Study Of The Family Language Policy Of Tunisian University Teachers

Tunisian teenagers will usually have been taught four different languages before the age of 18.The issue of family language policy in Tunisia is a phenomenon worth studying,and as university teachers are one of the communities that value education the most,the research on family language policy of this representative group of teachers is helpful to understand the language habits of that specific group in Tunisia as well as the impact of the parents’ career on the family’s language policy,which is of great significance to promote the improvement of national language policies in Tunisia.This study investigates the family language policy of 138 Tunisian University Teachers’ families through interviews and a survey as well as a case study.It analyzes the family language ideology,family language management,family language practice and relevant influencing factors of the family language policy of Tunisian university teachers on different levels from different aspects.The main conclusions are as follows:The language awareness of Tunisian university teachers is reflected in the tendency of "non-fran?isant"1 families to identify themselves as Arab people who speak Arabic,whereas the identity of " fran?isant "families is more similar to the French;With the recognition of the socio-economic value of English and the practical value of German and Chinese,the importance level of the different languages ranked from high to low is French,English,Arabic,German,Chinese,Italian and Spanish.Tunisian university teachers pay attention to the cultivation of their children’s multi foreign language ability in the family language management,which is mainly reflected in three aspects:the cultivation of early language ability,the choice of school system and language tutoring activities outside school.In addition,the family language planning of Tunisian university teachers varies according to the identity of different families（fran?isant and non-fran?isant）,and the family language planning of different types and social classes of families each have their own characteristics.In addition,research shows that in family language practice,although Tunisian university teachers have their children taught 3 different languages before the age of five:French,Arabic and English,Tunisian dialect is yet the most commonly used language at home.The external factors affecting the family language policy of Tunisian university teachers include the country’s socio linguistic history,economic situation,political background and cultural background.The internal factors include the parents’ language learning experience,identity,family background,economic situation,social level,children’s career prospects and nationality.The results show that the joint action of internal and external factors will not only have a positive impact on the formulation and implementation of a family’s language policy,but can also have a negative impact.With the changes of internal and external factors,the family’s language policy will also change accordingly.