Teacher perception of a New English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum in Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi EFL teachers’ perceptions of the quality of the new English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Flying High curriculum in selected secondary schools in the Sabia Educational Directorate. The researcher examined Saudi EFL teachers’ attitudes towards EFL, preparation programs, the quality of the new curriculum, teacher practices, and administrative support. The researcher used a 50-item survey with a five point Likert Scale. Participants were 42 Saudi EFL teachers. The findings revealed: a) Saudi EFL teachers think that English is important for academic and social purposes; and b) teachers had mixed feelings about the quality of the curriculum (Flying High), although they believed that the curriculum reflected high-quality in its layout and instructional design, yet, the results indicated that they encountered some difficulties in implementing the new methodologies and strategies; c) teachers felt moderately prepared, while some teachers thought that college courses prepared them to teach the new curriculum, others believed that college courses did not prepare them for teaching the new curriculum; d) the results of this study showed that teachers’ practices are not aligned with their beliefs about the quality of the Flying High curriculum. Moreover, the results of the study also indicated that teachers' role in the planning of the ELDP was minimal and that teachers and students were not ready for the implementation of the new reforms. Finally, the findings revealed that teachers felt they were inadequately trained on the new EFL curriculum.