As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most learning around the world has been transferred online. Learners who previously engaged in traditional learning now face a new challenge, a distinctive rise in e-learning. This drastic change could impact their learning behavior and acceptance of the change. As a result, their learning engagement could be affected massively. The present study therefore explores learners’ level of engagement in online courses using a designated school platform within the context of Saudi Arabia. A reliable measure was implemented in the study based on the Student Course Engagement Questionnaire (SCEQ). A survey was consequently conducted in a high school in Saudi Arabia, with a sample of 379 female English as a foreign language (EFL) learners studying a general English language course. The results revealed a high level of engagement among EFL Saudi learners. This helped to generate recommendations to improve EFL practices, primarily through the use of an online environment either at the national level in the Saudi context or the international level.

Social distancing became a must during the pandemic, which not only had implications for people’s social lives, but also for their learning. Collaborative work was almost impossible, especially in the classroom, despite a great need for this approach. For example, in their translation classes, the learners needed to collaborate with their peers, assisting each other in translating texts. Thus, the use of breakout groups is proposed in this study, although there is no guarantee that learners will accept this online approach. Consequently, the current research looks at learners’ acceptance of breakout groups on Blackboard in a translation class. To examine their acceptance, an existing scale was used, developed by Davis (1989) to measure two factors of technology acceptance: perceived usefulness and ease of use. A sample of 54 students on a Translation course at Al-Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, participated in this study. The results show that the learners found breakout groups on Blackboard to be useful and easy to use.

The aim of this paper is to describe the different approaches applied to teaching writing in the L2 context and the way these different methods have been established so far. The perspectives include a product approach, genre approach and process approach. Each has its own merits and objectives for application. Regarding the study context, it may be noted throughout previous researches that the product approach is the most common way of teaching EFL writing. In this regard, L2 teachers are mostly concerned with grammatical accuracy and the final written product. However, this paper shifts the emphasis more towards the process approach and how this is more appropriate for the Saudi context. A further description of measuring elements in this approach is provided. Finally, this means of providing feedback is considered in relation to the teaching of writing. As a result, it is hoped that this paper will provide insights for developing writing practices in EFL teaching in Saudi Arabia.

Even though learning can be complex when using a language other than one’s mother tongue, the English-medium communicative approach has been widely adopted in Saudi universities over recent years. Many universities in Saudi Arabia are teaching their courses through the medium of English rather than Arabic, as was previously the case. This also applies to the social and natural sciences. Moreover, instructors are trying to avoid using any Arabic in class, given that English has become the lingua franca in many domains. Thus, the current study seeks to understand how students in the College of Business and Management at Al-Imam University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia feel about English being used as the medium of instruction (EMI) as they study general course. Also examined is the relationship between their previous language test scores and current reflections. Twenty-four female students participated in a survey adapted from generating results to reveal a positive attitude to using EMI on their course. However, no relationship was found between the participants’ language assessment test scores and current feelings.

this study aimed to translate and investigate the psychometric properties of the short version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale in Saudi Arabia. Speaking skills are considered to be among the hardest skills for foreign language-learners to improve, especially while living in their home country and lacking adequate opportunities to communicate in the medium of the target language. In that sense, it is important to consider the teaching approach.

COVID-19 has struck the world in an unprecedented way. Countries quickly tried to counter the rapid spread of the virus by imposing strict measures and national lockdowns. At the same time, some governments took advantage of the pandemic to besmirch their opponents. We utilize van Dijk (J Polit Ideol 11(2):115–140 2006) critical discourse analysis model to investigate how newspaper headlines reacted to COVID-19 from through ideological lenses. Results show that while the US implied that China is the origin of the virus, headlines in Arab newspapers showed that Saudi Arabia blamed travel to Iran for the early increases of COVID-19 cases.

This study aimed to test the effectiveness of the 'Kahoot!' gamification program. It is one of the first studies of its kind to be conducted in a university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). An experimental design was adopted, followed by interview-style surveys. The sample comprised two, randomly selected groups who were undertaking the Grammar module of the English Diploma at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, KSA. One group, allocated to use Google Forms for their assignments, consisted of 32 female students. The other group, consisting of 32 female students, was allocated to use ‘Kahoot!’ (gamification) for their assignments. The results indicated no significant differences between the groups in terms of their grammar development. However, the impact factor was higher in the Kahoot! group, and the students in this group were very positive in describing their experience.