa & Dahan, 2011; Hopkyns, 2020; Mahboob & Elyas, 2017). The result of these ideological tensions in Qatar has been several abrupt shifts between EMI and AMI in language policies for government schools and the leading public university, and other broader efforts to preserve and promote the Arabic language. However, there has simultaneously been a continued growth of EMI options in the form of private schools, private universities, and international branch campuses and cross-border partnerships. In this chapter, I first provide an overview of the macro-sociolinguistic situation and the roles, status, and functions of English in Qatar. I then describe the shifts betweenEMI and AMI in language policies and consider implications for cultural and linguistic identities in Qatar. Finally, I reflect on Qatar’s strong resistance to EMI among the Arab Gulf states and the future of English-medium instruction andArabic-medium instruction in the country.