اللغة الإنجليزية في الكويت: ممارسات وتوجهات

Abstract

The status of English in Kuwait occurs in Kachru's Model third circle (Expanding Circle). In this circle, English is used as a foreign language. However, English in Kuwait is not only a subject taught in schools, but also widely used in business communication, social events, and media. The study tends to achieve a twofold aim: 1) to excavate participants' perceptions of their course and course instructor and 2) to flesh out Kuwaiti linguistic features. The data come from the Appraisal Approach proposed by Lipovsky and Mahboob which enables participants to freely narrate and write what they think. The participants are students from the College of Engineering and Petroleum at Kuwait University. The narratives collected are all evaluations that express the students' perceptions of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instructor and course. The research provides insights for students into the way English is used in the so-called nonnative contexts. The significance of the use of this approach lies behind the fact that most such studies use purely figures and numbers which only reflect a passive assessment. The appraisal approach provides richer and deeper insights for researchers since it analyses written discourses of the students. The data suggest that Judgement was the most salient attitude projected by the participants. Further, it was found that the use of narratives to elicit practices and features about language usage in nonnative contexts does not seem to be sufficient to carry out such an analysis.