Preparatory Year Research Articles

Unlocking the Potential: Attitudes of Tertiary Level EFL Learners Towards Using AI in Language Learning

In the current era of rapid change in which AI has become inevitable in foreign language education as in many aspects of life, this study, which aims to examine EFL learners’ attitudes towards AI and to analyse its future potential, was conducted with the participation of 772 English preparatory year students studying at A2, B1, and B2 levels in the schools of foreign languages of a state and a private (foundation) university in Türkiye. The data for the study were collected online through an attitude scale (MALL:AI) and an open-ended survey question. Quantitative results revealed that the participants had moderate attitudes towards the use of AI in EFL learning, with no clear tendency towards positive attitudes. While university type and gender were not found to be significant determinants of attitudes, engineering and natural sciences students showed more positive attitudes towards AI in EFL learning than those in the humanities and social sciences. In terms of proficiency level, A2 level participants reflected lower attitudes in the behavioural factor than B1 and B2 levels. Qualitatively, it was found that students had overwhelmingly positive perspectives on the use of AI, shared some negative approaches with reservations, and offered concrete suggestions for the integration of AI into ELT. With its intriguing findings, the present study sheds light on further studies and paves the way for educational administrators and EFL instructors to better make use of AI in language education.

Saudi EFL Students’ Perception of the Quality of Teacher-Student Relationships and the Factors that Impact Their Self-Efficacy Beliefs

This study aimed to explore the perceptions of English as Foreign Language (EFL) students in the Preparatory Year Program (PYP) at a Saudi university about emotional quality of teacher-student relationships and the factors that impact their self-efficacy beliefs in EFL classrooms. To accomplish this, an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was implemented. Starting with a quantitative approach a questionnaire was distributed to 340 EFL students followed by a qualitative approach in terms of 8 semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the students’ perceptions. The quantitative data were analyzed statistically using SPSS and the transcribed interviews were coded manually after which a thematic analysis was used to extract the emerging themes. The results demonstrated that students have a positive relationship with their teachers in EFL classrooms and they view their English language teachers as reassuring, reliable, and trustworthy. Students also believe that their relationship with their teachers influences both their academic and personal growth. Finally, the outcomes of this study also showed that students believe that relationship with their significant others, teachers- peers- family members, and outcome expectancy impact their self-efficacy greatly in EFL classrooms. This research provides insight into the emotional quality of teacher-student relationships and students’ self-efficacy in EFL classes, and the findings provide insights that can inform teaching strategies, curriculum development, organizations, and learner support systems.

Challenges of EFL Course Retaking: Toward a Model for Remedial Reading

Course retaking brings pivotal challenges for learning institutions all over the world. This urges many academicians to investigate the reasons why students retake courses. Therefore, this article identifies the micro and macro challenges associated with retaking a reading course. It also generates a remedial reading model for English as foreign language (EFL) contexts. Data was collected from reading course specifications, course report, and focused group discussions with six experienced language instructors at the preparatory year program of a Saudi university. Using grounded theory, the qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed a complex web of challenges associated with different stakeholders: the course retakers, language instructors, administration, and retakers’ families; all of them share the challenge of time constraints, especially after the shift from two to three semesters. At the micro level, course retakers struggle with poor foundational skills and demotivation, focusing on passing exams. They also lack exposure to English and seldom invest office hours for help. Language instructors struggle with learning materials, demotivation, and assessment. At the macro level, students’ families contribute to maximize these challenges. A gap exists between the intended learning outcomes and student levels and admission criteria. These challenges collectively hinder course retakers’ reading skills. The study generates a five-pillar bridging model that integrates learning outcomes, exam-oriented teaching strategies, simplified reading materials, technology-assisted reading, and motivational strategies to foster EFL remedial reading. The study recommends some pedagogical implications for remedial reading classes.

Exploring The Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Second Language Writing Anxiety Among Saudi EFL Students: A Correlational Study

Students face many difficulties in writing in a second language. Writing anxiety is considered one of the factors that affect students’ writing proficiency. The current study focused on exploring the relationship between writing anxiety and students’ self-efficacy. This study investigated the relationship between writing anxiety and self-efficacy among preparatory-year students at Majmaah University. The study followed a quantitative research design where data were collected through two questionnaires: Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) by Cheng (2004b) and Erkan and Saban’s self-efficacy scale (2011) 99 EFL Preparatory Year students participated in this study. Participants were provided with the questionnaire at the end of the first semester of 2023, and they were randomly selected. The findings of the study showed that the level of self-efficacy among preparatory-year students was moderate, while the level of writing anxiety among students was moderate. Correlation analysis revealed that there’s a moderate negative relationship between writing anxiety and self-efficacy.

An investigation into the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination among undergraduate medical students (A prospective cross-sectional KAP survey)

Introduction: The most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide is the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. It is believed that over 80% of sexually active women have contracted the virus at some point in their lives. About 11 million women in Saudi Arabia who are aged 15 to 44 years are at risk of having HPV-related cervical cancer. Aim: To assess the awareness and knowledge of undergraduate medical students (males and females) about the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination and to pinpoint the major factors influencing their attitudes towards it. Subjects and methods: A prospective, cross-sectional online survey included 411 undergraduate medical students (males and females) across different grades during three months, from January 1st to March 31st, 2024, at the Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. We statistically analyzed the collected data using Microsoft Office®, Excel® 2016, and IBM's Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS®) version 26.0. IBM is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Results: The majority of participating students were of young age, 20–25 years old (233, 56.69%), female (393, 95.62%), and of Saudi nationality (260, 63.26%). The most common recruited students were from the preparatory year (124, 30.17%), while the fewest were from the M6 grade (6, 1.46%). We implemented "Kamel's scoring system for students' awareness", which yielded the following scores: not acceptable (124, 30.17%), fairly acceptable (101, 24.57%), moderately acceptable (95, 23.11%), acceptable (71, 17.27%), and highly acceptable (20, 4.87%). Next, we implemented "Kamel's scoring system for students' knowledge", which yielded the following scores: very low (130, 31.63%), low (110, 26.76%), moderate (90, 21.90%), high (50, 12.17%), and very high (31, 7.54%). We implemented "Kamel's scoring system for students' attitude" to assess the students' attitude towards HPV vaccine utilization. We interpreted the calculated scores as inadequate or poor (136, 33.09%), reasonable or fair (100, 24.33%), sufficient or good (80, 19.46%), remarkable or very good (70, 17.03%), and outstanding or excellent (25, 6.08%). results were of statistical significance (the P-value is <0.00001). Conclusion: The estimated degree of awareness and knowledge about the HPV vaccination among undergraduate medical students at the Batterjee Medical College (BMC) was poor. This results in low motivation and utilization of the available vaccine.

Self‐regulation and self‐efficacy of EFL learners in hybrid educational settings in Türkiye

AbstractDistance learning, online learning and hybrid learning models have been a part of language education for a long time. The adoption of these models and research focusing on related phenomena have become even more frequent since the breakout of the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2019. This mixed‐method study examines the relationship between online learning self‐efficacy and online self‐regulation of preparatory class English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners to provide a picture of the learners' perspective regarding the online segment of the hybrid education system that was in effect during the mentioned era, to provide deeper insights regarding learner perceptions during such times of emergency. Turkish adaptations of the Online‐Learning Self‐Efficacy Scale and Online Self‐regulated Learning Questionnaire were utilized as data collection instruments. To validate and expand the content of quantitative findings, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with a selected group of participants. The findings reveal that preparatory year Turkish EFL learners perceive themselves to be self‐efficacious and self‐regulated at a satisfactory level in online learning environments. The study provides insight into the learners' perceptions during this period and contributes to filling a significant gap within the field as well as offering new perspectives in case we face similar conditions in the future.

A Study of English Language Learning Anxiety and Teaching Strategies: The Context of Saudi Arabia

This study aims to explore learning anxiety related to the English language and review specific coping strategies to develop and propose certain teaching strategies for the students in the preparatory year at the English Language Institute (ELI) studying at the University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This study also looks into the most dominating causes of Anxiety encountered by students and perceived by experienced English instructors in Saudi Arabia. The research questions are: What are the factors affecting the level of Anxiety among the target learners, and how can teachers cope with them to a great extent? An interview schedule was utilized for teachers to address the research questions. In addition, Self-rating questionnaires adapted and modified from the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), which Horwitz and Cope (1986) developed, were used as the instruments of the study. Based on the mixed method of analysis, it is revealed that a lot of students faced considerable levels of English language learning anxiety, corresponding to the fear of negative feedback/response and evaluation by many stakeholders. Appropriate coping strategies can accordingly be suggested to make teaching fruitful.

Investigating EFL Students’ Perspectives of the Influence of Podcasts on Enhancing Listening Proficiency

Listening is widely regarded as the predominant language proficiency utilized in virtually all forms of communication. However, its intricacies often engender feelings of complexity and, at times, provoke anxiety and frustration among both foreign and second-language learners. The enhancement of successful communication fundamentally hinges upon the precise comprehension of spoken messages. In this quantitative investigation, the present study delves into the perceptions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students concerning the utilization of podcasts as a tool to cultivate and bolster their listening proficiency. The study cohort comprised female university students enrolled in a preparatory year program. The examination of attitudes toward podcasts was conducted via a survey questionnaire. The findings unveiled that most participants derived enjoyment from utilizing podcasts, which in turn catalyzed their enthusiasm for English language acquisition. Additionally, they conceded that podcasts held promise in augmenting their linguistic abilities, with a primary focus on listening comprehension. These outcomes posit that podcasting serves as a medium with significant implications for students’ learning trajectories, particularly regarding the acquisition of listening proficiencies.

Reasons for academic cheating in a cohort of nursing students in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.

This cross-sectional study investigated the reasons behind academic cheating in a cohort of nursing students in Saudi Arabia. The study involved 482 nursing students from two government universities in Riyadh. We used a newly developed self-reported questionnaire called the Reasons for Cheating Scale (RCS) to collect data. The highest-scoring reasons for academic cheating in the study population included the desire to obtain high grades, encouragement from friends to cheat, and the perception that exams were too difficult. Male students scored significantly higher than female students for reasons such as not understanding the course material, unclear test questions and instructions, pressure from families to excel, difficulty of the course material, and ignorance of effective study methods (P < 0.05). Age also had a role, as students aged 15-20 years had significantly higher scores for the item "Exams are too hard", whereas those aged ≥25 years had higher scores for "Difficulty of the course material" (P < 0.05). Additionally, students in the preparatory year had significantly higher scores than those in other years for reasons such as difficult exams, unclear test questions and instructions, fear of failing, difficulty of the course material, and the desire to please their families (P < 0.05). Overall, the desire to obtain high grades emerged as the main reason for academic cheating in our cohort of nursing students in Saudi Arabia. The findings suggest that sociodemographic characteristics, including sex, age, and academic year, should be considered when addressing the issue of cheating among nursing students.

An Investigation Into EFL Learners’ Electronic Feedback Practices During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Support and Challenges

Previous research has suggested that e-feedback mechanisms are widely misunderstood, difficult to perform efficiently, and often need to fulfill expectations to affect student performance substantially (Carless &amp; Boud, 2018). To better understand EFL learners’ e-feedback practices, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive picture of EFL learners’ e-feedback practices throughout the pandemic in the general preparatory year college at Majmaah University. This paper employed a quantitative method. More specifically, this study reports student responses to the e-questionnaire, which investigated the impact of e-feedback on students’ academic performance and the challenges these EFL learners face typically caused by e-feedback practices. The findings suggest that the EFL students received considerable technical support from the university through Blackboard training sessions. Also, they had instructors’ support regarding immediate, timely, and detailed e-feedback on all tasks, quizzes, and tests via various electronic tools. The study revealed the most important factors affecting students’ performance, such as engaging in discussions, comprehending feedback, utilizing e-feedback, aligning e-feedback with learning goals, using the instructor’s expertise in delivering suitable feedback, and employing effective learning strategies. Furthermore, the data showed that the students have the following challenges: difficulties logging into the Blackboard platform regularly due to network issues, needing to be informed about the importance of e-feedback, and lack of motivation to use e-feedback.

ESOL Student’s Portfolio Writing Practice: Studying Corrective Feedback With Formative Assessment to Enhance L2 Outcomes in Saudi Arabia

Corrective Feedback with Formative Assessment (CFFA) could be a vital component in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). It is a coherent approach to enhance ESOL students' writing skills. The aim of this study is to analyze heterogenous outlines, quantitative congeniality, and the effectiveness of WF (Written Feedback) with one-on-one corrections. The EFL writing portfolios include the CFP (Corrective Feedback Planning), WFD (Writing the First Draft), and EFD (Evaluating and Improving the First Draft). It also includes using the CFFA to teach EFL skills based on various modules of authentic ESOL course material selected for teaching at the lower-to-elementary levels of ESOL learning students. The quantitative data from simultaneous questionnaires affirmed the efficacy and relevance of CFFA with the students' composition of descriptive and expository texts within the Preparatory Year English writing courses at three different campuses of a university in Saudi Arabia. 351 students from various groups and individual instructors in charge of the RW (Reading and Writing) courses responded to correlated questionnaires, and task outlines were collected for stylistic analysis. Besides being an effective teaching practice, CFFA involves an informal instructor-student exchange and written remarks. Although not summative, they aim to enhance students' writing skills. The students merely perceived their errors as part of the recurrent practice required in the elaborate but formulaic methodology of the instructional techniques of EFL writing. In turn, the absence of summative grading reduced student anxiety. The results demonstrated that the well-defined written CFFA aligns with students' levels and course objectives.

Jerusalemite Students: Challenges in Israeli-Occupied Higher Education Institutions

An educational system has the potential to uplift occupied societies, yet it can also serve as a “soft” weapon prolonging ignorance, particularly when under the control of an occupying force catering to a minority, as seen in Jerusalem. This study aimed to explore the challenges and discriminatory practices encountered by Palestinian students from Jerusalem as a minority within Israeli-occupied higher education institutions. Utilising a descriptive design, qualitative data were obtained by surveying the experiences of 23 Jerusalemite students studying in Israeli colleges through online open-ended questions. The gathered data underwent content analysis, revealing themes that were grouped into challenges and types of apartheid acts faced by the participating students. The findings exposed numerous challenges, including cultural, academic, political, and financial hurdles, along with issues related to enrolment policies, acceptance examinations, the preparatory year, and facility provisions. Additionally, the study revealed various discriminatory acts experienced by Palestinian Jerusalemite students within Israeli higher education.

Aspecte privind predarea limbii române ca limbă străină studenților care provin din zone de conflict

This article deals with the analysis and interpretation of some aspects on teaching Romanian to students coming from conflict zones. The applications will be based on the author’s experience at the so-called Preparatory Year organized by the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bucharest. The main objective of this article is, on the one hand, to provide instructors of Romanian as a foreign language with a new approach, and, on the other hand, with reinterpreted methods already existing in the didactics and pedagogy of foreign language teaching, so that the teaching process be as efficient as possible, and the linguistic and cultural integration of these students coming from conflict zones be as natural as possible. At the same time, we admit and reaffirm that the learning-teaching process involves permanent adjusting and readjusting to certain realities that go beyond the classroom, and latest pedagogies from a certain point in time can become inapplicable and noncompliant with the reality at a really fast pace.

Dropping/Withdrawing Semesters among Preparatory Year Engineering Students at King Abdulaziz University, KSA

Dropping/drawing semesters in all academic institutions and the faculty of engineering in KAU/KSA becomes a very common phenomenon recently. This issue threatens time to graduation and delay students plans to finish and get jobs and start their life after graduation successfully. To study this phenomenon, the researchers chose all preparatory year engineering university students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a population and 100 students from the faculty of engineering at King Abdulaziz University as a sample. This study investigates the reasons behind dropping/withdrawing semesters. To this end the researcher designed a sixteen-item questionnaire and distributed it to the preparatory engineering students at KAU. The findings of the study revealed different reasons behind dropping/withdrawing semesters. These reasons fall under three categories: academic, managerial, and social. According to the respondents, the social reasons were the most influential compared to other reasons. The study recommends that the university reconsiders some polices to make the students’ university life enjoying and more relaxing.

The Relationship between Group Dynamics and Learners’ Willingness to Communicate amongst Female EFL Students in a Saudi University

The willingness to communicate (WTC) is of significant importance to the development of communication in second language learning. The present study investigated the relationship between group dynamics (GD) and learners’ WTC. A mixed-methods approach involving a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews was utilized to collect data. The participants were 256 female preparatory year students from the science track at a public university in Saudi Arabia. Eight of these students also participated in the interviews. The findings revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between learners’ perceived WTC and GD. Moreover, the perceived WTC of learners from level 1 was significantly different from that of learners from levels 2 and 3. The qualitative analysis revealed a set of GD factors that influence the participants’ WTC. These factors were organized into three main themes that included nine subthemes. These themes are classmates-related factors, classroom environment factors, and teacher-related factors. The study also suggested some potential implications that can increase GD, which can contribute to enhancing learners’ WTC.

Vocabulary learning strategies of university students: The case of preparatory year students and English major students

Vocabulary-learning strategies play an important role in English language learning and acquisition. This study investigates the vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) that university students use while they learn new words. It is an attempt to figure out whether VLSs differ across university levels. A 5-Likert scale vocabulary learning strategies-questionnaire and a semi-structured interview administered to 82 university learners (namely, 52 first-year English major male (EFL), and 32 Preparatory Year Deanship learners (PYD)). The results showed that EFL learners and PYD learners approximately share the same number of VLSs, yet the frequent use of their strategies is different. While EFL learners mostly use metacognitive strategies in learning new words, PYD learners use determination strategies most frequently. The results indicated that enrichment of the mental lexicon and autonomy in language learning are the main reasons for using some VLSs. Besides, the main reason for not using some VLSs is the unfamiliarity with those VLSs.

“Till we meet again!”: The Synchronous Hybrid Teaching of English in Saudi Arabia

This study explores the perceptions of Preparatory Year (PY) students and teachers at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University regarding synchronous hybrid teaching. It also highlights the effectiveness of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) within the two modes of the hybrid system (i.e., face-to-face and online). The study employed a triangulation of instruments, including a survey, an interview and three focus groups (FGs). The findings show that each mode has its characteristics. While the students viewed hybrid teaching positively in terms of its logistics, finding it convenient and time-saving. However, they believed high-quality education could be better achieved in person as they understood and enjoyed face-to-face classes more than online learning. They also preferred the online mode for receptive skills and face-to-face interaction for productive skills. On the other hand, teachers found hybrid teaching challenging regarding technical issues and managing two groups (remote and in class) simultaneously. They expressed various views regarding the preferred mode of teaching English skills; some wished to abandon hybrid classes and teach all the skills in face-to-face mode. During the pandemic, hybrid teaching may have been the best option to continue teaching English effectively. However, after the pandemic, this method should be retained as a backup plan to reach students with disabilities and enrich advanced learners of English.

Integrating Basic Sciences and Clinical Practice: A Cross-Sectional Study of UQUMED's Medical Education Approach

Introduction. Since the early 20th century, medical education has evolved, notably with the Flexner report emphasizing the fusion of foundational sciences and clinical reasoning. As the field grew, educators adeptly incorporated new sciences and technologies, ensuring curriculum balance and depth.&#x0D; Aim. This research aimed to explore the role of basic sciences in contemporary medical education, focusing on their integration with clinical practice.&#x0D; Methods. An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was implemented at Umm Al Qura University, College of Medicine, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, from March to June 2023. This study involved surveying 470 medical students, from a total campus population of 1,360 students (excluding preparatory year), using a pre-tested and structured self-administered questionnaire. All questions in the survey were formatted to elicit dichotomous responses, namely “yes” or “no”, and the collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.&#x0D; Results. The study discovered that while a high percentage of medical students (96.6% in earlier years to 94% in senior years) recognized the importance of basic sciences in the MBBS curriculum, there was a noticeable decline in this belief as students advanced through their clinical years. Similarly, the perception of the utility of foundational knowledge of basic sciences for understanding clinical subjects decreased slightly from 93% in earlier years to 85% in senior years. About 92.7% of students across all years believed a strong understanding of basic sciences was crucial for clinical proficiency. However, the perceived benefit of suggested readings/textbooks declined from 82% in earlier years to 77% in senior years. Feedback on curriculum enhancements showed robust support for more engaging teaching methods, with over 90% favoring the incorporation of multimedia tools and group-based sessions.&#x0D; Conclusions. Our findings underscore the foundational role of basic sciences in medical education for clinical competency, highlighting a gradual shift in student perceptions as they progress through their training. This shift signals the necessity for adaptive teaching strategies that effectively integrate basic sciences with clinical practice to maintain relevance and efficacy in medical curricula.

Influence of Perceived Academic related Stress on Academic Performance of Medical Students - A Cross Sectional Study

Background and Aims: Stress among medical students across the globe is a common phenomenon, they have been found to be at serious risk of mental stress and disorders with diminished life satisfaction. The present study was carried out with the objective to assess the academic stress in medical school along with it’s correlation and impact on academic performance. Methods: This study was carried out among the male and female students of College of Medicine and preparatory year, Majmaah University. The participants were selected by simple random sampling. The participants were asked to fill Perceived Mean Stress Score (PMSS) questionnaire and the data was analyzed by using SPSS version 25. The Mean and standard deviation for each response for PMSS was calculated. Appropriate statistical tests like ANOVA &amp; multi variable logistic regression were applied to assess the impact of academic stress on their performance. Results: 242 students participated in the study out of which there were 153 males and 89 females. Male and female students were tested for difference in Perceived Mean Stress Score for all 13 domains It was noted that the Overall a higher average PMSS scores were noticed with advancing courses and also the students developed more anxiety and depression in higher grades which was reflected on their Grade Point Average (GPA) scores. Conclusions: High mean scores for stress and anxiety necessitate early identification especially in initial years of medical school and integration of preventive mental health services in routine clinical services for medical students.

Turkish adaptation of motivation scale for instructional podcast material

The study aims to adapt the Instructional Podcast Material Motivation Scale developed by Asoodar et al. (2014) into Turkish. The study group consists of Cag University Preparatory Year students. The original scale is in English and is a five- point Likert-type tool consisting of a total of 36 items in four dimensions. For the adaptation study, language validity was ensured. The findings obtained from the CFA regarding the construct validity of the scale support the four-factor structure in the original study. As a result of the analysis, the scale consists of 31 items and 4 sub-dimensions. The sub-dimensions of the scale are Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficients for the whole scale (.95) and the sub-dimensions of Attention (.78), Interest (.91), Confidence (.75), and Satisfaction (.93) are high. The results of the analysis show that the scale is valid and reliable in determining students' motivation levels for podcast material.