When you have a chance to teach English in Saudi Arabia at different levels – beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels, you will discover a lot of challenges that face a teacher of a foreign language. Those barriers vary from one situation into another, from one level into another, and from one place into another. Some barriers are connected with the culture in question, others – with the contents of the syllabus, passing through the method your students are taught with while taking other subjects. These aforementioned barriers are few among many others. They are focused on here because of their importance in obstructing learning and teaching a foreign language like English. Moreover, at a college level, English may be chosen as an optional, elective, pass-guaranteed, and grade-gained subject. In this sense, this issue might become a good topic for researchers who are interested in teaching and learning a foreign language. Some students told me in more than one department and on many occasions that they chose English because they do not like much work and in this subject they are sure of passing the test. What a teacher expects from such students is just nothing; they have no mere idea of learning at all. They need to fill in a number of courses they have to register in their transcripts with no effort on their part. I will address some of the challenges teachers of English at Saudi Arabian schools should be cautious of while practicing their career. The aim of this article is to attract the attention of teachers of foreign languages to these obstacles that definitely exist and hinder all efforts of teaching and learning a foreign language. At the end of this article, some suggestions are provided depending on my experience in teaching English at different levels and to different types of students.
Factors to Consider while Teaching English to Arab Students
