Saudi EFL Learners Research Articles

The Impact of Online Communication on Learning English: A Case Study of Saudi EFL Learners

This study examined the perceptions and views of Saudi undergraduate EFL learners regarding the role of online communication in improving their English, including the basic skills and the other aspects of language learning. It also aimed to identify the impact of some factors on the learners' perceptions on the role of online communication in developing their English level. This study is quantitatively designed in which a written questionnaire was used to collect the data of the study during the first semester of the academic year 2015-2016 from 171 randomly selected students who joined different levels in English Department, College of Sciences and Arts, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia. For analyzing the data of the study, different statistical techniques in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), 21.0 version were ran. The results indicated that the students had high positive perceptions of the significant role of online communication in fostering their English. Furthermore, it was found that there were statistically significant differences in the online communication scores for the factors of foreign friendship, university level, and the frequent use of the Internet. On the contrary, the results revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the online communication scores for the other two factors of age and the frequent use of English online. Students are invited more than ever before to grasp every online chance for developing their English. In particular, they are required to employ online communication not only for socialization purposes, but for using it as an educational tool as well.

A Case Study of Question Formations of the Saudi EFL Learners at Bisha University

<p>This paper has studied the question formation techniques used by the Saudi students at Bisha University. It addresses the problems faced by the students in forming questions in English. The study has identified that a large number of the students suffer from the lack of proper grammar rules in forming various types of interrogative sentences and also from the intense mother tongue interferences. The research has attempted to discover the degree of the students’ difficultness/difficulties in forming questions and analyses the various types of their problems. The paper has also correlated the problems in the area, and the syllabus, the materials, tasks, and methodology prescribed. To achieve this objective, a questionnaire based survey has been used as a research tool to obtain data from both the girls’ and boys’ colleges of the University of Bisha. The survey comprised students’ questionnaire and the tests based on Wh- questions and yes-no question formations in English. The survey has identified that most of the students had problems in forming interrogative sentences due to the mother tongue interferences. The study has also highlighted a few major problems, for instances, the syllabus is indifferent to the needs of the students, and not enough emphasis is done specifically on the English question formation aspect of the grammar. The author concluded the study with the hope that the educationalists and other stakeholders realize that no course is fruitful unless: 1). It is interesting, 2). It effects a progressive change in the ability level of the learners, and 3). It helps the students to use their potentiality to the optimum level.</p>

The Impact of Task-Based Instruction on Developing Saudi University EFL Students' Englush Speaking Skills

Speaking is considered one of the most important language skills that needs to be developed and mastered by language learners. However, mastering this language skill does not go so easily with the EFL learners. Many SL and EFL students think of speaking as the most difficult skill to attain since it requires first and foremost a great deal of practice and exposure also. To overcome this problem, teachers should seek a new approach which provides learners with opportunities to improve their speaking skills. One of the highly recommended approaches is task-based language teaching which provides learners with real life contexts to practice speaking English with their classmates. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of using task-based instruction on developing Saudi EFL students’ speaking skills. In the second place, it attempts to explore students’ perceptions towards the use of task-based learning in the classroom. To this end, 60 Saudi EFL learners in the department of English Language and Translation, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia, participated in the study. To homogenize the participants’ level of proficiency, the Quick Placement Test was employed, and the participants with the intermediate level of proficiency were selected. Then, the participants were randomly divided into two groups: thirty students representing the experimental group studied six units practicing English speaking under task-based instruction, while thirty students representing the control group studied the same units following the regular instruction. Research data were gathered through speaking tests (TOEIC), semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The data from the speaking test were statistically analyzed using mean scores, standard deviation scores, and t-test for dependent samples and paired-sample. The speaking test findings indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and that of the control group on the post-test in favor of the experimental group which was exposed to the task-based instruction in the speaking skills. Moreover, a qualitative analysis of the interviews and questionnaire data demonstrated that the majority of the experimental group had positive reactions to the task-based instruction. They admitted that they liked the TBSA and wanted to use it frequently in learning speaking. The majority of the experimental group also added that their speaking ability has improved after implementing TBLT. The results of the current study can also be useful for teachers and curriculum planners when designing future curricula textbooks.

The Impact of Task-Based Instruction on Developing Saudi University EFL Students' English Speaking Skills

Speaking is considered one of the most important language skills that needs to be developed and mastered by language learners. However, mastering this language skill does not go so easily with the EFL learners. Many SL and EFL students think of speaking as the most difficult skill to attain since it requires first and foremost a great deal of practice and exposure also. To overcome this problem, teachers should seek a new approach which provides learners with opportunities to improve their speaking skills. One of the highly recommended approaches is task-based language teaching which provides learners with real life contexts to practice speaking English with their classmates. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of using task-based instruction on developing Saudi EFL students’ speaking skills. In the second place, it attempts to explore students’ perceptions towards the use of task-based learning in the classroom. To this end, 60 Saudi EFL learners in the department of English Language and Translation, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia, participated in the study. To homogenize the participants’ level of proficiency, the Quick Placement Test was employed, and the participants with the intermediate level of proficiency were selected. Then, the participants were randomly divided into two groups: thirty students representing the experimental group studied six units practicing English speaking under task-based instruction, while thirty students representing the control group studied the same units following the regular instruction. Research data were gathered through speaking tests (TOEIC), semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The data from the speaking test were statistically analyzed using mean scores, standard deviation scores, and t-test for dependent samples and paired-sample. The speaking test findings indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and that of the control group on the post-test in favor of the experimental group which was exposed to the task-based instruction in the speaking skills. Moreover, a qualitative analysis of the interviews and questionnaire data demonstrated that the majority of the experimental group had positive reactions to the task-based instruction. They admitted that they liked the TBSA and wanted to use it frequently in learning speaking. The majority of the experimental group also added that their speaking ability has improved after implementing TBLT. The results of the current study can also be useful for teachers and curriculum planners when designing future curricula textbooks.

Intelligibility: The Goal of Language Learning and Teaching

<p>This action research study investigates the intelligibility of Saudi EFL learners’ speeches in relation to the Lingua Franca Core (LFC). This study is carried out in an EFL class of 15 Saudi learners. One native and four non-native speakers of English performed the role of evaluators. A mixed-method approach was adopted to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. The learners’ scores in their pre and post-intervention speeches led to the understanding of the impact of LFC on leaders’ speeches. The scores were awarded by five evaluators responding to a five-point Likert scale questionnaire while judging learners’ intelligibility. The results showed moderate improvement in the learners’ post-intervention speeches in terms of intelligibility. This procedure was followed by semi-structured interviews conducted with individual evaluators/listeners who rated post-intervention speeches as well-organized, lengthier and planned, delivered fluently and confidently in spite of insignificant improvement in the production of LFC features. Based on the findings, it can be recommended that LFC can have little or no impact on the learners’ pronunciation, thus intelligibility should be the goal of language teaching and learning in EFL settings.</p>

ENGAGING UNMOTIVATED EFL LEARNERS IN CLASSROOM TALK

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a teacher’s efforts in engaging her unmotivated EFL learners in classroom talk. The paper identifies the teacher’s elicitation techniques during the third turn of triadic exchanges for extending turn-taking. It also identifies the types of learner initiatives that created learning opportunities. The teacher and author of this paper introduced eight Saudi EFL learners (aged 18) to a short mystery story, before requiring them to take turns in classroom talk. 40 minutes of classroom interaction were recorded and analysed qualitatively. Informed by the principles of Conversation Analysis (CA) methodology, the paper shows that the teacher’s role moved beyond giving negative or positive feedback. Her role involved extending learners’ responses by inviting disagreement, suggesting alternatives, paraphrasing and shaping learners’ responses, linking learners’ contributions and increasing wait-time. These efforts engaged learners in different types of turn taking, including presenting new ideas, building on classmates’ ideas, disagreeing with others and extending one’s turn. It was found that learners not only engaged in turn taking during interaction but also learned how to use the new language. These findings add to the small body of available literature on elicitation techniques that involve learners in extended turns when creating space for learning. It is hoped that the findings discussed in this paper will inform EFL teaching practices. More investigation is needed to shed light on how to engage unmotivated EFL learners in classroom interaction using appropriate teaching methods. Keywords : unmotivated learners, EFL, elicitation techniques, turn taking, learner initiatives, learning opportunities

A Study of the Spelling Errors committed by Students of English in Saudi Arabia: Exploration and Remedial Measures

The craziness of English spelling has undeniably perplexed learners, especially in an EFL context as in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In these situations, among other obstacles, learners also have to tackle the perpetual and unavoidable problem of MT interference. Sadly, this perplexity takes the shape of a real problem in the language classroom where the English teacher has a tough time rationalizing with the learners why ‘cough’ is not spelt as /kuf/ or ‘knee’ has to do with a silent /k/. It is observed that students of English as second/foreign language in Saudi Arabia commit spelling errors that cause not only a lot of confusion to the teachers but also lower the self-esteem of the students concerned. The current study aims to identify the key problem areas as far as English spelling ability of Saudi EFL learners is concerned. It aims to also suggest remedial and pedagogical measures to improve the learners’ competence in this crucial, though hitherto, nascent skill area in the Saudi education system. Keywords : EFL; error-pattern, spelling instructions, orthography, phonology, vocabulary, language skills, language users

Effects of Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) on Motivation of Saudi EFL Adult Learners

Students Teams Achievement Division (STAD) is a cooperative learning strategy in which learners work in heterogeneous groups to achieve a common goal. It has been widely used in teaching different subject areas under different settings. This study aimed at investigating the effects of STAD on motivation of Saudi EFL learners. Two intact groups of 1st semester students were selected. One group worked as the experimental group and the other one as the control group. A questionnaire was administered to both groups at the beginning of the semester. The experimental group was taught with STAD whereas the control group was taught with the traditional whole class teacher-fronted method. The treatment was administered for two weeks. The same questionnaire was re-administered after the treatment. The data was analyzed using independent samples t-test. Findings revealed that there was no significant difference (p = 0.36 > 0.05) between the experimental and the control groups in terms of motivation.

Traditional & Socio-Cultural Barriers to EFL Learning: A Case Study

<p>This research tends to ascertain several traditional and socio-cultural barriers to English language learning in Saudi Arabia and to explore more ways than before for making teaching and learning more effective. The findings of four quantitative and qualitative surveys conducted in this regard reveal a unique traditional and socio-cultural milieu, which turns the Saudi EFL learners lackadaisical towards English. The belief that prosperity and prestige are blessed by divine force rather than proficiency in English has influenced Saudi parents and Saudi EFL learners since time in memorial. In addition, a laissez-faire attitude to English language teaching in Saudi schools, lack of motivation for English, inadequacy of competitive and learning environment both at home and schools, and the appointment of some unskilled school-teachers were investigated as some of the major barriers to learning English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A piecemeal reform taken over a period was found ineffective. Therefore, implementation of culturally relevant English curricula, learner-centered instruction, appointment of skilled English teachers and establishment of boarding schools were recommended to address the aforementioned challenges. The findings of the present research is no doubt specific to Saudi EFL context but the traditional and socio –cultural barriers and the exclusion of local culture in EFL textbooks may have exactly the same impact in many non-native English speaking countries.</p>

The Pronunciation Problems Faced by Saudi EFL Learners at Secondary Schools

This study investigates the difficulties of English pronunciation encountered by Saudi secondary school learners when pronouncing English consonants. It also aims to shed light on the area of English consonant clusters system. The instruments used for collecting data and information included were questionnaires, classroom observations and document collections. The results show that the participants had difficulties to pronounce eleven consonant sounds. The results also demonstrate that a great number of the participants, unintentionally insert a vowel sound in English syllable to break up consonant clusters. This study provides some useful pedagogical implications to prevent and cure English pronunciation problems.

Perspectives of Saudi EFL Learners towards Teacher Response in Writing Courses

The purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives of 86 Saudi EFL freshmen towards their teachers’ response to their writing. The participants’ input has been collected via a questionnaire to shed light on the factors that influence students’ attitudes about writing in English as a foreign language. The study found that the students were willing to read their essays again after the teacher commented on them which could be a sign that they realized a great value in their teacher’s written comments. The participants asserted that they thought carefully about the teacher’s comments and corrections which might be taken as an indication that those students considered their teacher response a great help to gain confidence in themselves as good writers. In addition, they mentioned that they paid more attention to teacher response on both surface-level errors and meaning-level errors. This was perhaps due to response effectiveness in helping them produce better writing with less mistakes. The participants also mentioned that all types of teacher response were important to them which could indicate positive attitudes toward such response on their writing and its role in developing the necessary skills to improve their writing proficiency. The study recommended that writing teachers should utilize feedback to student writing as a motivating factor to help students revise their drafts by providing focused and clear response, not over-stressing the correction of errors, and enhancing the feedback value with student-teacher conferences. Teaching conditions should be improved by reducing the number of students in writing classes and reducing other work obligations.

The Validity of Grammaticality Judgment Task on Saudi EFL Learners

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the validity of the controversial data-gathering tool Grammaticality Judgment Task on measuring the grammatical competency of Saudi EFL learners. Despite the widespread use of GJT in SLA research, it is surrounded by a great deal of criticism. The present paper is part of a larger study investigating the acquisition of past verb forms by Saudi EFL learners. Thirty-six Saudi EFL learners took part in the study and were divided into three groups as follows: guided-planning group, semi-guided planning group, and control group. The task used in the study consisted of twenty test items: 10 control test items, and 10 experimental test items. The results did not reveal significant statistical differences between the three groups. Also, the results did not reflect the actual grammatical competency of the participants.

The Use of Grammatical Collocations by Advanced Saudi EFL Learners in the UK and KSA

This study attempts to investigate the production of English grammatical collocations amongst Saudi students majoring in English in the KSA and those in the UK. It also shows the most frequent types of errors that may occur as well as some possible reasons for their occurrence. For this purpose, the researcher analysed essays written by the participants. The results reveal that Saudi EFL learners in the UK do grammatical collocation errors less than those who learn English in the KSA. Additionally, the highest number of errors in both groups was recorded on the grammatical collocations patterns, noun + preposition and adjective + preposition. It seems that L1 interference plays a crucial role in students' erroneous responses, especially those which contain a preposition. For instance, the majority of noun + preposition, adjective + preposition and preposition + noun are used incorrectly throughout the essays. Furthermore, the avoidance phenomenon in SLA may be used by Saudi students. They tend to avoid using some grammatical collocation categories such as adjective + that- clause and noun + that-clause since they are beyond their English proficiency level. Finally, the lack of knowledge of grammatical collocations is another possible reason behind such errors. Educational leaders, curriculum designers and teachers need to shed light on these types, especially as the English language curricula used in the KSA do not pay a great deal of attention to grammatical collocations.

Pre-reading Assignments: Promoting Comprehension of Classroom Textbook Materials

Reading is seen today as one of the most fundamental skills to acquire knowledge in any discipline. The present study is an attempt to highlight such importance for EFL Saudi learners at Jazan University. It investigates the influence of pre-reading assignments on maximizing Saudi EFL learners' comprehension of classroom textbook materials. In this regard, 60 learners were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups designed to qualify the above statement. Participants in both groups were introduced to language acquisition learning theories for three-month period. However, in the experimental group, learners were instructed via the use of pre-reading assignments. An unpaired sample of T- test is used for this study to determine if there is a significant difference of achievement for subjects introduced to pre-reading assignments. The results of the study revealed that there is a strong correlation between the use of pre-reading assignments and better comprehension of classroom learning materials. The study concludes with a rationale to empower and utilize the use of pre- reading strategies in the EFL Saudi learning context.

The Use of Discourse Markers in Paragraph Writings: The Case of Preparatory Year Program Students in Qassim University

The purpose of this paper is to identify the discourse markers used by Saudi EFL learners in their paragraph writing. The study was conducted on fifty students of the Preparatory Year Program at Qassim University. Data were collected from one hundred paragraphs written by the students at the end of the first and second semesters of the academic year 2012/13. These paragraphs were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of the number of discourse markers used and their categories preferred in written paragraphs by three raters. The findings of the study revealed that the students overused the additive connectors followed by the causative, the contrastive and the illustrative ones. In addition, the students’ use of writing discourse markers is too limited and the ones that were most frequently used are “and”, “in addition”, and “for example”. The findings also indicated that the subjects of the study wrote too many simple sentences in their paragraphs in a choppy and immature manner and that their use of discourse markers did not develop as they progressed in education. The results also showed a positive and direct relationship between test scores and the use of discourse markers. A number of reasons were found to underlie the lack of using discourse markers on top of which were the teaching materials and examinations. The study concluded that students’ ability to use discourse markers should be developed as a condition to improve their writing fluency and that their writing instructors should bridge the gaps in writing course books by suggesting necessary supplementary materials. The study suggests further extensive research investigating the misuse of discourse markers in the different language skills among students of different majors.

Using English Discourse Markers (EDMs) by Saudi EFL Learners: A Descriptive Approach

Background: The language of EFL learners is of special interests to linguists. Little research has been tackled on issues concerning English Discourse Markers (EDMs) among Saudi EFL learners. Aims: Employing a corpus-based descriptive analysis, the current study attempts at detecting EDMs in the talk of Saudi EFL learners, their frequency, use, usage, etc., in comparison to other EFL learners as well as native speakers. Methods: Two hundreds Saudi EFL learners were randomly selected from 20 public and private schools (ten students from each school) across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Subjects were individually recorded while they were studying English in class. Recordings were then linguistically and statistically analyzed by the researchers. Conclusion: Results illustrate that EDMs “and”, “but” and “also” are the most frequent EDMs in the talk of Saudi EFL learners. These devices are randomly used by Saudi EFL learners who mix their use (appropriateness) with usage (correctedness) due to the influence of their L1 (Arabic). In compare to other EFL learners (native and non-native), Saudi EFL learners use less EDMs. These results confirmed the claims that EFL learners use EDMs less than native speakers. This paper, although preliminary in nature, can help arrive a better understanding of using EDMs by Saudi EFL learners. Further, it can also assist in getting appropriate insights into the way how these EDMs are used in Arab Gulf countries. The researchers decided to conduct an in-depth study into the use of EDMs in the oral work of Saudi EFL learners.

Do EFL Saudi learners perform differently with online reading? An exploratory study

New forms of literacy and reading approaches are emerging as a result of the Internet’s increasing dominance as a major source of information. To foreign language learners, the Internet is a tool through which they can access authentic target language content. This study reports the results of a study conducted to explore the effect of reading on the Internet on Saudi EFL learners’ overall reading comprehension performance. The participating students were divided into two groups. The experimental group was asked to take a reading comprehension test in an internet format. The control group took the same test in its print format. The results indicate that the Internet has a positive impact on the overall reading comprehension ability. Students who are asked to take the Inherent-based reading test outperformed the other group. This finding comes in accordance with the results of some of the few studies carried out in this area within EFL contexts. Several factors could have contributed to this outcome. The assumption that the Internet raises the level of motivation among EFL learners can justify this conclusion. Another hypothesis is based on the form of strategies and skills involved in reading on the Internet. Online reading may encourage the proper use of the right strategies that meet the particular needs of reading comprehension among EFL learners. Whatever the explanation is, the study calls for more in-depth examination of the online reading strategies and skills.