Arab EFL Research Articles

Teaching Pronunciation to EFL Learners at the Tertiary Level: Perspectives of Professors at Saudi Universities

This study aimed to provide a novel, focused program for instructing English pronunciation to Saudi EFL university students, grounded upon identified mistake patterns. In addition, to execute the customized curriculum in pronunciation instruction for a group of Saudi EFL students. Furthermore, to evaluate the efficacy of the tailored curriculum by measuring enhancements in pronunciation accuracy. Additionally, to investigate the attitudes and experiences of EFL professors at various Saudi universities regarding the designated pronunciation curriculum using surveys. The researchers adopted the analytical-descriptive research method, utilizing the questionnaire as a tool for collecting data from thirty-three EFL university professors who teach English at different Saudi universities. The main findings of this study were: excessive focus on instructing individual phonemes, prioritization of suprasegmentals; overdependence on standardized evaluations. The significant levels of disagreement suggest that these techniques may not adequately meet the pronunciation requirements of Arabic EFL learners. Allocating time for pronunciation may possess some merit, while its execution necessitates additional investigation. The consensus on communicative instruction suggests potential for this methodology if effectively employed. Technological tools were regarded as beneficial instruments, consistent with studies on computer-assisted pronunciation instruction. The efficacy of customizing curriculum to address faults made by Arabic learners; Emphasis on pronunciation instruction within educational institutions. The main recommendations were adopting communicative instructional methodologies for teaching pronunciation enhances the growth of EFL learners, employing technological equipment acts as advantageous tools in enhancing pronunciation education, and additional comparison investigations and lectures must be undertaken to establish a correlation between the phonological systems of learners' native language and the target language.

Linguistic Characteristics In The Research Background And Problem Statement In The Doctoral Thesis Of Arabic EFL Students In Malaysia

This study explores the linguistic features within the move structures of the research background and problem statement sections in Chapter One of PhD theses written by Arab students in Malaysia. The analysis focuses on four key language elements: verb tense, modality, voice (active and passive), and personal pronouns. A corpus of 30 theses was analyzed to determine common linguistic patterns, revealing significant insights into the language choices of these academic writers. The study employs concordance and hand-tagged analysis to examine verb tense and voice, with manual verification for modality and personal pronouns to ensure accuracy. Eight distinct verb tenses were identified, with the present simple tense being the most frequently used, representing 55.30% of the total instances. This indicates a preference for focusing on current knowledge and ongoing research. In contrast, the past simple and future simple tenses were used to describe past methodologies and future implications, respectively. Modal auxiliaries play a crucial role in conveying sentiments and opinions. The study identified seven modal verbs, with 'can' being the most commonly used, suggesting a focus on possibility over obligation. The analysis of voice patterns revealed a higher occurrence of active voice (79.66%), especially in moves that conveyed up-to-date knowledge. In contrast, passive voice was more common in methodological descriptions, indicating a focus on the actions or subjects rather than the actors. The study also examined the usage of personal pronouns, finding a higher frequency of third-person pronouns, suggesting a more objective narrative style. These findings offer valuable insights into the linguistic choices of Arab EFL students in academic writing, providing a deeper understanding of their communicative intentions and alignment with academic discourse conventions. The results can guide future research on linguistic patterns in academic writing and help educators support EFL students in improving their writing skills.

Inducting Arab EFL Teachers : What Works and What Doesn't

Inducting Arab EFL Teachers : What Works and What Doesn't

Implementing collaborative pre-task planning with intermediate Arab EFL learners in a blended, task-based environment: A mixed methods study

Pre-task planning (PTP) has received scant attention in L2 writing and task-based research, especially pertaining to its effect on the writing production of intermediate, school L2 learners. This study examines mainly the influence of implementing collaborative PTP on the writing production of Arab EFL learners within blended, task-based environment. Following a mixed methods experimental design, intermediate L2 learners were distributed in planning and no-planning conditions and conducted a pre- and post-test. Students in both groups composed a number of argumentative essays over a 10-week period, which were analyzed for complexity, accuracy, fluency, ideational content, and lexical richness. Results from independent samples t-test and univariant analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated several significant differences between participants' performance on the post-test compared to the pre-test but with differential effects in terms of the five measures. Analyses revealed that PTP didn't promote all the measures simultaneously, but it mainly assisted L2 writers produce enhanced content planning (idea generation, lexis, and argumentation) and resulted in greater fluency and overall improved organization and writing quality. Results of classroom observations supported the statistical results and showed that blended, task-based PTP positively impacted students' writing performance, motivation, self-confidence, and learning independence, and thus created a positive, engaging L2 writing environment. The study results were interpreted through the lens of cognitive processing theories, particularly Skehan's (1998, 2014) Limited Attentional Capacity Model and Robinson's (2001) Cognition Hypothesis, providing support to Robinson's position that PTP led to greater fluency. The use of data and methodological triangulation in this study offers new insights into the role of PTP in the L2 writing process, especially with intermediate, school learners in an authentic classroom setting, and thus contributes to the inconsistent results of previous PTP studies (Ellis, 2021).

Negative Transfer and Delay in Proficiency Development: L1 Influenced Syntax Issues Faced by Arab EFL Learners

Negative Transfer and Delay in Proficiency Development: L1 Influenced Syntax Issues Faced by Arab EFL Learners

Investigating the Influence of Cultural Background Knowledge on Reading Ability among Arabic Speaking EFL Learners in a Saudi College

Investigating the Influence of Cultural Background Knowledge on Reading Ability among Arabic Speaking EFL Learners in a Saudi College

Refusal Strategies by Young Jordanian Speakers in Arabic and English

This study aims to investigate refusal strategies used among Jordanian Arabic speakers and EFL learners of English in Jordan. Two Discourse Completion Tests (DCT), containing scenarios of refusal, were completed by 43 Jordanian Arabic speakers along with 37 EFL learners of English in Jordan. Data analysis reveals three main refusal categories used in the data: direct, indirect and adjuncts to refusals. Jordanian Arabic speakers used 7% direct refusals, 57% indirect refusals, and 36% adjuncts to refusals. In contrast, EFL learners used 13% direct refusals, 62% indirect refusals, and 25% adjuncts to refusals. Additionally, strategies such as insisting, insulting, praising the other, and invoking the name of God were observed. In conclusion, both groups preferred indirect refusal strategies over other types. It was also noted that EFL learners used more direct and indirect refusal strategies than Jordanian Arabic speakers but fewer adjuncts to refusals. Both groups produced similar strategies in response to the four types of situations, indicating that cultural background significantly influenced the way refusals were performed, despite the different languages used.

On Arab EFL learners’ production of words with “-ate”

Abstract Arab EFL learners encounter difficulty stressing English words, particularly those with -ate, e.g. ‘ˈpercolate’, ‘ˈgerminate’, ‘ˈimpregnate’. They often stress the rightmost syllable. However, earlier studies included a limited sample of such items. The present study further explores and verifies these preliminary findings. It aims at revealing any coherent pattern in learners’ word stress strategies and tracing stress strategies associated with the stimuli’s word class or length. Furthermore, it investigates the effect of specific instruction on the production of the stimuli. To estimate the impact of training in stress placement on subjects’ accurate stress production, the subjects were enrolled in a nine-hour stress-training course that extended over three weeks. Ninety infrequent words ending in -ate were used in pretest and posttest pronunciation tasks with 102 third- and fourth-year Jordanian English majors. They had problems accurately producing the stimuli and tended to place stress on the ultimate syllables. Stress was often assigned to the right syllable as the subjects were prolonging the last vowel, i.e. the -ate syllable, and accentuating it in most stimuli. No significant association existed between the subjects’ performance and word length or word classes of the stimuli. The posttest scores far exceeded the pretests, proving explicit instruction’s benefits.

Exploring Arab EFL Learners' Attitudes: Is Grammarly a Game-Changer in Academic Writing Classes?

Unquestionably, writing is a crucial productive skill in language learning, for which students require ongoing advice to improve. In this study, the researchers analyze Arab students’ attitudes toward Grammarly deployment in the EFL academic writing skills classes. This study used a descriptive approach, surveying (50) and interviewing (10) EFL academic writing students from the English Department at a university. A survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were utilized in this study. The study findings reveal that students perceive Grammarly as a valuable tool for improving various aspects of their academic writing. In addition, the content analysis of the semi-structured interviews identified challenges encountered by students during deployment, such as issues with device compatibility and overreliance on Grammarly suggestions regarding vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, among others. This study also makes pedagogical recommendations for further investigations into Grammarly's efficiency and students' attitudes toward this AI tool.

Using Social Networking Tools for Teaching the English Directive Speech Act of Command to Undergraduate Arab EFL Learners

This study investigates the effectiveness of using social networking tools for teaching the speech act of command to undergraduate Arab EFL learners. Employing an experimental pre-test post-test design, the research involved 40 students distributed across four groups: two experimental groups utilizing social networking tools for direct and indirect command instruction, and two control groups receiving traditional teaching methods. Over a three-week period, the speech act of command was taught to the four groups either through WhatsApp groups or conventional classroom instruction. A discourse completion task was used to assess participants' pragmatic competence before and after the intervention. Results of ANOVA tests showed a significant difference in post-test scores, with the experimental groups outperforming the control groups. Remarkably, among the experimental groups, those exposed to indirect command instruction exhibited the highest mean score. This suggests that social networking tools can positively impact learning outcomes for teaching speech acts like command. The study highlights the value of incorporating innovative technological approaches that align with the evolving communicative needs and preferences of contemporary learners.

Factors Influencing Arab EFL Learners’ Communication Skills: Literature Review

Research in foreign language learning has indicated that the majority of Arab EFL learners face several problems in communication. Therefore, this study aims at reviewing the literature to identify the factors influencing Arab students’ communication skills. The study navigated through the literature and found several factors influencing students’ communication skills. The review results classified the factors influencing Arab students’ communication skills into cultural, educational, cognitive, and psychological. The study sums up by providing some pedagogical suggestions for teachers and policymakers.

EFFECTS OF EFL VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION ON ARAB LEARNERS’ USAGE OF LEXICAL COLLOCATIONS IN SPEAKING PERFORMANCE

For many decades, the role of the learner's mother tongue in foreign and second language classrooms has been a topic of debate. EFL teachers may present and explain vocabulary in student’s native language, they may do so in the target language, or they may keep switching between the two. The aim of the current study is to investigate how EFL vocabulary instruction affects EFL Arab learners' usage of English lexical collocations in their speaking performance through implementing several working memory strategies. A quasi-experimental, mixed method design was adopted comparing teacher code-switching and L2 explanations in teaching lexical collocations. Within twenty-six sessions of teaching intervention to teach lexical collocations to EFL learners, the study measured learners' responses to vocabulary instruction in the two experimental groups. The study also explored how working memory strategies used by learners in response to vocabulary instruction may enhance learning lexical collocations by EFL learners. For this purpose, 45 Arab elementary EFL learners in the English language centre in Kuala Lumpur were divided into three groups (code-switching, L2 explanation group, and control group); they completed three speaking tests, pre, and post-test and delayed post-test. The results indicated that both the code-switching group and the L2 explanation group were improving their vocabulary; however, the study showed an important role of L1 in learning lexical collocation. The findings revealed that working memory strategies assisted learners to retain collocations effectively. The study included several pedagogical suggestions and implications for future research to improve the standard for teaching, learning, and retention of lexical collocations in speaking performance.

English-Arabic Translation of Humour: Challenges and Strategies

This research aims to investigate the challenges that native Arabic-speaking EFL learners face in rendering the equivalent meaning of humorous excerpts selected from Plum Pie (1966), a collection of short stories by English humourist P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975). The researchers examined the translation strategies used by a sample of 16 senior Arabic-speaking BA and MA students specialising in English and translation at the University of Sharjah, to solve the problems that they encountered in the translation process. The findings indicated that the participants encountered lexical, semantic, grammatical and syntactic problems in the process of translation. The findings showed that the participants used 10 main strategies to translate the excerpts, with literal translation being the most frequently employed. The findings also revealed several mistranslations or errors, which have been classified as lexical errors, grammatical errors, mistranslations of cultural references or items, and inappropriate use of certain translation strategies. These results led us to conclude that some translation strategies (e.g. the use of literal translation instead of idiomatic, and vice versa) were unsuitable and reflected a need for improvement of linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language, which is essential for enabling Arab EFL learners to translate humorous literary texts.

The Role of Automated Corrective Feedback in Improving EFL Learners' Mastery of the Writing Aspects

Purpose. Automated Corrective Feedback (ACF) is one of the techniques used in EFL writing instruction and assessment. This technique has been widely employed to improve students’ writing skills over the last few decades. Adopting a mixed-method design with data triangulation, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of utilizing WRITER, one of the ACF software, on critical writing aspects including use and mechanics, vocabulary, structural organization, and content.
 Methods and procedure. A pre-post quasi-experimental research design was arranged to collect data from 44 Arab EFL learners assigned to four groups: two peer and self-editing control groups and two automated peer and self-editing experimental groups. While the two control groups were required to perform conventional self- or peer-editing tasks, the two experimental groups used WRITER, an ACF software, to edit both their own essays and those written by peers. Statistical analysis was run to examine differences in the writing aspects across the groups.
 Findings. The analysisиindicated significant differences among these four groups. Students involved in the peer-editing experimental group outperformed all groups on mechanics and structural organization. In addition, the self-editing experimental group did better than other groups in improving their vocabulary. Nonetheless, students in the self-editing control group, who did not utilize any type of ACF to improve their writing, performed better than all other groups in terms of the content aspect. Overall results revealed that ACF could increase the productivity of class time; provide valuable feedback on grammar, word choice, structural organization, use and mechanics and enhance students’ self-confidence in their compositions. These results suggest that ACF has a significant effect on EFL writing and can be an effective tool for improving writing skills. 
 Conclusions. This study examined the impact of ACF of WRITER, a type of computer-assisted language learning tool, on enhancing EFL learners’ knowledge of the writing aspects. The findings of the study have some practical implications in the EFL writing classroom, as they inspire educators to incorporate ACF in self- and peer-editing activities and help their students improve language competency.

Accuracy Order of the Acquisition of the English Article System: Evidence from the Written and Oral Production of Undergraduate Arab EFL Learners

The present study investigates the accuracy order and underlying processes of acquiring English articles by 45 undergraduate Arab EFL learners drawn from three proficiency groups. The theoretical approach adopted here is Bickerton's (1981) semantic model that focuses on the features ±Specific Referent(±SR) and ±Assumed Known to the Hearer (±HK). The study aims to identify what the three measures, SOC (Supplied in Obligatory Contexts), TLU (Target-Like Use), and UOC (Used in Obligatory Contexts), reveal about the accuracy order of the acquisition of English articles in the written and oral production tasks. It also seeks to determine the semantic contexts in which the articles are overgeneralized and the most challenging context to acquire. The results show that the SOC measure reveals an accuracy order of a >the >Ø and the >a >Ø, whereas the TLU measure reveals an accuracy order of the>a>Ø across the groups. In addition, the UOC measure reveals that Ø goes through a flooding-then-trickling process, then experiences a U-shaped behavior highlighted by an overgeneralization stage, and follows the by undergoing a U-shaped development. Furthermore, the learners have difficulty distinguishing [±HK] and [±Countability]. The accuracy comparison in article use showed that [+SR, −HK] and [−SR, +HK] were the most challenging contexts to acquire.

Motivation to Speak English Language among Arab EFL Students at Jerash University, Jordan

The current study seeks to investigate students’ level of motivation to speak in English among Jordanian EFL undergraduate in Jerash University, Jordan. The paper is important in finding out students’ level of motivation to speak English and finding ways to enhance their speaking. Study sample consists of 351 students and five lecturers. The questionnaire adopted from Gardner (1985) with 32 items to determine students’ level of motivation. 35 students and 5 lecturers sat for interviews. The results show that 86.1% of respondents have low level of motivation to speak English and do not perceive themselves to be motivated to speak. Qualitative results suggested having collaboration between lecturers, students and their parents as all of them share the responsibility to change the approach of teaching from teacher-centered to student-centered approaches. Future researchers are encouraged to use methods in investigating students’ level of motivation such as learning diary in order to gather more accurate data.

Error Analysis in Second Language Acquisition (SLA): Types and Frequencies of Grammatical Errors of Simple Present and Past Tense in the Elicited Written Production Task of Arab EFL Undergraduate Learners

This investigation aimed to examine the types and frequencies of grammatical errors of present and past tense and agreement in the elicited written production task (EWPT) of Arab EFL learners. The sample of the study comprised 67 Arab EFL undergraduates selected through a simple random sampling method and subdivided into three proficiency levels. The data collection instrument was the EWPT, which consisted of two passages and a total of 46 test items. The EWPT was collected and the errors committed by the students were identified, classified, and analyzed in frequencies. Then, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21. The findings demonstrated two basic types of grammatical errors: error of misformation (EM) and error of omission (EO). Overall results revealed that incorrect use of inflectional morphemes was higher for the EM than for the EO of inflectional morphemes across the three groups of participants. The ungrammatical EM is characterized by the use of incorrect forms, including misusing phonologically similar words, incorrect suffixation, substitution, as well as overgeneralization of be verb forms. Based on these findings, some recommendations and pedagogical implications were proposed, which might assist EFL teachers in developing feasible teaching propositions and policies.

The interplay of critical language pedagogy and young Arabic EFL learners

This paper is based on the first author’s experience of experimenting with critical language pedagogy (CLP) when she was teaching in the UAE. While prior research focuses mainly on the theoretical aspects of CLP, empirical studies on the effectiveness of implementing critical approaches and developing related teaching materials in Arab EFL contexts with young learners are underrepresented. Informed by Paulo Freire’s formulation of ‘culture circles’, this case study reports on the problem-posing literacy practice in a class of Grade 4 female Arabic students in an Abu Dhabi government school—a sample unique to both CLP and case study research. Results indicate EFL learners’ increased capacity for problem posing and motivation for writing, metacognition, and application of prior knowledge during the pre-writing discussion. Findings of this study add evidence-based, practical dimensions to existing critical research, paving the way for like-minded language educators to trial CLP with young learners.

Jordanian EFL Students' Perception of Noncontrastive Allophonic Cues in English Speech Segmentation.

The prominent role of allophonic cues in English speech segmentation has widely been recognized by phonologists and psycholinguists. However, very meager inquiry was devoted to analysing the perception of these noncontrastive allophonic cues by Arab EFL learners. Accordingly, the present study is an attempt to examine the exploitation of allophonic cues, mainly aspiration, glottalization and approximant devoicing to English word junctures by 40 Jordanian PhD students. Moreover, it aims to find out which allophonic cues are perceived more accurately during the segmentation process and if there is any evidence for Universal Grammar markedness. The experiment is led through a forced-choice identification task adopted from Altenberg (Second Lang Res 21:325-358, 2005) and Rojczyk et al. (Res Lang 1:15-29, 2016). The results of ANOVA unveiled that there is a statistically significant difference between the three types of allophonic cues, viz. aspiration, glottalization and approximant devoicing. This implies that the participants outperformed in stimuli marked by glottalization than by aspiration and approximant devoicing. This result provided further evidence for the universality of glottalization as a boundary cue in English speech segmentation. Overall, the Jordanian PhD students failed in perceiving the allophonic cues accurately and exploiting them to detect word boundaries. The present inquiry has the potential to provide several recommendations for syllabus designers, and second/foreign language teachers and learners.

The Acquisition of the English Spatial Prepositions: in, on, and at by Saudi EFL Students

This study investigates the acquisition of the three English spatial prepositions: ‘in’, ‘on’, and ‘at’ by 100 Saudi EFL students within the framework of the Markedness Theory. From the markedness point of view, marked/infrequent structures are more difficult in acquisition compared to their corresponding unmarked/frequent structures. English and Arabic differ in the way they express the semantic relations of these prepositions. This is assumed to pose difficulties in learning for EFL students where learners compare the English prepositional system to that of Arabic and resort to literal translation; thus, L1 transfer takes place. The study aims to provide insight into the challenges that Arab EFL learners encounter when learning English and to fill a gap in the literature of second language acquisition regarding the acquisition of prepositions by Arab EFL learners when semantic asymmetries are attested. Results show that the unmarked preposition ‘in’ is learned easily because its Arabic equivalent ‘fi’ covers more functions in the native language. As for the prepositions ‘on’ and ‘at’, results show that participants are struggling to learn them because only a few meanings correspond between ‘on’ and its Arabic equivalent ‘ʕala’, and that Arabic lacks an equivalent for ‘at’.