Attitudes and Perceptions of Saudi EFL Teachers in Implementing Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030

The study aimed at exploring the attitudes and perceptions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers at public schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in achieving the Kingdom’s ‘2030 Vision’ which relates to the development of education in general and to the EFL discipline in particular. The study adopted the descriptive approach by utilizing a survey tool for the study which consisted of nineteen items divided into four constructs. The study sample consisted of 550 female and 450 male, Saudi government schools EFL teachers from the main regions of the Kingdom. The results of the statistical analysis of the responses of the participants indicated overwhelmingly a high level of positive attitude towards professional development in the teaching of English Language (EL), reaching 91% as well as a near unanimity in the responses of the participants which was reflected in the lack of statistically significant relationship between the responses of the participants towards implementing 2030 vision through the achievement of professional development as well as working towards establishing international networking with teachers of English in various countries around the world. The results also indicated that there are still certain obstacles that may adversely affect the implementation of the vision of Saudi Arabia in 2030. Thus, the researchers have made several recommendations including conducting future research studies that will look into further areas not covered by this study.

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"The role of English teachers in achieving the vision of the Kingdom 2030. "Survey: دور معلمي اللغة الإنجليزية في تحقيق رؤية المملكة 2030. "دراسة استقصائية"

المجلة العربية للعلوم ونشر الأبحاث مجلة العلوم التربوية والنفسية ◽

10.26389/ajsrp.n210117 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Noura Awdah Al - Zahrani

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Public Schools ◽

English Language ◽

Future Research ◽

Government Schools ◽

Survey Tool ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

High Level

The study aimed at exploring the role of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in public schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in achieving ‘Vision 2030’ which relates to the development of education in the EFL discipline. The study adopted the descriptive approach by utilizing a survey tool for the study which consisted of nineteen items divided into four constructs. The study sample consisted of 550 female and 450 male, Saudi government schools EFL teachers from all regions of the Kingdom. The results of the statistical analysis of the responses of the participants indicated overwhelmingly a high level of positive attitude towards professional development in the teaching of the English Language (EL), reaching 91% and a lack of statistically significant relationship between the responses of the participants towards implementing 2030 Vision through the achievement of professional development as well as working towards establishing international networking with teachers of English in various countries around the world. The results also indicated that there are still certain obstacles that may adversely affect the implementation of the vision of Saudi Arabia in 2030. Thus, the researcher has made several recommendations including conducting future research studies that will look into further areas not covered by this study.

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EFL Teachers’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning in Saudi Arabia During COVID-19: Challenges and Affordances

Journal of Language Teaching and Research ◽

10.17507/jltr.1301.11 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 92-100

Author(s):

Norah Alghamdi

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Elementary Schools ◽

Language Learning ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Future Research ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Mobile Assisted Language Learning ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Efl Teachers

This study aimed to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia, including their attitudes, levels of proficiency, and challenges they experienced regarding the use of MALL. The study also sought to investigate whether EFL teachers’ backgrounds have any significant impact on their perceptions of MALL. To this end, survey data were collected from 123 EFL teachers who have worked in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia. The results revealed teachers’ positive perceptions of MALL, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, participants stated that mobile learning is beneficial and has the potential to support and enhance EFL teaching. Most EFL teachers reported that they did not have a sufficient level of skills/abilities required to develop MALL activities and cited some challenges they faced. The results also indicate a significant difference among participants’ perceptions of MALL based on their professional development and teaching experience, but no difference based on their gender was found. These results indicate that placing a greater emphasis on offering professional development in MALL for Saudi EFL teachers could cultivate both greater proficiency and the ability to overcome challenges. This study concludes by providing recommendations on how to improve MALL implementation as well as directions for future research.

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Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Emotional Intelligence of EFL Teachers in Saudi Arabia: Implications to Teaching Performance and Institutional Effectiveness

Arab World English Journal ◽

10.24093/awej/vol11no4.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 3-14

Author(s):

Joel C. Meniado

Keyword(s):

Emotional Intelligence ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Organizational Citizenship ◽

Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽

English Language ◽

Institutional Effectiveness ◽

Citizenship Behavior ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

High Level ◽

Very High

Many studies have extensively investigated the antecedents, consequences, and relationships of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) in corporate and industrial settings, but not in educational contexts particularly in the field of English language teaching. To expand the existing literature in OCB and EI, this study investigated the levels and relationship of OCB and EI of college English teachers in an English language institute in the western region of Saudi Arabia. It tried to answer the following research questions: 1) What is the level of OCB and EI of the respondents? 2) Is there a significant relationship between the respondents’ OCB and EI? Using descriptive correlational research design with adapted organizational citizenship behavior and emotional intelligence scales as data gathering instruments, this study found that the respondents had very high level of OCB. Specifically, the findings revealed that the OCBs under altruism, civic virtue, and compliance dimensions were rated as very high while those under sportsmanship and courtesy were assessed as high. Findings also indicated that the EFL teachers had high level of EI. Lastly, the study proved that there was a significant, positive relationship between the respondents’ organizational citizenship behaviors and emotional intelligence. Based on the findings, the study concludes that the respondents have the potential to excel in their job and are able to contribute to overall institutional effectiveness. This asset should be enriched and sustained by implementing more relevant OCB/EI-friendly policies and practices that support conducive school climate, transformational leadership, and emotional well-being.

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Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Emotional Intelligence of EFL Teachers in Saudi Arabia: Implications to Teaching Performance and Institutional Effectiveness

10.31235/osf.io/xhgs6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joel C. Meniado

Keyword(s):

Emotional Intelligence ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Organizational Citizenship ◽

Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽

English Language ◽

Institutional Effectiveness ◽

Citizenship Behavior ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

High Level ◽

Very High

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Sources of Work Stress of English Language Teachers in Secondary Government Schools in Saudi Arabia

Journal La Edusci ◽

10.37899/journallaedusci.v2i4.450 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Mohamad Ahmad Saleem Khasawneh

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Secondary School ◽

Work Stress ◽

English Language ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Government Schools ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

High Level ◽

The Impact

The study aimed to reveal the level of work stress among secondary school English language teachers in government schools affiliated with the education directorates in Abha, Saudi Arabia, and knowing the impact of both gender, and experience on their estimates. The study population consisted of (105) male and female teachers. A questionnaire was prepared to measure the level of work stress among teachers, and it consisted of (31) items. The results showed that the work pressures facing secondary school English language teachers were at a high level on the dimensions as a whole. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences due to the variable of gender and teaching experience.

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Perceptions of EFL Teachers at King Abdulaziz University Regarding the Effectiveness of Cambridge University Press’s Train the Trainer Course

10.31235/osf.io/3fexk ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Arab World English Journal ◽

Catherine Karen Roy ◽

Sabitha Rahim ◽

Aishah Yaqoub Khojah

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

English Language ◽

Main Question ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Cambridge University ◽

Train The Trainer ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

King Abdulaziz University ◽

English Language Institute

This study adds to the current literature on ongoing in-house professional development for teachers by exploring how administrators, other faculty, and the English-language (EFL) teachers who participated in Cambridge University Press’s Train the Trainer course (TTT) at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Saudi Arabia, judged the TTT’s usefulness. To determine whether to support the TTT in the future, KAU wanted to identify how well its TTT graduates could provide professional development to their colleagues. This study’s aim is to discuss how positively those who were involved in the TTT, particularly the administration, the TTT graduate trainers themselves, and the other teachers who attended the workshops presented by first-year graduates of the ELI’s TTT responded to the course. The main question it addresses is how successful the implementation of such a TTT course can be at the English language institute of a Saudi university, like at KAU, so as to determine if the TTT should continue to be offered at KAU and more generally, taking the example of the ELI at KAU, if the TTT course should also be proposed at other English language institutes in Saudi Arabia. This study employed a Likert scale survey, semi-structured interviews, and open-ended questions with TTT participants, administrators, and other faculty to assess the TTT’s initial value. The main finding of this study is that so far, the TTT course was perceived as beneficial. However, future analyses should evaluate the longer-term effects of the TTT on teaching approaches and student learning.

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Saudi EFL Teachers’ Attitudes towards Professional Development

International Journal of Learning Teaching and Educational Research ◽

10.26803/ijlter.19.11.14 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (11) ◽

pp. 242-258

Author(s):

Maha Alzahrani

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Public Schools ◽

English Language ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Deep Understanding ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

Teachers Attitudes

The study reported in this paper aimed to investigate the Professional Development (PD, henceforth) needs of English language teachers in Saudi Arabia. Its primary objectives were to assess the needs of PD and training of Saudi English language teachers and to explore the teachers’ attitudes towards the amount and quality of English teaching preparation received prior to their teaching career. The study adopted a mixed-method approach in order to gain a deep understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. The participants of the study included 109 Saudi teachers of English language who teach in public schools. The study involved quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Whilst the quantitative data of the study was gathered via a survey questionnaire, the qualitative data was obtained via interviews with 10 of EFL teachers. The findings indicated the teachers’ dissatisfaction with the amount and quality of pre-service training they received. This was due to poor information, a lack of qualified trainers and limited selection of topics which does not serve their teaching needs.

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Measuring Digital Competence and ICT Literacy: An Exploratory Study of In-Service English Language Teachers in the Context of Saudi Arabia

International Education Studies ◽

10.5539/ies.v10n12p38 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 38 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ahmed Abdulteeef M. Al Khateeb

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Foreign Language ◽

English Language ◽

Research Question ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Future Research ◽

Ict Literacy ◽

Digital Competence ◽

Diverse Range ◽

English Language Teachers

The purpose of this research is to measure in-service English language teachers' digital competence, particularly for the enhancement of teaching English as a second/foreign language in schools in Saudi Arabia. Information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge is currently considered as a vital skill for foreign language teachers in addition to their linguistic competence. Recently, there has been a focus on digital competence, since it can be regarded as a gateway for enriching knowledge, economies, societies and individuals. There is also a massive need for teachers to assess their own digital competence according to non-conventional norms (i.e., having the ability to share content and manage information). In light of this rationale, this paper investigates the following research question: to what extent are English language teachers in Saudi Arabia digitally competent and in what aspects? This study used a standardized questionnaire that was constructed using a validated comprehensive framework. This instrument was designed to assess the professional capability of English language teachers in terms of their willingness and readiness to use ICTs along with their current digital competence used throughout their teaching and educational practices. The research included a diverse range of participants who come from various backgrounds, genders and experiences. The study was concluded with a presentation of useful recommendations and key research questions for future research.

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Professional development of English language teachers in Malang, Indonesia: Institutional and individual perspectives

10.26686/wgtn.17060639 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Anik Nunuk Wulyani

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Language Proficiency ◽

English Language ◽

English Proficiency ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Ict Skills ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

Teacher Professional ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

The Individual

<p>Two important areas of professional development for teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia identified in the 2003 Law on National Education System and 2005 Law on Teachers and Lecturers are disciplinary knowledge and ICT skills. The present thesis investigates institutional and individual aspects of EFL teacher professional development (TPD) in Indonesia in relation to the development of these two areas of expertise. Three studies were carried out. The first study measured Indonesian EFL teachers’ target language (English) proficiency as a core component of their professional knowledge and how it is maintained and developed by the teachers. EFL teachers’ language proficiency in this study was operationalised as their lexical, reading and writing proficiency and measured using the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), IELTS-like reading comprehension test and IELTS-like academic writing test, respectively. The results showed that the teachers’ length of service correlated negatively with their knowledge of academic vocabulary, as well as reading and writing proficiency, indicating issues with the outcomes of the TPD in this area. To triangulate the test results, teacher perceptions data were also gathered using questionnaires and interviews. It was found that the EFL teachers tended to overestimate their own overall English language proficiency. The second study used a longitudinal blogging activity with the EFL teachers as a form of personal professional development that targeted their English language and ICT skills while reflecting on topics related to their professional (teaching) activities. Qualitative analysis of the blog entries of three EFL teachers suggested that the individual teachers’ blogging, critical reading and reflective writing skills were very uneven. Interviews with nine teachers and 11 educational stakeholders were then conducted to understand their views on blogging as a form of professional development. The results revealed that the perceived obstacles and drawbacks outweighed the perceived benefits of blogging as a form of personal professional development. The third study examined Indonesian national TPD policy documents, how these policies were translated into local professional development programmes in Malang district. It was found that the needs for EFL teachers to maintain their English proficiency and ICT skills were only partially addressed in TPD policy and implementation. In addition, the interviewed teachers and stakeholders perceived the definitions, goals, administration, evaluation, benefits, and challenges of TPD differently. Taken as a whole, the present findings show that institutional implementation of TPD policies in Indonesia needs to better target individual EFL teachers’ English proficiency and ICT skills, and that opportunities for better professional development need to be sought at both personal and institutional levels. At the individual level, self-motivation to continue learning is crucial for English language teachers who want to keep up with change and innovation in English language teaching. At the institutional level, needs analyses and environmental analyses are essential in designing programs for maintaining and developing teacher professional competency.</p>

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The Willingness of Jordanian EFL Teachers to Endure Taking Online Professional Development Programs Rather Than Face to Face: رغبة معلمي اللغة الإنجليزية في متابعة الانخراط بالتنمية المهنية عن بعد عوضا عن التعلم المباشر

المجلة العربية للعلوم ونشر الأبحاث مجلة العلوم التربوية والنفسية ◽

10.26389/ajsrp.s080720 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (48) ◽

Author(s):

Suha Abdulrazzaq Slim

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Online Learning ◽

Public Schools ◽

Online Professional Development ◽

Development Programs ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Face To Face ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

Professional Development Programs ◽

Face To Face Learning

This study attempts to investigate the willingness of Jordanian EFL teachers to endure taking Online Professional Development Programs (OPD) rather than face to face learning in both private and public schools. Therefore, a qualitative research methodology was carried out to examine the extent to which Jordanian EFL teachers are willing to endure taking Online Professional Development Programs (OPD) rather than face to face learning. Data were collected via online interviews with teachers through e-Learning forums as well as other means of interactive social Medias such as Zoom, Facetime and Microsoft teams during COVID-19 Pandemic in the second semester of the scholastic year 2019-2020. Ten EFL teachers were randomly chosen from forty public and private EFL school teachers to respond to the interviews. The sample consisted of ten teachers who were selected randomly for the interview. The interview content focused on two domains which are: the challenges faced teachers in online learning and the good learning practices experienced by EFL teachers during online learning regarding their experiences through the pandemic. The interviews were taking the form of semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of EFL teachers are unwilling to continue taking online professional development programs as they faced many troubles and obstacles through experiencing distant learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic as part of their first hands on experience. Two teachers showed a tendency to continue Online Professional Development Programs in parallel with face to face programs.

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