Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic Research Articles

Students’ Perceptions of the Use of CALL at Al-Imam Universityp

This study aimed to investigate students’ perceptions towards CALL, CALL merits, and CALL challenges at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. The sample of this study consisted of 140 randomly-selected male and female students. A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was designed to collect the data of the study. This instrument was validated by ten university professors and instructors. Similarly, its reliability was achieved by calculating Cronbach Alpha formula. The findings of the study indicated that students are in need of unlimited access to computer labs all the time, supplying classrooms with CALL resources, and training in using computer labs. Besides, EFL instructors have positive attitudes towards CALL. Moreover, the results revealed the following significant advantages of using CALL resources: enriching students’ experience, stimulating students’ practice outside the classroom, encouraging students’ independence and confidence, creating a relaxed atmosphere, and increasing students’ motivation level. Furthermore, the results of study revealed the following the challenges of using CALL resources in the classroom: lack of Internet access inside the classrooms, shortage of CALL programs, insufficient number of CALL labs, lack of CALL labs supervisors, and lack of immediate technical support. Finally, the study concluded that CALL resources should be integrated with all EFL courses because computers have become an indispensable part of English language teaching and learning.

The Effect of Social Class on the Linguistic Behavior of Saudi Female Employees at Al-Imam Muhammed Ibn Saud Islamic University

This study aimed to investigate how the linguistic behaviors of Saudi female employees at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University index their social class identity. The study used a holistic case with embedded units design. The researchers carried out interviews to collect the data. The interview questions were validated by eight EFL university professors. Besides, the discourse analysis was discussed based on the ethnography of communicative approach and the interactional sociolinguistics approach. The data analysis revealed that the linguistic behavior of the Saudi female employees yielded variant extents of indexation to their social class identity in terms of self-esteem, prestige, and power. The results proved that the linguistic behavior of the professors indexed their high-class identity in terms of their high level of self-esteem, high level of prestigious state, and high level of possessing power emotions. In addition, the linguistic behavior of the security employees indexed only two phases of their middle-class identity which were unsuccessful attempts to be prestigious speakers and their moderate sense of power. Finally, the indexation of the workers’ identity as low-class speakers was manifested in their linguistic behavior in terms of the low level of self-esteem and lack of power possession emotions.

EFL Tutors’ and Learners’ Attitudes and Practices in the Writing Centers at the College of Languages and Translation

This study investigates EFL Saudi male and female learners’ and tutors’ attitudes and practices in the Writing Centers at the College of Languages and Translation (CLTWCs) at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University to determine the effectiveness of such centers. In fact, understanding EFL learners’ needs is believed to eliminate some of the persistent writing challenges for such learners; and therefore this study seeks to explore the relatively new established CLTWCs to improve their services. Thus, in order to answer the study’s two questions regarding the attitudes and practices of both tutors and learners, a cross-sectional quantitative research design was adopted by designing and administering two questionnaires among 29 faculty members (F = 18, M = 11) working in the centers and 217 students (F =112, M=105) visiting them. These questionnaires addressed demographic information, attitudes, and practices in the form of open-ended and/or closed-ended questions along with five Likert-Scale statements. The results showed that learners expressed a highly positive attitude toward the centers which could be attributed to the tutors. These tutors were reported to have excellent performance and professionalism during the sessions they had with the learners in question. Additionally, the findings cautiously suggest the importance of regular visits and motivation for students in order to obtain the desired and expected benefits of the centers.

The Effect of Using Padlet as a Vocabulary Knowledge Enhancement Application on Saudi EFL Female Learners, and their Attitudes toward its Value in Learning

This study aimed to investigate the effects of using the digital learning tool Padlet to teach English vocabulary to Saudi females learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) within the context of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Specifically, it examined the attitudes and thoughts of these females toward the application and the effectiveness of using it as a learning platform. The study was set out to answer two questions; the first questions is “How effective is the application Padlet with regard to using a CLT approach to teach English vocabulary skills to Saudi female EFL learners?” while the second one is “What are users’ attitudes toward the online learning platform Padlet?”. The experiment was conducted for two weeks using Padlet. The population size was 50 Saudi females who were level-eight students at the English Language and Translation Department of Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After inclusion criteria (i.e., the results of an English language placement test) were applied, 30 students were selected for the study; this was done to ensure that the group was homogenous with regard to the level of English skill. The remaining participants then took a pretest; subsequently, the researcher and subjects engaged in seven instruction sessions using Padlet, during which the researcher followed a Communicative Language Teaching approach to presenting English vocabulary. After the experiment was concluded, the participants were given a posttest identical to the pretest in order to assess their knowledge and compare their vocabularies before and after the instructions were provided. In addition, the participants responded to an online survey designed to measure their attitudes toward Padlet. The participants’ scores and mean scores were calculated using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS); specifically, a one-sample t-test and a paired sample t-test were conducted. The findings revealed that the vocabulary instructions given using Padlet were effective at improving the English lexical knowledge of learners. The survey also revealed that the learners’ attitudes toward the tool were positive. Finally, the results indicated that the implementation of Communicative Language Teaching through Padlet was crucial to developing the participants’ English vocabulary skills.

Determining the Effectiveness of the Process Genre Approach in Increasing and Decreasing Saudi EFL University Students’ Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency in Reaction Essays

This study investigates the level of effectiveness that the process genre approach has on increasing and decreasing Saudi advanced EFL undergraduates’ Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) in reaction writing. Sixteen level six participants were recruited from the College of Languages and Translation at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. All participants undertook a pre-test and a post-test on reaction writing. After collecting 32 essays, they were analyzed based on 55 indices of CAF, and then a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was applied to compare each CAF construct/sub-construct measure’s mean in the pre-test with its mean in the post-test, and between the total mean of all measures for each CAF construct/sub-construct in the pre-test with their total means in the post-test. The findings showed that there were no significant total or partial impacts of the process genre approach on participants’ reaction essay syntactic complexity, lexical density, lexical sophistication, and fluency. However, the results indicated that there were only partial effects of the approach (across some measures) on participants’ reaction essay lexical variation and accuracy. Finally, the study yields several pedagogical implications and recommendations for EFL writing instructors, educators, and researchers.

Evaluation of Scientific Research Based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): A Case Study in Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University

Several years ago Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) becoming a best measurement practiced by the government sectors. The Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia opens up to new technology, opportunities, and improved ways to acquire and disseminate scientific teaching and research to bring quality at par with the international standards. KPIs provide quality assurance to the scientific research and higher education. The KPIs are variable and designed specifically for a particular entity such as education, research, finance, operation management etc. Scientific research in Saudi Arabia needs special attention from governing bodies and those who are already involved in scientific research. In case of Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMAMU), performance indicators are implemented but with skepticism. In future research, the Ministry of Higher Education, Saudi Arabia should provide the best indicators to measure the performance of Saudi universities by putting some value added in implementation of KPIs. Furthermore, third parties such as government servant and stakeholders should togetherness in performing their jobs to make sure everybody is complying with KPIs sets by its agencies.

Investigating the Use of Instagram as a MALL Tool: The Case of Al-Imam University EFL Students

This study aimed to investigate the benefits and barriers of using Instagram in English language learning. The sample of this study consisted of 151 randomly-selected female students enrolled in the department of English at the College of Languages and Translation at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in the academic year 1436/1437– 2015/2016 in the first semester. The researcher used both a five-point Likert scale questionnaire as a quantitative instrument and semi-structured interviews with students as a qualitative instrument to collect the data of the study. Those instruments were validated by ten university professors. Similarly, the reliability of the questionnaire was achieved by calculating Cronbach Alpha formula. The findings of the study revealed that the most important benefits of using Instagram in learning English were as follows: improving the reading, writing, and listening skills, providing enjoyable learning experiences, enriching vocabulary, improving oral communication skills, and enjoying a sense of freedom of time and place. Furthermore, the results of the study unveiled the following challenges of using Instagram in English learning: distracting attention, lack of direction from the syllabuses, lack of encouragement from instructors, embarrassment, lack of immediate feedback, the cost of Internet access, and the difficulty of writing long passages. Finally, the findings of the study presented the following solutions to Instagram barriers in English language learning: creating learning accounts and posting important things in the lecture, following only specialized accounts for learning English.

An Evaluative Study of the English Language Practicum Program at the College of Languages and Translation at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University

An Evaluative Study of the English LanguagePracticum Program at the College of Languages andTranslation at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn SaudIslamic University

Saudi EFL Students’ Personality Types and Their Language Learning Strategies

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality types and English language learning strategies, and to examine the pattern of English language learning strategies used by Saudi EFL university students. The sample of the study consisted of 68 EFL female students in the English department at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). Two instruments were used to collect the data; Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The findings indicated that the participants were medium-high range strategy users and that the most frequently used strategy category among the six categories is metacognitive strategies followed by cognitive strategies, compensation strategies, social strategies, memory strategies, and finally, affective strategies. The observations indicated that there were some significant differences among students’ language learning strategy preferences based on their personality type. However, the relationship between the two variables is more complex and by no means direct and the reason was discussed in the research.

Investigating the Use of Instagram as a MALL Tool: The Case of Al-Imam University EFL Students

This study aimed to investigate the benefits and barriers of using Instagram in English language learning. The sample of this study consisted of 151 randomly-selected female students enrolled in the department of English at the College of Languages and Translation at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in the academic year 1436/1437– 2015/2016 in the first semester. The researcher used both a five-point Likert scale questionnaire as a quantitative instrument and semi-structured interviews with students as a qualitative instrument to collect the data of the study. Those instruments were validated by ten university professors. Similarly, the reliability of the questionnaire was achieved by calculating Cronbach Alpha formula. The findings of the study revealed that the most important benefits of using Instagram in learning English were as follows: improving the reading, writing, and listening skills, providing enjoyable learning experiences, enriching vocabulary, improving oral communication skills, and enjoying a sense of freedom of time and place. Furthermore, the results of the study unveiled the following challenges of using Instagram in English learning: distracting attention, lack of direction from the syllabuses, lack of encouragement from instructors, embarrassment, lack of immediate feedback, the cost of Internet access, and the difficulty of writing long passages. Finally, the findings of the study presented the following solutions to Instagram barriers in English language learning: creating learning accounts and posting important things in the lecture, following only specialized accounts for learning English.

The Role of Motivation and Attitudes in Improving Saudi EFL Students’ Speaking Skill

This study investigated the role of motivation and attitudes in improving Saudi EFL students’ speaking skill. The purpose of the study was to identify the correlation between motivation, attitudes, and the speaking ability of Saudi EFL students and to raise the learners’ awareness of the importance of these psychological factors. The study explored whether the level of motivation and favorable attitudes correlate with the speaking proficiency levels. The Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaire and structured interviews were the main instruments of the study. The sample of the study consisted of 50 randomly selected female students majoring in English at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). The results showed that there was a positive significant correlation between motivation and attitudes, and the speaking proficiency of Saudi EFL students. Based on the results, the researcher presented a number of recommendations for further research.

Measuring the Effect of Use Web 2.0 Technology on Saudi Students’ Motivation to Learn in a Blended Learning Environment

Students’ motivation to learn is the goal of the educational process around the world. There is a close link between learning outcomes and students’ motivation to learn. Thus, the success of blended learning in Saudi higher education depends on not only using different teaching methods and massive expenditures on technology but also on students’ motivation to learn. The main objective of this study is to measure the effect of using the Web 2.0 technology on students’ motivation to learn in a blended learning environment through their attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction inside in this environment. This study used a randomized experimental research design to examine differences in student’s motivation based on their use of Web 2.0 tools in a blended environment in the Computer Science at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). This study adopted Keller’s ARCS model of motivation to develop a comprehensive framework of factors that affect the use of Web 2.0 tools in blended learning environment. A questionnaire was conducted to collect data from students. Throughout our investigation, we found that there was a statistically significant difference at the level of 0.05 in overall student motivation between the experimental and control groups resulting from the using Web 2.0 tools technology. Moreover, students using Web 2.0 tools were found to exhibit a statistically significant higher degree of motivation. The results of this study can help decision makers readjust the learning strategy by realizing the importance of using Web 2.0 tools as the main platform in Saudi higher education.

Psychological Stress in View of Some Variables among Undergraduate Students at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University )IMSIU(

Psychological Stress in View of Some Variables among Undergraduate Students at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University )IMSIU(

The Effectiveness of PAVE Strategy on Developing University Students’ Vocabulary and Self-Efficacy

<p><em>The present study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the “PAVE” vocabulary learning strategy on developing a group of students’ vocabulary and self-efficacy while studying English as a foreign language at the College of Languages and Translation, at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. The research sample consisted of sixteen Saudi female English language learners. A pre/post vocabulary test and a self-efficacy scale were administered to the study participants before and after the treatment. The participants were introduced to one of the vocabulary learning Strategies “PAVE strategy”, which has been used. The results provided support for the hypotheses of the study and showed that the students performed significantly better on the post administration of the vocabulary test as well as on the self-efficacy scale. Thus, it can be said that the PAVE vocabulary learning strategy had a large impact on developing students’ vocabulary and self-efficacy. The study recommended that the use of vocabulary learning strategies should be given enough attention to develop students’ vocabulary and self-efficacy.</em></p>

SUBJECTIVE RESPONSE TO RESPIRATOR USE: COMPARISON N95, SURGICAL MASK AND FACE COVER.

31Jan 2017 SUBJECTIVE RESPONSE TO RESPIRATOR USE: COMPARISON N95, SURGICAL MASK AND FACE COVER. Al-Zahrani R , Bashihab R , Al-Horaibi H , Al-Nafesa A , Manar Abdulsalam Emam , Al-Harthi S , Al-Hajaj B and Harber P. Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, college of medicine, Riyadh-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Professor of Public Health, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona

Measuring and Improving Student Performance in an Introductory Programming Course

Students' performances in introductory programming courses show large variation across students. There may be many reasons for these variations, such as methods of teaching, teacher competence in the subject, students' coding backgrounds and abilities, students' self-discipline, the teaching environment, and the resources available to students, all of which can affect student performance and outcomes. Our observations in teaching programming courses (at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh) are that many students (up to 50% per course) drop out. There is a strong belief by many instructors that such a high dropout rate is due, at least in part, to students underestimating the effort needed to finish this course and not following instructions as recommended. This paper reviews the factors that affect student performance in an introductory programming course (CS1) and aims to discover correlations between various assessment methods, students' participation and their final performance measured. It analyses mark distributions across various assessment methods to identify which assessment method best predicts final exam marks and overall marks, and gives recommendations for assessment in introductory programming courses.

The Effect of Digital Dialogued Journaling on Improving English Writing: A Linguistic Communicative Approach

<p>Writing is a complex process that requires advanced linguistic skills. Although many college students studied English as a foreign language (EFL) for twelve years in preparatory and high schools, they still face major problems in producing correct writings that meet their colleges’ requirements. Students’ problems include inability to generate ideas, organize discourse, control sentence structures, choose appropriate vocabulary, and use effective styles. A potential solution to such problems can be found in the application of modern technologies in the classrooms. Telecommunication technologies which include synchronous and asynchronous communication have provided various tools that can be used to assist EFL students to learn writing skills. Therefore, the current quantitative, quasi-experimental study aimed at examining the effect of asynchronous communication, specifically digital dialogued journaling on students’ writing skills. Digital dialogued journaling includes blogs, webpages, discussion forms, or word-processed applications such as Google documents. Using the platform of Google documents, the present study attempted to provide new strategies for teaching writing courses at higher education to help EFL students develop their writing skills. Data was collected from undergraduate students in the College of Languages and Translation, at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data collection depended on a number of instruments: First, a pretest was used to measure the participants’ level of writing before implementing the teaching strategies of dialogued journaling. Secondly, an online dialogued journal, designed by the researcher using Google documents, was employed for the experiment. The journal was sent to the same sample via emails, and the participants posted their reflective writings on different issues regarding their academic journey learning English. Students’ interactive dialogues included prose writing, descriptive and argumentative paragraphs, poetry, and their personal stories. The students-teacher dialogues made the corpus data which enabled investigating the effectiveness of dialogued journaling on improving students’ writing. Thirdly, a posttest was used to collect data regarding the degree of change that occurred as a result of the experiment. Fourthly, a Likert scale questionnaire was used at the end of the experiment to identify the participants’ levels of satisfaction with dialogued journaling. Data analysis was based on using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to compare the results of pretest and posttest. A rubric with five scale criteria was used to examine each rank of students’ writing, and to report each student’s score before and after treatment. The Text Analyzer Software was also employed to examine the participant’s writing lexical density and phrase frequencies. Data analysis results indicated a significant statistical difference between the overall writing scores of the pretest and the posttest. Moreover, the examination of the participants’ writing revealed much improvement in writing styles, word choice, and the student’s voice, which are critical factors in writing. Hence, the significance of the current study is that it provides a new technological tool, such as Google document, for teaching writing skills at higher education. This study includes an instructional model that incorporates digital journaling into teaching English writing. The present research is also a contribution in the field of teaching English, adopting the communicative approach by integrating theories of connectives and constructivism into linguistic theories. <strong></strong></p>

Syntactic and Semantic Functions of Deictic Expressions in EFL Saudi Students' Writing

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the ability of EFL Saudi students of Department of English Language and Literature at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University to use deictic expressions in their writing from a semantic perspective. To achieve this aim, the sample of the study was all level five male students majoring in English and studying the semantics course 363 at the English Department of Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in summer 2014. The sample consisted of 18 B.A students. All of them belonged to the same homogeneous group since they all belonged to the same level (level 5). To collect the data, the students were assigned a writing test for this study at the very last session of the course. The students were asked to write a topic of 150 words about a place they know, and a person who attends this place. They were inquired to use as much as they can of deictic expressions they have studied in their semantics course. Data were analyzed by using mean scores, standard deviation, t-test and covariance. The findings data analysis revealed that EFL Saudi students were capable to use the target deictic expressions more in syntactic functions than in semantic functions. The results also indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the subjects' representation of the deictic expressions in the syntactic functions and the semantic functions.

The Perceptions of Saudi EFL English-Major Students of the Impact of Video Materials on the Improvement the Listening Skill

The study attempted to explore the EFL Saudi university students’ perceptions of the impact of video material on their listening skill. More specifically, the study attempts to answer the following primary question; “To what extent do Saudi EFL students perceive that video integration in listening classrooms is effective on their listening comprehension level?” The sample of the study consisted of 18 male students majoring in English, between 18-20 years old, enrolling in English 044 course for the listening and speaking skills during the first semester of 2014. They were studying at the English Department of College of Languages and Translation at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The instruments of the study included a close-ended questionnaire, and open-end question in which the respondents were asked to write a short paragraph expressing their preferences to either video utilization or audio usage. The SPSS program was used for data analysis of the close-ended questionnaire, namely T-test, Percentages, Means and Standard Deviations were calculated to analyze the study participants’ responses to the questionnaire items. Quantitative analysis was also used to interpret the study participants’ responses to the open-ended question. The results of the study indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the subjects’ perceptions of videos and audios integration in the listening skill in favor of videos utilization. The quantitative analysis revealed that students were more interested in learning to listen with videos rather than learning with audios. Recommendations were stated for researchers, teachers of English, stakeholders, and educational institutions in Saudi Arabia.

A learning skills course for the 1st year medical students: an experience at a Saudi medical school.

BackgroundEvery year nearly 1,500 students enter into medical program after passing high school and national aptitude exams. However, many students experience frustration, failure, and psychological morbidities like stress, depression, and anxiety because they are not aware of their learning styles or do not have effective learning skills and strategies. The College of Medicine of Al-Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University has adopted the outcome based, community oriented, Spiral Curriculum. Although the curriculum is innovative, on the other hand, it is very demanding.ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper is to share educational structure and evaluation results of the course on effective learning and study skills for the 1st year medical students.MethodsTo prepare our students in order to cope with this demanding but promising curriculum, we conducted an effective and comprehensive learning skills course for 16 weeks in the first semester of year 1 in the medical program. Performance of each student was assessed and the course evaluation was done by students at the end of the course.ResultsThe attendance of the students throughout the course was over 90%. The average performance of students in the summative assessment was 78% and the course was generally liked by the students.DiscussionStudents overall had a positive attitude toward the learning skills course. Majority of the students showed interest in attending the sessions regularly and realized the significance of this course to improve their learning skills.