Introduction
Arabic is the national language and lingua franca of Saudi Arabia. It is widely used, both formally and informally, for inter-personal communication. English is the medium of instruction in many higher educational institutions in Saudi Arabia, like medical and technical Education colleges. This change in the medium puts a strain on the students. As a result, many of them rush to language teaching institutes to learn to cope with the new medium in tertiary education. Many students, it is observed, watch English movies and use electronic media to develop communication skills. They struggle hard to learn to both receive and produce English sentences and discourse.
Saudi government made it a point to provide equal educational opportunities
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Much is left to the imagination of the teacher and the students, and, if possible, upon the interpretative ability of the students. In new methods, the teacher’s skill in making the learner feel the experience of the writer contributes to effective learning. The teacher has to have ability to apply new techniques suitable to the learning of English language.
The teacher must have an ability to connect the non-native aspect in the content and language with real life situation. It is very important for teachers to provide a safe learning environment, treat language learning as a social process where comprehensible input is a must when expecting comprehensible output. Most importantly, FL teachers must provide students with adequate teaching methodology and time, as well as suitable vocabulary and learning activities that will permit for the development of verbal
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That is why English teachers must find methods that are the most appropriate during the different stages of the teaching and learning process and then design curriculum to meet their final goals.
Discover the maximum opportunity to develop your potential with the help of teaching methods offered.
Changes in Focus of Learning
In the new world of changing global requirements, the methods are to be modified by the teacher while educating the students. Globalization now has altered the objectives of teaching English into skill based, self- learning, professional and unicultural concerns. The modern techniques, use of materials like audio-video, participations in seminars, live interactions, preparing students for varied source of information on their own, developing the skills of synthesis of knowledge among them, such methods are to be followed to remove the cultural and linguistic barriers and make the learning more fruitful.
To foster learning a teacher should make the students think critically. Critical thinking is a disciplined manner of thought which assess the validity of things such as statements, news, stories, arguments, research etc. (Richard R. Day,
Language barriers invites academic failure. In 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conducted research across 26 countries showing that over 50 percent of students who dropped out of school did not speak the language in which they were being educated. According to the Kids Count Data Center, the number of children ages 5 to 17 who speak a language other than English at home increased from 9.5 million in 2000 to nearly 12 million in 2015 (a 25 percent increase). Language barriers can have long-term negative effects on a student's academic performance. (Elsworth,2017).
Due to the rise in immigration and the demographics of classrooms in America are changing. As a result, English Language Learners are becoming more common in schools. English Language Learners make up one of the largest demographics in the American Classroom (Flynn & Hill, 2005). These students have been observed to have a major achievement gap because many of these students are placed in mainstream classrooms with basic literacy skills. Many English Language Learners are born in the United States (Goldenberg, 2008). These students have only attended the school system in America. However, the achievement levels are nowhere near the level of their peers. According to Calderon, Slavin, and Sanchez (2011) “these students, who have been in U.S. schools since kindergarten, are still classified as limited English proficient when they reach middle or high school— suggesting strongly that preschool and elementary programs are not adequately addressing the needs of English learners.” The achievement gap between English Language Learners and native English speaking students is extremely high. English Language Learners tests scores are low. According to the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress, “fourth grade ELLs scored 36 points lower than their peers on the reading section of the test and 25 points below their peers in math. The results in eighth grade were worse with a difference of 42 points in reading and 37 points in math” (Goldenberg, 2008). The gap between ELLs and non-ELLs are three to eighteen points larger then students from low-income households.
The statistics of those not speaking English could lead to the idea that English is diminishing in certain sections of the United States. An example of this is shown in the article “Why the U.S. Needs an Official Languag...
Headden, Susan. "Tongue-tied in the Schools." U.S. News&World Report. September 25, 1995. Page 44 (4).
Chisholm, M Ines. (1999). The Journal of Educational Issues of Language Minority Students. v 14 43-68
...gely by religious values: Conservative dress, conservative literature, and conservative behavior. Freedom of political and religious expression is not allowed, and diversions like dancing, or movies, activities are almost nonexistence in Saudi Arabia. As it has been for centuries, the cultural and political life of Saudi Arabia continues to be expressed in terms of Islamic principles.
The issue of immigration has been a hot topic in the United States for much of its history. Recently the point of conflict has risen over the issue of bilingual education in public schools. Many people have become opposed to this form of learning and propose a speedy immersion program. Others cling steadfastly to the norm of bilingual education proclaiming that immigrant children would be lost if thrown into mainstream classrooms. Still, some have found middle ground through what have been termed dual immersion programs. Although it is somewhat difficult and complicated to sort through the different perspectives it is necessary; what is decided on this issue will effect the education of thousands of children for years to come.
It is no wonder that the United States is lagging in the area of foreign languages. Where most European students are required to learn a foreign language at age eight, American students are barely asked to utter a syllable in a non-native tongue until the age of fourteen (Tagliere), and even then it is merely ‘strongly encourag...
Teaching students a language that is foreign can really be challenging for students as well as for the teachers. The dynamic rule for implementing instructing in a diverse class to English-learners is to use resourceful life skills such as diligence, hard work and patience. There are also methods that are involved in teaching English as a second language that can be creative for the teacher, yet beneficial to the student. First building a strong foundation that is essential to English learners will promote the language acquisition process. To do this teacher’s should always start with preparation. Advance preparation is essential in order to provide necessary adaptations in content area instruction and to make content information accessible for second language lear...
According to the American Educational Research Association, a child tends to absorb a language th...
The United States Education System is unique in international comparison because of its goal to ensure that every student receives a high-quality education. It tackles a wide range of major issues to guarantee that every child receives the same educational opportunities, but none have been more challenging than the issue of language barriers. In the United States alone, English language learners are considered to be “one of the fastest-growing populations within the educational system” (Elsworth). The government, state education boards, public/private schools, teachers, parents, and students face the difficult obstacles that language barriers have set. To help minimize the effects of language barriers
Saudi Arabia has developed rapidly in all sectors because of information and communication technology. ICT has significant impact in all sectors of economy of Saudi Arabia. It has also enabled the government to implement strategies that benefit citizens in terms of information technology that has led to high GDP and economic growth. The desert land that Saudi Arabia is known for has faded to an ICT hub. This is because of the strategic value that information technology has provided the country is insurmountable. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia exposes children to ICT at an early age through introduction of information and communication technology in schools so as to prepare them for the complex technological society that awaits them later in life.
According to arab news, Saudi has reached the goal of the pledge made by participants to decrease the illiteracy rate by 50 %. The government is continue to provide and implement programs that may help to stopping illiteracy.
Experiencing those days where people would laugh at other for the broken English; the grammar and pronunciation are the toughest parts of the language. People with English as a second language always stumble upon difficulties; however, the determination of learning a new language do not decrease easily as the motivation is still surrounding one’s mind. Today, English has become an international communication; even the teaching and learning of the language has already spread throughout the world. English is known as one of the most common use language and has been offering classes everywhere for years especially around Asia; additionally, the world common language has now become the number one language uses in every fields of career that is being offer everywhere. Non-American students should be required to take English class as a second language in school
In 2009, teachers of a New Jersey school banned foreign languages and stated, “any language other than English will not be tolerated" (Debaron 1). This situation was soon no longer allowed. While over ten percent of the total adolescent education systems contain emergent bilinguals, a whopping sixty percent of those students are educated in only English (Bale). Maria Estela Brisk, a Boston College Education professor, believes, “schools has wasted much energy in the search for a "perfect" model and the best way to learn English” when they could just focus on proving “quality education” to every student in the system (1). Teacher’s main priority should consist of effectively teaching their students to prepare them for the future, but currently there are a lack of certified bilingual education teachers. When students are taught more in different ways, they can educationally benefit their cognitive abilities, involving the brain with “mathematics, problem solving, logic and memory”, can be improved to create an overall better student. Even by learning another language at a earlier age can contribute to __________. Learning another language will be