Current English Language Policies In Saudi Arabian Higher Education English Departments: A Study Beyond The Domain Of The Classroom

2019 ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
محمد بن عبدالله المعيلي ◽  
سليمان بن محمد الناصر
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
English Departments

scholarly journals Gender Differences in Beliefs about English Language Policies (ELPs): The Case of Saudi Higher Education English Departments

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Suliman Mohammed Nasser Alnasser
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
English Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
English Departments ◽  
And Gender

Review of literature suggests that issues in English language policies (ELPs) in higher education foreign language department levels have not been addressed, and the relationship between beliefs about general notions of ELPs and gender has been disregarded. The current study investigates gender-related differences in beliefs on five main notions of ELPs among staff members in Saudi Arabian English departments. An online survey was administered to staff members in different Saudi English departments from different regions in Saudi Arabia. Five general statements on ELPs were included in the survey and were responded to by male (n = 67) and female (n = 143) staff members (total = 210). Pearson’s chi-square test of independence and the calculated percentages of responses were used to analyze gender differences. No statistically significant differences were found between male and female participants, with the exception of one statement. Both genders had generally similar beliefs on ELPs. Moreover, the female staff had slightly stronger beliefs than the male staff, and males showed more hesitation than females did when deciding on ELP matters. The study also discusses the implications of the findings and provided recommendations for future research.

scholarly journals Language Policy and Power in Out-of-Classroom EFL Contexts: The Case of English Departments in Saudi Arabian Higher Education Institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Mohammad Almoaily
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
English Language ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
The Impact

Most of the research on language policies in educational institutions has hitherto focused on the creation, interpretation, or appropriation of language policies that govern language use in the classroom. Language policies, however, can be instantiated or implemented in out-of-classroom settings. Hence, the current study examines the impact of language policies, in terms of both beliefs and practices, as mechanisms of power in communication between staff members in official meetings taking place at higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. An online survey taken by 208 members, in addition to semi-structured interviews with eight department chairpersons, revealed that the implementation of monolingual English language policies can minimize the proportion of engagement of staff members, who are less competent in English, in department council meetings, committee meetings, and other official meetings. The data also suggested that the majority of participants in the study believe that multilingual language policies (allowing the use of both Arabic and English) should be avoided in order to not exclude non-Arabic speaking staff members from participation in official dialogue. The study concludes with implications for language policy creation and implementation for out-of-classroom English use in EFL educational institutions.

scholarly journals Neoliberal language policies and linguistic entrepreneurship in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-196
Author(s):  
Maria Sabaté Dalmau
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Language Resources ◽  
Neoliberal Governance ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Professional Ethos ◽  
Local Languages ◽  
Stratifying System

Abstract This paper analyzes English-Medium-Instruction (EMI) lecturers’ ambivalent orientations towards neoliberal language policies and linguistic entrepreneurship. The data includes interviews with six case-study lecturers’ biographic narratives, audiologs and video/audio-recorded observations, collected in a market-oriented Catalan university. I show that lecturers problematize Englishization policies but operationalize them by presenting themselves as leading actors in the deployment of EMI. Following “managerialism” logics, they envision English as an economically-convertible “career skill”, imperative to meet new employability/workplace demands. They carve advantaged professional ethos linked to their self-attained English-language resources. They devalue their “non-native” accent but present themselves as content and English-language lecturers, distinguishing themselves from “ordinary” colleagues who teach in local languages, in narratives of “competitiveness” whereby they naturalize a socioeconomically-stratifying system of meritocracy/revenue grounded on the marketization of English. This contributes to understand neoliberal-governance regimes which impose language-based mechanisms for lecturers’ profiling based on views of education as the corporatized “making” of productive workers-to-be.

scholarly journals Language Use by Staff Members in Saudi English Higher Education Departments: Beliefs and Gender Differences

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Suliman Mohammed Nasser Alnasser
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
English Departments ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
And Gender

Educational language policies in Saudi Arabia have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. English departments in the country are comprised of male and female staff members who practise these language policies at departmental level and also outside the domain of the classroom and on a variety of occasions. There are several reasons for the use of English (a foreign language) alongside Arabic (the mother tongue) and these have an influence on the shape of current or future language policies. The effect of gender on the selection of particular reasons has not been investigated and this is the focus of the current paper. In the study referred to here, both quantitative (online survey) and qualitative (open-ended section) approaches to data collection were adopted. The context of the study was English departments in Saudi Arabian higher education establishments. The survey consisted of five items (statements) and two questions with open-ended sections. The data was collected from different regions of the country and included male (n = 67) and female (n = 143) staff members. The Chi-Square test of independence was administered to determine the significance of differences found between the two genders and only in one of the five items was a statistically significant difference found. It was, therefore, concluded that males and females in Saudi English departments share similar beliefs with regard to the use of language, with only slight differences between them. This paper discusses the implications of these findings as well as possible areas of investigation for future researchers.

EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT EVALUATION IN ENGLISH AS A CRITERION FOR ADMISSION TO MASTER`S DEGREE PROGRAMS IN UKRAINE: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
Л. Е. Бєловецька
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Independent Evaluation

The problem of external independent evaluation in English for admission Master`s degree programs in Ukraine is considered in the article. The perspective for further improvement of English teaching and learning standards at Ukrainian universities has been found. The correspondence to the CEFR basic levels and English proficiency has been identified. Conceptual Principles of State Policy on the Development of English in the Field of Higher Education are considered. The study included 1546 participants. The age of students, who studied to gain the first higher education, was between 17 and 20. The students were not familiar with the structure of External Independent Evaluation and they have never passed it. The research was carried out during the period 2018–2019. The relevance of English language competence in the professional context is noted emphasized as a key point of the presented research. The necessity to provide a sufficient competitive level for Ukrainian graduates through improving correspondent English language training has been considered. The study is based on a study of reports by British experts and contemporary scientific publications presented international researchers have focused on the problems of internationalization and perspectives for Ukrainian universities in the English language dimension. The relevance of studying and adaptation of the UK higher education successful practice has been highlighted. The problems and potential ways of improving students` English language proficiency in the given context are identified. In particular, the study contains important recommendations regarding the number of contact hours and the required levels of English proficiency for the main groups of participants in the educational process in higher education according to international standards.

Can-Do descriptors – Realigning English Language Curriculum at Higher Education Institution to CEFR

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Erda Wati Bakar
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
The Common ◽  
The University

The Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) has become the standard used to describe and evaluate students’ command of a second or foreign language. It is an internationally acknowledged standard language proficiency framework which many countries have adopted such as China, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan. Malaysia Ministry of Education is aware and realise the need for the current English language curriculum to be validated as to reach the international standard as prescribed by the CEFR. The implementation of CEFR has begun at primary and secondary level since 2017 and now higher education institutions are urged to align their English Language Curriculum to CEFR as part of preparation in receiving students who have been taught using CEFR-aligned curriculum at schools by year 2022. This critical reflection article elucidates the meticulous processes that we have embarked on in re-aligning our English Language Curriculum to the standard and requirements of CEFR. The paper concludes with a remark that the alignment of the English curriculum at the university needs full support from the management in ensuring that all the stakeholders are fully prepared, informed and familiar with the framework.

Improving English L2 Writing in Web Communication: Can Peer Feedback Help?

Fachsprache ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 94-121
Author(s):  
Marian Flanagan ◽  
Carmen Heine
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Peer Feedback ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Teacher Feedback ◽  
Written Feedback ◽  
Feedback Process ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Web Communication

As teachers of English as a second language (L2) in web communication, our aim is to help L2 students improve their spoken and written English language skills. Teacher feedback has been shown to do this in some cases. However, only using teacher feedback can put huge pressure on the teacher, both in terms of time and resources. This paper describes and discusses our attempt at introducing peer feedback as an additional way of providing students with feedback on their English writing. Before conducting this study, we did not know if peer feedback would be feasible in our teaching environment or whether it would benefit the students and teachers. Our aim was to establish a status quo of our students’ abilities in providing and implementing peer feedback. We introduced peer-feedback tasks and focused on the types of feedback provided by the students, the phrasing of the feedback, both when implemented and not implemented by the students, and the types of revisions made by the students. Our findings allowed us to develop peer-feedback process guidelines for web communication as a way towards improving written feedback processes in higher education, and hopefully for others to adapt and implement in their own communication classrooms.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document