A thesis in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in

Libya in Brief

Libya is located in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north where the majority of the population lives. Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west .With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometers [700.000 sq miles], 90% of which is desert, Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa by areas and the 17^th largest in the world. Tripoli is the capital of Libya, the population rate of Libya is 5.9 million and the religion is Islam (Hamdy, 2007).

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As reported in a national report presented to the international conference on education, (2004) Libya boasts the highest literacy rate in the Arab world, and the UN‟s Human Development Index, which ranks standard of living, social security, healthcare and other factors for development, places Libya at the top of all African countries.

kindergarten education, basic education, intermediate or secondary education,

university education, and post-graduate studies.

In the first stage, that is the kindergarten education, children aged four to five years old will study until the age of six. After that, they will be promoted to basic education. Basic education consists of three parts; where the first part involves students from the age of 7 to 9 years; the second part involves those from the age

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of 10 to 12 years; and the last part is for those at the age of 13 to 15 years. On completing their basic education, the students can move on to intermediate or secondary education at the age of 16 to either 18 or 19 years. The intermediate education spans a total of three to four years and it includes specialized secondary schools and technical and vocational. For those who achieved the necessary

the fifth and sixth levels of the primary stage at the rate of three periods per week, where each period is forty-five minutes. Learning English continues in the Preparatory and Secondary stages with the same amount of time. This means learning English in Libya starts at the age of ten years for Libyan children. However, this has only started in the academic year 2006-2007. Prior to that, the teaching of English only commenced when the students reached the age of

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thirteen. With a late start to learn English, good and qualified teachers are definitely required in such stages for teaching English. Because the syllabus is based on the communicative methodology, therefore, ICT can be effective in the teaching-learning process.

At the university level, English is taught in other departments as a subject, and it is also studied by the students who are majoring in English in the Department of English in the Faculties of Arts and Education in Libyan Universities.

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