The Effects of Age Factor on Learning English: A Case Study of Learning English in Saudi Schools, Saudi Arabia

Elsadig Mohamed Khalifa Gawi

doi:10.5539/elt.v5n1p127

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of age on learning English in Saudi Arabia. It aims at encouraging the learning of English as a foreign language at an early age in KSA. The populations of the study are English language teachers and Saudi students in elementary schools compared with intermediate school students in Dawadmi town. The study found out that age affects EFL learning because early exposure to language instructions constantly results in better performance. The results show that start learning English at an earlier age is an important factor in enhancing the skills of English language learners.

Highlights

The widespread belief that the younger the better in second or foreign language learning is partly grounded on observations of many English teachers and experts all over the world
Other studies assumed that starting age will have the same influence on students of a foreign language, when they are exposed to only one speaker of that language in only one setting and only during very limited amount of time
From those who were interested in L2/FL learning, began the motivation to investigate the process of acquisition of a foreign language by learners with different starting ages

Summary

Introduction

The widespread belief that the younger the better in second or foreign language learning is partly grounded on observations of many English teachers and experts all over the world. Evidence for this is drawn from majority language children in schools who start learning English at a very early age in Dawadmi, KSA. Other studies assumed that starting age will have the same influence on students of a foreign language, when they are exposed to only one speaker of that language (the teacher who is not usually a native speaker) in only one setting (the classroom) and only during very limited amount of time.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion