MOGADISHU, Somalia — The new nation of South Sudan has expressed a desire to join the Commonwealth, a group composed mainly of former British colonies, and said that it would change the language used in schools from Arabic to English. The two actions further cement its pivot from the Arab world of northern Africa toward the largely Anglophone east.

South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in July, ending decades of civil war in which the Arab-dominated north tried to forcibly convert the south to Islam, building mosques and burning down villages.

A spokesman for the Commonwealth, Manoah Esipisu, said Saturday that South Sudan had “expressed an interest in joining” the organization, formerly known as the British Commonwealth.

“An informal assessment will be taken by the secretary general,” and then member states will be consulted, Mr. Esipisu said in a telephone interview from Perth, Australia, where the group was holding a summit meeting. He said the process was estimated to take two years.

In a separate development, officials announced this week that the language used in schools would be changed from Arabic to English.

Though much of South Sudan’s population grew up speaking Arabic, the country has instituted changes in the way it is run to reflect its political aspirations, as well as its close geographic and economic proximity to East Africa.

Uganda and Kenya, both former British colonies, are among South Sudan’s largest trading partners, and government officials have spoken of building an oil pipeline to Kenya to connect to the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa as an alternative to sending its oil to the northern Sudanese government in Khartoum.

This month, South Sudan also reiterated its interest in joining the East African Community economic bloc, which it neighbors.

“We are not dragging our feet,” said President Salva Kiir, according to a statement issued by the bloc, “we are coming.”