The Perceptions and Attitudes of Saudi EFL Students Toward the Use of Communicative Language Teaching in Oral Communication Classes

Abstract

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is widely and extensively practiced in language teaching, especially in EFL classes. In fact, most educators consider it to be the most effective and practical approach to language teaching. Early studies indicated that the positive or negative attitudes of learners toward CLT can affect their language learning process. As a result, the current study aims to unveil the perceptions and attitudes of Saudi college and graduate students toward the implementation of CLT to enhance their speaking and listening skills. Furthermore, gender role is also considered since Saudi has a segregated system of education. Questionnaire items adopted from Komol et al. (2020) were rated on a Likert scale which ranged from “Strongly Disagree” (1, very low) to “Strongly Agree” (5, very high). Mean Likert scale scores were used to evaluate the responses of participants along with the standard deviation (SD). The study found that Saudi participants displayed a higher perception of CLT activities when compared to their attitude. Moreover, females showed a higher perception and attitude toward CLT activities than males did. The highest mean scores of perception items among females are “Making a short video” because it allows them to get more exposure to English use while males have chosen “Teacher’s instruction on class CLT activities” as more significant. Concerning attitudinal items, males believe in using CLT activities to promote their language proficiency. In contrast, females believe in using role-play activities to improve their language proficiency. Finally, females showed less preference for CLT group or class activities than males did.