AN ANALYSIS OF LEARNERS’ SOCIAL INTERACTION TOWARDS SPOKEN ENGLISH AMONGST A CLASS OF PRE-INTERMEDIATE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SAUDI ARABIA Mansour Wahby MA, Sunderland University 1. Introduction The major purpose of this study is to measure Saudi prep-year college students’ social interaction towards spoken English language. Three different research tools were used to analyse students’ attitudes towards English language and its relation to interacting in spoken English. All participants were randomly selected from the preparatory year in the Deanery of Academic Services in Taibah University in Medinah, KSA. A closer examination of the data demonstrated that the more the topic of discussion is relatively relevant to learners’ background knowledge, the more they interact in English language. Moreover, insular learners seem to interact less in spoken English language. 1.1. Saudi Arabia and the Saudi society The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is mostly sunni Muslim country in the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. Most people speak the Arabic language. There are mainly two types of Saudis; the ‘Bedouin’ and the ‘Hadar’. The former are originally from Saudi Arabia and were mostly living in deserts; they seem to be much more insular. The latter are those whose forefathers got the Saudi nationality long ago and now they have no other nationality except the Saudi one. However, it is socially inappropriate to discuss this issue. 1.2. English Language in Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, English is spoken as a foreign language, and the Saudi English is essentially a performance variety. As an EFL country, English is used in Saudi Arabia as a tool for business, diplomacy, travel, and as a medium in higher education. Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest countries in the world that have a population of long distance foreigners in relation to citizens’ population. Most of the English native speakers of these foreigners live in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia as they work in Petroleum business. Mainly, Saudis communicate with them by using English. Therefore, it seems that most eastern Saudis are more open and better at using English language than western Saudis. Non-native speakers of English from countries like Page 1 of 21
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Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, represent the majority of the foreigners’ population in Saudi Arabia. This population, instead of communicating in English, created their own variety of Arabic in order to be able to communicate with Saudis. 1.3. Literature Review Learners’ attitudes towards the target language have been shown to play a key role in the learning of a second as well as foreign language (Gardener, 1985; Ellis, 1994; Prapphal, 1987; Brown, 1994; Krashen, 1982). Hence, if learners have positive attitudes towards English language, this might increase their interest in using spoken English for interaction inside the classroom. Many studies assessing L2 learners’ attitudes have appeared in the past three decades. However there are almost very few studies investigating learners’ interaction towards spoken English Language in general and EFL in particular. L2 learners’ attitudes research indicates that foreign language teachers rarely take learners’ attitudes into consideration in the teaching process (Paul, 1996). This fact may explain why many learners are failing to succeed in foreign language learning even though they may have studied it for many years, as is the case in Saudi Arabia context. This paper examines learners’ social interaction towards spoken English amongst a class of pre-intermediate learners of English language in prep-year in Taibah University in Medinah, Saudi Arabia. More specifically, the study addresses the following hypothesis: 1. The more the topic of discussion is relevant to learners’ background knowledge, the more they interact in English language. 2. The more insular the learners are the less interested they are in speaking English language. Pennington and Yue (1994) surveyed the attitudes towards English existing among secondary school students in Hong Kong. The study found that there is a strong desire to learn English on the part of Hong Kong secondary students without any strong sense that knowledge of English gives particular social benefits within the community; an attitude that, not only hinders motivation for interaction in English language, but also contradicts the concept of ‘language capital’ as a tool for social respect and economic support. Cleary (1996) conducted a research with university students in Malaysia. The results showed that 100% of the students believed that English is “conduit for western culture and Arabic should be raised to equal status with English or should completely take the role of English in Malaysia.” This seemingly racist attitude towards English language might be due to the Page 2 of 21
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‘linguistic imperialism’ practiced by the American and western governments in this region of the world. Consequently, there might be unconscious reluctance to interact in spoken English even inside the classroom. Buschenhofen (1998) assessed the attitudes of 537 final year secondary school students and 734 first year college students in Papua New Guinea towards English. The results showed a generally positive attitude by both groups towards English. For example, both groups strongly agreed with statements like: 1. I wish I could speak fluent and accurate English. 2. I would take English even if it were not a compulsory subject at school. 3. The English Language sounds very nice. This finding seems to be normal in one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages. This positive attitude, if used by teachers appropriately, might help a lot in motivating students to interact more in English inside and outside the classroom. Abdul Hafeez Mian (1998) conducted a study that investigates Punjabi speakers’ motivation for studying English as a second language (ESL) and their attitudes toward English as second language and speakers of English as a native language. The study showed that Punjabi speaking students have a variety of attitudes towards learning English as a second language and speakers of English as a native language. Malallah (2000:19-43) conducted a research with Kuwait University undergraduates which examined students’ attitudes and motivations to learning English as a foreign language in a predominantly Arab and Muslim environment. This research showed that Kuwait University undergraduates, in general, have positive attitudes towards learning English, towards the English language and towards native speakers of English. This research also showed that students have reasons to study English and the Kuwaiti society values and regards the English language highly. As one of the gulf area nations, Kuwaitis are relatively considered the most open people to the American culture and language, especially after independence war; a military operation that was lead by the American Air Forces who seem to be the saviors of Kwait. Hegemony is a clear concept in this context as the ruling dominant groups of the Kuwaiti society seem to have positive and supportive attitudes towards English Language. Atef Al-Tamimi (2009) conducted a study that investigates Petroleum Engineering students’ motivation and attitudes towards learning the English language. Data for the students’ Page 3 of 21
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attitudes revealed that most of students had positive attitudes towards the social value and educational status of English. In addition, the results indicated that a high number of the students showed their interest in the culture of the English speaking world as represented by English-language films. This reflects how media can construct attitudes and opinions. The addressees, by these films in this context, are not communicating with the addressers, who might not even be alive. However, they are culturally interacting and might be socially both affecting and affected. 2. Method 2.1. Setting of the study The present study was conducted in Medinah in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Although it is not a big city, it is famous and adored by Muslims around the world because the prophet of Islam, Mohammed (PBUH), lived and was buried in this blessed city. Despite being small, it has two governmental universities of which one is for Islamic studies only. Consequently, all the participants in this study were chosen from the other university which is Taibah University. In order to have a representative sample of students, the participants were chosen from the ‘Preparatory Year’ where there are 5000 male and female students who will join the different faculties of the university next year. However, the sample represents male students only as the researcher has no access to the female section owing to social and cultural aspects. 2.2. Material This study was conducted utilizing a 21-item questionnaire in order to get accurate statement of the students’ attitudes. The researcher translated the questionnaire orally into Arabic inside the classroom while students were reading the items included in order to make sure that the participants had comprehended the items of the survey instrument. The first seven questions were intended to gather personal information about each participant. Questions 8 to 16 measured students’ attitudes towards English language. The remaining 5 questions were intended to check the degree of insularity of each participant. The students completed the questionnaire during a class session under the supervision of the researcher. The questionnaire used in this study was a five-point Linkert scale whose items were selected from Pennington and Yue (1994) and the Buschhofen (1998) studies and were modified to suit the Saudi university context.
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To ensure its internal validity, the questionnaire was piloted prior to carrying out the main study. On the basis of the outcome from the pilot study, the questionnaire was amended and the final draft was prepared for the main study. The correlation of the items was positive and varies between 0.31 and 0.64. Participants were given a speaking activity that required them to raise discussions about two different situations with five guiding questions. The first situation, which was taken from “Touchstone 4”, was about a situation that is irrelevant to the Saudi society and culture. The second situation was one that is adapted to the Saudi society and culture. An observation checklist, as a second tool, was used to measure students’ interaction in spoken English Language as one of the behavioural attitudes inside the classroom. Besides the questionnaire and the activity, interviews were used to obtain data to supplement and cross-validate the students’ responses to the questionnaire. The interviewees were asked about 1) their reasons for learning English, 2) their interest to attend more training courses in English, and 3) their attitudes towards the English language and towards the culture of the English speaking world. 2.3. Participants The original pool of participants for this study consisted of 50 male Saudi pre-intermediate mixed ability students who are native speakers of Arabic. They are enrolled in prep-year, Deanery of Academic Services, Taibah University. Prep-year is the first year in Saudi universities, where English and other subjects are studied, to enhance students’ level of English and prepare them for their university life. Some participants were eliminated for 1) speaking in Arabic during the activity, or 2) failing to count their responses accurately. Based on these criteria, 14 participants were excluded from the study, yielding a final sample consisting of 36 participants. All the participants were used as a control group when dealing with the first situation in the speaking activity; which is taken from their course book “Touchstone 4”. The same participants were used as an experimental group when dealing with the second situation in the activity; where the content was adapted to the Saudi society. 2.4 Procedures A questionnaire that reflects participants’ social background knowledge and their attitudes towards English language was conducted prior to performing the speaking activity. On Page 5 of 21
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the same session, the activity was given to the participants. The researcher gave the instructions to the students and made sure that they understand what they were intended to do. Students were divided into groups of 4 and a fifth student is added as an observer. Observers were previously oriented and trained on their job; which is to observe the group and fill in the checklist according to the group members’ responses. The groups were asked to read the two situations and choose one to start with (This procedure was intended to test which situation they would choose first; the relevant or the irrelevant one, as an indication to their tendency as an aspect of attitude). Two days after conducting the questionnaire and the activity ten students were randomly selected, after excluding invalid participants, to attend a five-question interviews. Students’ responses were recorded, transcribed and analysed. 3. Results The data collected in the present study was of two types i.e. quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative data of the questionnaire and the activity were analysed in terms of means and frequency, using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and percentages. For analysing the qualitative part of the data, on the other hand, a content analysis method was used. In the analysis process, the interviewees’ responses for each question were transcribed. After that, the responses were analysed in terms of themes related to the study objectives. Table 1 Students’ responses to items 4 & 5 in the questionnaire
PART I 4. Which type of school were you in?
5. How long have you been studying English?
Governmental
G&P
Private
23
9
4
Less
7Y
10 Y
12 Y
14 Y
15
9
1
3
8
Participants’ background gives an idea about their exposure to English Language. This was reflected through the first 5 items in the questionnaire. As shown in table 1, item number 4 indicates that all the participants were in either governmental or private schools where the medium of instruction is not English. Item number 5 shows how long these participants have studied English.
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The second part of the questionnaire was to investigate the relationship between students’ English background and their attitude mainly towards using spoken English.
Table 2 Students’ responses to items 8 -15 that reflect students’ attitude towards English language interaction in percentages 8. I feel confident when I speak in English about
topics that I am aware of. 9. I don’t worry a lot about making mistakes while speaking in English. 10. I find myself fluent when I speak in English about things relevant to my life and society. 11. I think people in my local community respect me more if I can communicate in English. 12. I like to see English speaking films.
13. I feel uncomfortable when hearing a Saudi speak English. 14. I should not be forced to learn English.
15. If I use English, it means that I am not patriotic.
SD
D
U
A
SA
2.78%
2.78%
19.44%
52.78%
22%
19.44%
36.11%
16.67%
27.78%
0%
5.56%
13.89%
27.78%
38.89%
14%
8.33%
11.11%
22.22%
30.56%
28%
0.00%
2.78%
0.00%
30.56%
67%
41.67%
16.67%
19.44%
16.67%
6%
16.67%
19.44%
0.00%
13.89%
50%
61.11%
8.33%
13.89%
8.33%
8%
As shown in (table 2) and (chart 1, App. 5), items number 8, 9 and 10 show that although more than half of the participants feel confident when speaking about topics relevant to their social background, they worry about making mistakes. Whereas item number 12 shows that 90% of the participants have positive attitudes towards exploring the native English speakers’ culture through movies and item number 14 shows that 63% consider that Saudis should be forced to learn English. Table 3 Students’ responses to statements 16 -20 that reflect the degree of students’ insularity in percentages 16. I like getting to know people from other countries. 17. I prefer not to try new ideas until other people do. 18. I find it hard to make conversation even with people who speak my own language. 19. I can express myself through writing more than speaking. Page 7 of 21
SD
D
U
A
SA
5.56%
0.00%
16.67%
30.56%
47%
27.78%
25.00%
22.22%
16.67%
8%
44.44%
25.00%
16.67%
11.11%
3%
5.56%
30.56%
41.67%
11.11%
11%
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20. I can express myself in English but not in front of a group of people
5.56%
19.44%
16.67%
38.89%
19%
It is supposed that insular people like to stick more to L1 than using L2. Items number 16 and 18, in (Table 3) and (chart 2, App. 5), show that more than 69% of the participants are open to make friendships and conduct conversations with foreigners and even 52.78%, as shown in item 17, are open to try new ideas. Although the majority are undecided about expressing themselves in a better way through speaking or writing, a total of 57. 89% are shy to express themselves in spoken English in front of others. Table 4 Students’ responses to item 21 that reflect students’ stereotyping of Saudis and native English speakers in percentages
21. When you hear a Saudi speaking Arabic and a native speaker speaking English, which person do you think:
Saudi
Saudi & English
English
Honest
58.33%
22.22%
19.44%
Educated
27.78%
13.89%
58.33%
Friendly
72.22%
5.56%
22.22%
Wealthy
66.67%
11.11%
22.22%
Helpful
75.00%
5.56%
19.44%
The majority of the participants, as shown in (table 4) and (chart 3, App. 5), consider that Saudis are more honest, friendlier, wealthier and more helpful while natives are more educated.
Table 5 Each student’s total interactions in situation 1 & situation 2
Students S 1
S 2
S 3
S 4
S 5
S 6
S 7
S 8
S 9
S 10
S 11
S 12
S 13
S 14
S 15
S 16
S 17
S 18
Total Contributions (Situation 1)
7
14
15
4
6
8
12
2
8
10
12
9
8
15
8
10
9
12
Total Contributions (Situation 2)
7
18
24
4
10
13
15
8
13
9
9
4
5
24
13
4
5
15
S 19
S 20
S 21
S 22
S 23
S 24
S 25
S 26
S 27
S 28
S 29
S 30
S 31
S 32
S 33
S 34
S 35
S 36
Total Contributions (Situation 1)
14
12
7
1
2
0
0
2
3
4
2
10
12
9
8
15
14
10
Total Contributions (Situation 2)
15
15
9
3
5
0
1
4
3
2
6
9
9
4
5
24
24
4
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It is clear, as shown in (table 5) and (chart 4, App. 5), that 20 students out of 36 participants interacted more in the second situation which is relevant to the Saudi social background whereas 12 students made more interaction in the first situation.
Table 6 The relation between participants’ English background, attitude towards English and interaction in situations 1 & 2
Participants
(Item 3) Travelling to native countries
(Item 5) Years of studying English
Attitude towards English
Interaction (situation 1)
Interaction (situation 2)
S2
NO
7
Positive
14
18
S3
YES
Less than 7
Positive
15
24
S5
NO
Less than 7
Negative
6
10
S6
YES
7
Positive
8
13
S7
NO
12
Positive
12
15
S8
NO
Less than 7
Positive
2
8
S9
NO
7
Positive
8
13
S 14
NO
14
Positive
15
24
S 15
NO
Less than 7
Positive
8
13
S 18
NO
Less than 7
Positive
12
15
S 19
NO
Less than 7
Positive
14
15
S 20
YES
Less than 7
Positive
12
15
S 21
NO
Less than 7
Positive
7
9
S 22
NO
Less than 7
Negative
1
3
S 23
NO
Less than 7
Negative
2
5
S 25
YES
Less than 7
Positive
0
1
S 26
NO
Less than 7
Positive
2
4
S 29
NO
14
Positive
2
6
S 34
NO
12
Positive
15
24
S 35
NO
7
Positive
14
24
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(Table 6) shows the relationship between the main three aspects of the study. The first is the students who made more interaction in the second situation which is relevant to the Saudi social context. The second is those students’ background of English. The third aspect is their attitudes towards English language.
Table 7 The relation between insular participants, their English background, and their interaction in situations 1 & 2
Participants
(Item 3) Travelling to native countries
(Item 5) Years of studying English
Insularity
Interaction (situation 1)
Interaction (situation 2)
S4
NO
Less than 7
Insular
4
4
S5
NO
Less than 7
6
10
8
13
9
4
10
4
12
15
14
15
1
3
0
0
2
4
2
6
9
4
10
4
S9 S 12 S 16 S 18 S 19 S 22 S 24 S 26 S 29 S 32 S 36
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NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
7 14 14 Less than 7 Less than 7 Less than 7 Less than 7 Less than 7 14 14 14
Insular Insular Insular Insular Insular Insular Insular Insular Insular Insular Insular Insular
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Participants’ responses, shown in tables 3, indicate that 13 of them seem to be insular. (Table 7) shows that 6 of these participants made the least interactions in both situations; however 7 students showed more interaction in the second situation. Other 4 participants, who seem to have more English background knowledge, interacted more in the first situation. The most insular student showed no interaction at all in both situations.
4. Discussion 4.1. Hypothesis and Findings The main purpose of the study is to prove that students interact more in spoken English when the topic of discussion is relevant to their social background. However, if they are insular they tend to interact less even if the topic is relevant. The results of the study proved that the first hypothesis is relatively true; however the percentage of the participants whose interaction was more in the second situation which is relevant to their social background was only 54%, as shown in chart 5 (appendix 4), which is not significantly high. It is clear, in (table 6), that most of the 20 participants, who interacted more in the second situation, have never travelled to English native countries and studied English less than 7 years. This indicates that their English background knowledge is not good enough; however most of them have positive attitudes towards English language. Part of those 20 participants were among the randomly chosen interviewees. Their answers to the question, “Which do you think is more practical and honest, British and American leaders or Arab leaders? Why?“ might explain the reason behind theirs positive attitude. Four of them preferred “British leaders” pointing out that these leaders are “simpler”, “friendlier” and “show more respect to their citizens” than Arab leaders do. These simplicity and friendliness, as “interpersonal meanings”, are manipulated by the British leaders, who are more capable of constructing a ‘synthetic personality’, “for strategic and instrumental purposes.” (Talbot, 2003). One of these purposes is to affect and control the audience as was the case with those Saudi participants. In addition, items number 8 and 10, in (table 2), reflect that more than half of the participants feel confident when they speak in English about topics relevant to their social background. However, on the one hand, item number 9 shows that more than 50% of the Page 11 of 21
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participants worry about making mistakes; which might relatively demotivate them to speak English especially with natives in order to avoid embarrassment. On the other hand, items number 11 and 13 indicate that more than 50% of the participants have positive attitude towards interacting in English among Saudis. The second hypothesis proved to be more valid as the majority of insular participants showed the least interactions in both situations although some of them have relatively good English background knowledge. Moreover, three of the interviewees were Bedouin insular students as reflected in the item ‘Home Town’ in the first part of the questionnaire. When they were asked “Do you think that Western and American movies are offensive to the Arab culture? Why?“, the answer of the three students was “Yes“. Two of them justified their answers by saying that most western and American movies present Arabs as “savages“ and “primitive people who live in deserts.“ An aspect that might have contributed to these two participants‘ negative attitudes as shown in the questionnaire. This reflects the effect of media and the “Use of dysphemism“ as “a common characteristic of racist discourse.“ (Talbot, 2003). In addition, it shows that “generalisation“ which “deals with sweeping reductive stereotypes“ may contribute to forming a negative attitude towards the generaliser and his language. If we have an overall view of the opinions of the participants about the five qualities mentioned in item number 21 in the questionnaire, we can apparently observe that the majority of the participants consider Saudis to be more honest 58.33%, friendlier 72.22%, wealthier 66.67%, and more helpful 75%. Accordingly, most of the participants tend to be insular and, in a context that provides them with the chance to deal with Saudis and natives of English, they will probably deal more with Saudis which means interacting in Arabic more than in English; a result that supports the second hypothesis of the study. In addition, as shown in (table 5), participants who proved to be more insular (13 students) interacted in the second situation, which is relevant to the Saudi culture, more than the first one. Furthermore, three of the ten participants interviewed, including two insular students, answered negatively to the question, “Do you think that learning English language will help you in your future career? How?“, and one of the two insulars said, “I’m a citizen of an Arab country and I shouldn’t be judged on the basis of another language.” This participant showed negative attitude in the questionnaire and, when responding to item number 15, considered that using English means that he is not patriotic. This participant’s attitude might reflect the concept that “it’s often Page 12 of 21
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inadequate to attempt to account for the promotion or power of a particular language purely on the basis of a model of linguistic imperialism.” (Talbot, 2003).
However the other seven
interviewees gave a positive answer saying that most of the jobs in Saudi Arabia require English language proficiency. Some of them added, “English language gives more social respect.“ This goes with Morrison and Lui’s description of “Linguistic capital” which “can bring both cultural and economic advantage”.
4.2 Implications of the study The above findings imply that if the material utilized by the students is more relevant and based on their social background, they will be more interested in learning and more motivated to interact; which in turn will lead to a further stage of language acquisition. Out of the researcher’s experience as the Head of the Curriculum Unit in ELC, DAS, Taibah University, most of the English textbooks utilized in Saudi universities are modified versions for the Middle East designed by natives who usually don’t have enough background about the Middle Eastern culture in general and the Saudi social context in particular. Therefore, the researcher recommends designing material which is especially tailored for the Saudi context based on teachers and students needs analysis which reflect their interests and social background. However, this material should also cater for some other aspects such as enriching Saudi students’ knowledge of the various cultures in the world, accepting diversity, encouraging communication with different nationalities in order to make them less insular and more open to new ideas and concepts around the world.
4.3 Limitations of the study In this study, participants were drawn from one level of language experience. Therefore, findings should not be extrapolated to other levels of language experience, although these are areas that hold promise for further investigation. Due to using Arabic language during the speaking activity and failing to count some of the students’ interactions accurately, the number of participants was dramatically reduced from the original pool. Larger numbers of participants could only increase the statistical power of the results. Furthermore, the population of the study is limited to the Medinah area. Accordingly, the findings can’t be generalized to all Saudi students. Page 13 of 21
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References
Brown, H. D. (1994) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 3rd ed., Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Cleary, J (1996) "Can theories of ‘linguistic imperialism’ be falsified? Attitudes to English in a Malaysian university" Proceedings of the Edinburgh Linguistics Department Ellis, R. (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gardener, R. C. (1985) Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation. London: Edward Arnold, Harmer, J. (1991) The Practice of English Language Teaching. 3rd ed., London: Longman. Krashen, S. (1982) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. New York, NY: Pergamon. Malallah, S. (2000) "English in an Arabic Environment: Current Attitudes to English among Kuwait University Students" International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 3/1, 19-43. Paul, D. (1996) “Why Are We Failing?” The Language Teacher Online. Vol. 20, No. 9, URL: http:/ /langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt/96/sept/fail.html. SchrØder, K. & Phillips, L. (1999) “Mediatised Politics: Political Discourses and the Media in Contemporary Danish Democracy”. http://www.nordicom.gu.se/common/publ_pdf/12_059_070.pdf Shaaban, K. and Ghaith, G. (2003) "Effect of Religion, First Foreign Language, and Gender on the Perception of the Utility of Language" Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 2/1, 53–77.
Introduction Methods Results Discussion Page 14 of 21
1000 700 1200 1500
1100 760 1320 400 Mansour Wahby
Appendix 1 Questionnaire Please answer the following questions by either writing in a response, or marking the appropriate box. The responses will be used in a study on Saudi learners’ social interaction towards spoken English. Your answers will be kept strictly confidential, i.e. the responses will be pooled, coded and analysed without reference to your names. The distribution list will be seen only by myself, the researcher. Part I: PERSONAL AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND The questions in this section are asked only to help me build a general profile of respondents. As noted above, all responses will be dealt with anonymously. Code: __________
Age: __________
Home Town: __________
1. Do you have any other nationalities except the Saudi one? If yes, what is the other nationality?
Major: __________ Yes No __________________
2. Does any of your parents have any other nationalities except the Saudi one? Yes No If yes, what is the other nationality? __________________ 3. Have you ever travelled to an English native country? Yes No If yes, describe your experience there in three adjectives only. _________ , _________ , _________ 4. Which type of school were you in? o Governmental School o Private School o International School 5. How long have you been studying English? o Less than 7 years o 7 years (starting from Grade 6) o 12 years (starting from Grade 1) o 14 years (starting from KG1) o More than 14 years 6. How do you evaluate your English professiency? o very poor o poor o good o very good o excellent 7. How do you evaluate your parents‘ English profeciency? o very poor o poor o good o very good o excellent
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Part II: MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS SPOKEN ENGLISH Below is a list of 13 statements. Some of these you might agree with and others you might even find offensive. These statements are designed to provoke a response. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the questionnaire organiser. We would like you to tell us what your attitude is to each statement by circling one of the numbers from 1-5 1 = you Strongly Agree with the statement 2 = you Agree with the statement, but not very strongly 3 = you are Undecided and can’t make up your mind 4 = you Disagree with the statement, but not very strongly 5 = you Strongly Disagree with the statement … As we said on the first page, please try to answer all the questions and give your first thoughts on each statement. Don't spend a lot of time weighing-up your answers. There aren't any hidden catches. We just want to hear your opinions. SA
A
U
D
SD
8. I feel confident when I speak in English about topics that I am aware of.
1
2
3
4
5
9. I don’t worry a lot about making mistakes while speaking in English.
1
2
3
4
5
10. I find myself fluent when I speak in English about things relevant to my life and society.
1
2
3
4
5
11. I think people in my local community respect me more if I can communicate in English.
1
2
3
4
5
12. I like to see English speaking films.
1
2
3
4
5
13. I feel uncomfortable when hearing a Saudi speak English.
1
2
3
4
5
14. I should not be forced to learn English.
1
2
3
4
5
15. If I use English, it means that I am not patriotic.
1
2
3
4
5
16. I like getting to know people from other countries.
1
2
3
4
5
17. I prefer not to try new ideas until other people do. 18. I find it hard to make conversation even with people who speak my own language.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
19. I can express myself through writing more than speaking.
1
2
3
4
5
20. I can express myself in English but not in front of a group of people
1
2
3
4
5
PART III: LANGUAGE USE AND SOCIAL STEREOTYPES 21. When you hear a Saudi speaking Arabic and a native speaker speaking English, which person do you think: Saudi English a) b) c) d) e)
Thank you for your time – Your comments and willingness to help are greatly appreciated! Is more honest Is more educated Is more friendly Has more money Is more helpful
[Questionnaire designed by Mr. Mansour Wahby, Taibah University] Page 16 of 21
Mansour Wahby
Appendix 2 Speaking Activity Worksheet
Read the situation below. Then discuss it and answer the questions. Situation 1: Tom found out that his daughter Laura had been driving his car while Tom and his wife were out. Laura didn’t have a driver’s license. They had a huge argument, and Laura went out to the car and scratched the side with a knife. Tom called the police.
Questions
Why did the people act this way, do you think?
How do you think they must have felt?
Do you think they reacted appropriately? Why?
What do you think they should have done?
Would you have acted differently?
Read the situation below. Then discuss it and answer the questions. Situation 2: Saud is a supporter of Al-Hilal football team and Abdulaziz is a supporter of Al-Ittihad football team. Saud thinks that Al-Hilal will win the Saudi Final Cup while Abulaziz thinks that Al-Ittihad will win the cup. They had a severe argument and finally Saud decided not to talk to Abdulaziz until he supports Al-Hilal team.
Questions
Why did the people act this way, do you think?
How do you think they must have felt?
Do you think they reacted appropriately? Why?
What do you think they should have done?
Would you have acted differently?
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Mansour Wahby
Appendix 3 Speaking Activity Checklist Group ( )
1. Reponding supportively
2. Responding aggressively
3. Introducing a new relevant point
4. Digressing from the topic
Student (no.)
Student (no.)
Student (no.)
Student (no.)
5. Total number of contributions made Page 18 of 21
Mansour Wahby
Appendix 4
Interview questions
1. Why, do you think, you are studying English? 2. Do you think that learning English language will help you in your future career? How? 3. Are you interested in taking additional English courses when you finish prep-year? 4. Which do you think is more practical and honest, British and American leaders or Arab leaders? Why? 5. Do you think that Western and American movies are offensive to the Arab culture? Why?
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Mansour Wahby
Appendix 5
CHARTS Chart 1. Percentages of students’ responses to items 8 -15. 70.00% 60.00%
SD
50.00%
D
40.00% 30.00%
U
20.00%
A
10.00%
SA
0.00% Q8
Q9
Q10
Q11
Q12
Q13
Q14
Q15
Chart 2. Percentages of students’ responses to items 16 -20.
50.00% 45.00% 40.00% 35.00%
Q16
30.00%
Q17
25.00%
Q18
20.00%
Q19
15.00%
Q20
10.00% 5.00% 0.00% SD
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D
U
A
SA
Mansour Wahby
Chart 3. Percentages of students’ responses to item 21.
80.00% 60.00%
Saudi
40.00%
Sa & En
20.00%
English
0.00% Honest
Educated
Friendly
Wealthy
Helpful
Chart 4. Each student’s total contributions in situation 1 & situation 2. 25 20 15
Total Contributions
10
Total Contributions
5 0 S1
S3
S5
S7
S9
S11 S13 S15 S17 S19 S21 S23 S25 S27 S29 S31 S33 S35
Chart 5. Percentages of total interaction made by all the students in situations 1 & 2.
46% 54%
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Total Contributions (Situation 1) Total Contributions (Situation 2)
Mansour Wahby