English teacher perception of the current English curriculum and instruction at a university in Saudia Arabia
Keyword
English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers -- CurriculaEnglish language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Saudi Arabia
English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers -- Case studies
Date Published
2016-12Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Task design allows teachers to organize and implement tasks according to the specific needs of the learners. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the teacher perception of curriculum and instruction in regards to English language development at a King Saud University, KSA. The study mainly used the quantitative questionnaire technique as a main data collection instrument. The participants are a total of 35 male and 25 female professors who are originally from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, India, United Kingdom and the United States aged from 25-55 years old. The results showed lack of development of English as a Foreign Language according to teachers’ perception in KSA. Teachers from Saudi Arabia and foreign countries advocate for evolution to the curriculum and its integral parts. Yet, the changes have not occurred in the system. This clearly shows that there is less involvement of the teachers in the development of the curriculum. The teachers have not also been able to provide inputs, help write and contribute their own material. This study showed valuable insights into the English Language Curriculum problems and various rectifications, which might help improve the quality of the curriculum and therefore, enhancement in increasing interest of students and developing their skills.Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Using a modified cultural relevance rubric to assess and implement culturally relevant texts in content area classrooms for ELLs.Texts provided and utilized in many schools and classrooms are not always the most appropriate, relevant, or engaging for English language learners (ELLs) because ELLs’ backgrounds and schemata usually differ from those of their non-ELL counterparts (Ebe, 2010, 2011, 2012; Freeman, Freeman, & Freeman, 2003; Freeman & Freeman, 2004). ELLs who read culturally relevant texts (CRTs) are more likely to show an increase in reading comprehension scores (Ebe, 2010, 2011, 2012) and CRTs can lead to an increase in reading engagement (Freeman, Freeman, & Freeman, 2003). CRTs can be used in all content areas to enrich the learning of students. However, it can be difficult and time consuming to find CRTs that correlate with the curriculum topics and some teachers may not know how to determine if a text is culturally relevant. Therefore, this curriculum project focuses on identifying and utilizing both expository and literature CRTs across the content areas. Using these types of text in inclusive classrooms with non-ELLs and ELLs can help enrich all students by providing multiple viewpoints of an event and encouraging the use of critical thinking skills and questioning (Gay, 2010). This project was designed as a tool for both mainstream and ESL teachers. Included in the project are a variety of CRTs and lessons for each of the content areas. These CRTs address ELLs’ language/ethnic heritage backgrounds including Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese. The project is limited to secondary teachers that have students from these selected backgrounds in their classes.
-
Owning English.As English continues to spread throughout the world, there are many problems faced with regards to ownership of the language for second language learners. In Japan, English has had historical significance as an important second language taught in schools beginning at an early age (Oda, 2007). Even though Japanese learners of English have experience learning the language, they often lack a feeling of English ownership and awareness of other varieties of English. This study addresses perceptions Japanese students living abroad have on different varieties of English and how these perceptions affect their own views of English ownership. Using a five point Likert-scale survey, eleven Japanese participants answered questions on perceptions of English, their view of different varieties of English, their relationship of English and Japanese, and their view of their own English use and identity. Surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results from this study suggest that there is a dichotomy in how Japanese learners feel with regard to how they should use English fluently and accurately, but that American English may not be the ideal form of English to maintain and address Japanese identity issues. Results suggest that Japanese students are aware of the importance of English as a communicative tool with other Asian people, but lack a desire to learn about other varieties of Asian Englishes. Implications for further research are discussed.
-
Using African American Vernacular English and Hip Hop Nation language to teach standard American English.In American schools, teachers frequently enforce Standard American English (SAE) without teaching students about the nonstandard dialects they may speak, such as African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or Hip Hop Nation Language (HHNL) (Alim, 2007; Wheeler, 2010). This only makes students more protective over their linguistic identity and less willing to learn SAE (Alim, 2007). Thus, defending and valuing all students’ dialects should be a priority for a teacher in order to preserve their students’ linguistic identities. The opportunity to provide students with a bidialectal environment is present, but when schools focus on SAE, very few curricula on non-standard dialects are created or used (Alim, 2007; Kelly, 2013; Messier, 2012; Godley & Escher, 2012). In addition, there is also a lack of resources that address students and English Language Learners (ELLs) in a bidialectal environment. Without these resources, even well-intentioned teachers cannot properly execute an ideal bidialectal classroom. This project was created to solve these issues by providing a resource for teachers of AAVE and HHNL speakers. This project’s curriculum will specifically help students in two ways: they will better understand AAVE and SAE features and when to use each dialect, and they will hold onto their linguistic and cultural identities. This curriculum will also be unique in that it will also address the needs of ELLs who may be in environments where, while they are learning the English language, they are also learning local dialects (e.g., AAVE). The fifty lesson plan curriculum addresses 10th grade English Language Arts, Music, and Social Studies standards.
