Based on a qualitative semi-structured interview, this paper argues that pedagogical positions can be negotiated and adjusted once a policy is introduced and a safe space for negotiation is created. It is a case study where we cite evidence from a Saudi university that shows the change in teachers' assumptions and, consequently, the negotiation process they had gone through within their institution due to a sudden policy shift. The paper highlights the importance of policies and the surrounding circumstances when it comes to negotiating pedagogical beliefs. This paper challenges the long-established assumption that age and much experience make it difficult for teachers to adapt their face-to-face educational activities to online platforms. We argue that institutional policies play a crucial role in shaping and reshaping teachers' assumptions and practices when the following conditions are met: sound IT infrastructure, technological support, and continuous training.

The importance of assessment literacy (AL) among teachers at all educational levels has been of interest for a considerable period. Literature has shown the increasing research surrounding the importance of AL knowledge and its impact on students' performance. This paper examines the level of assessment literacy among instructors on a Saudi higher education university preparatory program. It uses a/the Classroom Assessment Literacy Inventory (CALI), developed by Mertler and Campbell (2005), and a demographic questionnaire to investigate the AL level. It also looks at the impact of factors such as specialty (i.e., subject department), sex, academic qualification, and years of teaching experience on the AL level. The subjects of the study included 54 English and Basic Sciences teachers on the preparatory program. The study found that the level of AL among the participants was inadequate (mean=17). However, there was no significant difference found among the participants when it came to sex, qualifications, or years of experience. The subject department, on the other hand, was found to be a factor that impacted the level of AL. The study concludes with some recommendations related to increasing assessment literacy among in-service teachers and, more importantly, it highlights the importance of contextual factors when evaluating assessment literacy.

The recent decades have witnessed a remarkable increase in the body of research that examine the relationship between humour and language acquisition. This study, however, uses the microanalytical approach of Conversation Analysis (CA) to investigate the impact of the teachers' competent use of the first language (L1) as a source of humour on classroom interaction and, consequently, learning. The turn-by-turn analysis of the data shows how the teacher's use of L1 as a source of humour resulted in smoothness in the interaction and helped in avoiding communication breaking down as a result of the students' insufficient knowledge of the target language (L2) knowledge. The study found that the careful use of L1 as a source of humour also led to the production of longer and more meaningful turns by students, who are characterised as having limited linguistic resources. This use of L1, however, is context sensitive. Pedagogically, despite the scepticism surrounding the use of L1, the paper concludes by emphasising the usefulness of the competent use of L1 as a source of humour in EFL to increase classroom interaction and recommends increasing the teachers' awareness regarding the potential of the competent and occasional use of L1.

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This paper is an investigation of language use inside a content language integrated learning (CLIL) classroom at Saudi tertiary level. It examines the difference in language use between teachers and students in four subject-specific classrooms in which English is used as a medium of instruction. The study is informed by corpus linguistics (CL) and uses the principles and theoretical underpinning of conversation analysis (CA). It identifies the most frequent linguistic features of CLIL and examines their diverse interactional functions in this context. Amongst the most frequent linguistic features in CLIL are short response tokens such as "yes" and "no". Using a micro-analytic approach to conversation analysis, a closer look at the data shows the students' ability to use small and limited linguistic resources to accomplish multiple interactional functions such as taking the floor, taking turns and, most importantly, displaying orientation to knowledge. The data reflected the relationship between frequency and meaning construction. With regard to the difference in language use between teachers and students with regard to comes to short response tokens, the study shows some common interactional uses of response tokens between teachers and students, such as agreement, acknowledgement, response to confirmation checks and yes/no questions. On the other hand, it shows some exclusive interactional use of the same token by teachers and students. Finally, the paper emphasises the relationship of language, interaction and orientation to content knowledge in CLIL classrooms. Pedagogically, the findings have implications for teachers' language use and for increased classroom interaction.