scholarly journals The Perceptions of Saudi English Teachers about their Contribution to the Development of English Curriculum in Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. p42
Author(s):  
Lujain Jaza AlSehli
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Collaborative Effort ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Teachers Perceptions

The current research investigated the perceptions of Saudi English teachers about their contribution to the development of English curriculum with the Ministry of Education (MOE). Also, this research sought to know the role of Saudi English teachers in developing English curriculum in Saudi Arabia. To obtain teachers’ perceptions, an online questionnaire was designed via google forms with open and close-ended questions along with a Likert scale section. It was shared with the Saudi Faculty of English account on Twitter. The major cause of conducting this research was to raise the awareness of including Saudi English teachers in developing English curriculum, and to make this process as a collaborative effort among various stakeholders and English teachers. The findings indicated the absent role of Saudi teachers and the lack of their involvement in developing English curriculum in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the results showed their willingness to participate and be part of this process.

scholarly journals The Role of E-learning in Studying English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia: Students’ and Teachers’ Perspectives

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mutambik
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Technology Advancement ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Government ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Teachers Perspectives ◽  
Insight Into

Over the past few decades, there have been tremendous increase in technology advancement and the significance of this in the field of education cannot be overemphasised. The adoption and use of E-learning in studying EFL, in particular, is one such areas that has experienced such fast-paced development for some time now. As a result, the government all over the world are committing a lot of resources to keep up with this technology advancement. In this light, the government of Saudi Arabia through its Ministry of Education has recently made commitment, both as the practical and policy levels, with the hope to also benefit from using E-learning in studying EFL in Saudi Schools. However, little is known about the perception of students and teachers regarding the role of E-learning is studying EFL in the Saudi context. In an attempt to contribute to this research base, this paper draws on an empirical investigation using group interviews with students and teachers in order to gain insight into their perception about the role of E-learning in studying EFL in Saudi Arabia. The findings are presented and discussed in four thematic areas: promoting key learning skills, independent learning, flexible learning and interactive learning. The paper also highlights the limitations of the research and concludes by making a number of recommendations.

scholarly journals Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions on the Role of English Teachers

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
Angélica María Carvajal ◽  
Yolanda Duarte Medina
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Private University ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Language Program ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Affective Filter ◽  
English Classroom

This small-scale research project was carried out with 15 pre-service teachers enrolled in a B.A. English as a Foreign Language program at a private university with a distance learning modality. The goal of this study was to enable pre-service teachers to express what they thought their role as English teachers should be. The researchers chose narrative inquiry as a way to hear the students’ voices and take them into account in order to promote positive changes in their teaching practice. Different data collection instruments were implemented, such as oral narratives from an unstructured interview, written narratives from tutors’ reflections in a journal, and a questionnaire to characterize the participants. The findings showed that the pre- service teachers characterized the role of the English teacher as being committed and engaged in the learning process. They also displayed an empathetic attitude toward teaching in the English classroom. Additionally, they highlighted innovativeness and open-mindedness as crucial traits for creating a positive environment in the classroom and activating the affective filter.

scholarly journals Explorations of Beliefs about EFL Teachers’ Roles from Both Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives through Metaphor Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (29) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharihan Shawkat Azeez
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The University

Metaphor acts as a window into comprehending teachers’ experiences through providing insights into complex concepts of teaching and learning. As a result, it plays a crucial role in exploring beliefs about teachers’ roles in the teaching and learning process. To elicit ideas and beliefs which both teachers and students held about the role of English teachers, questionnaires were given to 30 teachers and 85 students in the University of Duhok, English Department. The questionnaire asked the subjects to provide their beliefs about English teachers’ roles by using a sentence completion task “An English teacher is…. because….”. Eight conceptual categories are introduced from the linguistic metaphors and example metaphors for each category are given in the results tables. The eight conceptual categories include: teacher as devotee, teacher as nurturer, teachers as provider / source of knowledge, teacher as cultural transmitter, teacher as authority, teacher as guider, teacher as a friend, and teacher as a nice beautiful soul. All participants expressed the same conceptual categories, but still they use different metaphors to express their views. An interesting feature of these results is that there are some parallel and overlaps of metaphors among different subjects. The findings of this study suggested subtle differences between students’ and teachers’ beliefs. This study will benefit teachers, curriculum designers, and researchers. Researchers may carry out comprehensive studies using metaphor as an investigating tool to better understand both students and teachers’ perceptions of the teachers’ roles. The results will help develop comprehensive and inclusive methods of teaching. Larger samples with variables such as gender, age, different locations, and proficiency of participants should be taken into consideration during future studies.

scholarly journals Research on Existing Problems and Countermeasures in College English Translation Teaching

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Xiaohe Huang
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Weak Link ◽  
Language Translation ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
College English ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Improvement Measures ◽  
Opening Up

The “College English Curriculum Requirements” promulgated by the Ministry of Education of China has detailed regulations on the five aspects of English listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating for ordinary undergraduates. However, the foreign language translation ability of most college students in China is still the weak link in the English ability structure. With the further opening up of all walks of life in China, the role of English in daily life and work is becoming more and more important. This paper analyzes and summarizes the current situation and problems of college English translation teaching in China, and proposes corresponding improvement measures.

scholarly journals The need for ESP in Burundi: What do tertiary English teachers say sbout it?

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Arcade Nduwimana
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Do So

This study examines the views that tertiary English teachers hold on the need for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Burundi higher education. To do so, it investigates the extent to which they are familiar with the theory and practice of ESP. For this study, 32 English teachers were contacted to participate in it. They were all requested to complete an online questionnaire, but only 17 proved willing to do so. The findings revealed that the majority of teachers are familiar with the practice of ESP. Although many of them reported to have high familiarity with the field of ESP, a few of them conduct a Needs Analysis (NA) before teaching ESP courses. Results also indicated that tertiary English teachers highly acknowledge the importance of teaching ESP in Burundi higher Education and, therefore, would encourage the ministry of education to fund an ESP project.

scholarly journals Pre-Service English Teachers' Perceptions, Obstacles and Experiences When Teaching English in the EFL Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Rashed Zannan Alghamdy
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Efl Students

This article has identified the opinions, perceptions obstacles and experiences of the EFL pre-service English teacher who participated in a training program in EFL context. In this study, only qualitative data was gathered. The participants in this study were 7 pre-service English teachers aged 23-28 years, from seven boys’ schools in Al-Baha city in Saudi Arabia. The researcher interviewed them at the end of the semester of the training program. The findings of this study were that some EFL pre-service English teachers felt that the training program enabled them to increase their confidence and social skills, enabling them to gain more experiences.However, there were many disadvantages, barriers and obstacles to practicing pre-service teaching in the training program. These included: some EFL students were naughty and they caused problems in the classroom, the EFL students’ English level was very weak such that they could not communicate in the language and even they also could not understand the teacher’s instructions. Being in the training program, and studying at the college at the same time was very challenging for the pre-service English teachers. Also, some their main teachers were not willing to guide them. They were also often shy and embarrassed before the students. There were claims that the preparation book was difficult for most pre-service teachers to prepare. Most complained that they lacked the resources they required to prepare for their lessons.

Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge, Participation and Perceptions About Environmental Education in Schools

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yovita Gwekwerere
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Environmental Initiatives ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

AbstractDespite the ever-growing body of knowledge about human impact on the environment and the need to work towards a sustainable future, participation in environmental action initiatives among the general population remains low. There is an increasingly urgent need to develop a culture of participation among young people who in turn may become future leaders. This article describes a study that was undertaken to investigate pre-service teachers’ environmental knowledge, their willingness to participate in environmental initiatives, and their perceptions about environmental education in schools. The study participants were pre-service teachers between the ages of 19 and 22. Data were collected through online surveys, followed by focus group interviews where pre-service teachers were given the opportunity to expand and comment on the survey responses. Findings from this study are consistent with previous research on pre-service teacher literacy, attitudes, perceptions and participation. However, the pre-service teachers’ perceptions about the role of schools and adults in nurturing environmental awareness and active participation among youth provides educators with new insights for the development of a more comprehensive environmental education curriculum that focuses on integration of theory and action.

scholarly journals Teaching writing through task-based instruction: Exploring English teachers’ experiences

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 177-186
Author(s):  
Laxman Prasad Bhandari
Keyword(s):  
English Teachers ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Prescribed Curriculum ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Task Based Instruction ◽  
Task Types

As educationists and policymakers have been concerned much in increasing the English proficiency of their citizens, educational policies on curriculums and syllabuses have moved increasingly towards various versions of learner-centered teaching approaches including task-based language teaching. TBLT is one of the widely discussed learner-centered approaches for the last few decades. It aims at developing students’ communicative skills through their active engagement in various tasks focusing more on meaning than on form. The study aims to explore English teachers’ experiences in teaching writing with respect to the intent of the secondary level English curriculum prescribed by the Curriculum Development Center, Ministry of Education, Nepal. The study is qualitative where five teacher participants were interviewed. The data were analyzed based on the taxonomy of task types by Willis and Wills (2007). The findings showed that the teacher participants are theoretically aware of TBLT, especially in teaching writing, and the intent of the prescribed curriculum; however, they are not able to fully bring their knowledge and skills into practice to meet the objective of the curriculum. Thus, the study purposes a way forward to strengthen teachers’ ability to bring TBLT theory into practice through training, workshops, research, and higher studies.

scholarly journals Vietnamese English Teachers’ Perceptions of Culture in ELT Materials in Vietnamese Universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Do Lan Phuong
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Cultural Barrier ◽  
English Class ◽  
The Way

As one of the main purposes of using English today is for international communication and globalisation, English has been mainly used among bilingual speakers of English who come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds (McKay, 2006; Sharifian, 2014). In such multinational and multicultural contexts, today English learners have to deal with not only linguistic barrier, but also cultural barrier. Therefore, it is crucially important that they are provided with multicultural knowledge and cross-cultural awareness. However, so far, there has been little research into the perceptions of English teachers towards culture used in ELT materials in EFL contexts. Therefore, the research aims to identify how seven Vietnamese teachers of English in two universities in Hanoi, Vietnam perceived culture and the role of culture in language teaching. This paper also seeks to explore how their perceptions influenced the way they taught culture in their English class and the way they adapted and developed ELT materials for their students with the hope that it will provide useful and practical suggestions for developing appropriate ELT materials for EFL teaching contexts. The research is based on a qualitative research which applies mostly in-depth, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The data of this research reveals that most participants recognized the close and interrelated relationship between language and culture and the crucial role of culture in language teaching. They also identified the important role of English as an international language and cultural differences in ELT materials. Realizing a cultural gap in most of the materials they taught, they tried to adapt the materials based on their students’ needs. 

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