English Café: An Initiative to Encourage Undergraduate Learners of Al-Asyah Province to Showcase Their Spoken Proficiency in English

Abstract

This article advocates that spoken language is learned only when genuine communication and exposure occur, not when it is practiced simply as a set of structures or only when its grammar is learned. This research study demonstrates the possibility of exploring novel approaches to inspire non-native EFL learners in the Al-Qassim region of Saudi Arabia to master communication skills by establishing a linguistic club named English Café to showcase their spoken proficiency. The study sample consisted of undergraduates from level 1 and level 2 from the first year of the B.A. program. The methodology adopted was a descriptive-analytical method using a questionnaire and spoken activities to achieve the desired objectives. One major finding was that participants improved their communicative competence by participating in pronunciation and speaking activities through constant motivation, preferred learning style, self-interest, and willingness to participate naturally with expert guidance initially and constant practice after that.

Pronunciation Problems Encountered by EFL Learners: An Empirical Study

“…Lack of pronunciation skills reduces learners' self-confidence and limits their social interactions. EFL teachers can help their learners obtain the necessary skills of pronunciation they need for effective communication (Gilakjani & Sabouri, as cited in Jahara & Abdelrady, 2021).…”

“…Phonemic word squares helped to develop pronunciation by attention focusing, anticipating sounds, and inferencing the phonemes in word squares, as cited by (Jahara & Abdelrady, 2021). After sufficient training through Blackboard LMS, most participants were able to understand native and near-native English speech.…”

“…According to the new education policy, the Ministry of Education has incorporated English as a foreign language (EFL) into the Saudi Arabian education system as one of the mandatory options beginning in primary school and continuing through university. Ministry of Education (2021) as cited in Jahara & Abdelrady (2021). As a result of its global recognition, EFL has become a requirement for learners in the educational context.…”

“…Phonemic word square: A phonemic word square pronunciation test was given to enrich English pronunciation, with missing phonemes identified and added to phonemic word squares to create meaning full words as cited by (Jahara & Abdelrady, 2021). The researchers gave the participants ten examples of "English vowels" and asked them to guess the words related to short vowels, long vowels, and diphthongs, such as "/i:/ beach, /aɪ/ rhyme, /ɔ:/ talk, /ɒ/ shop, /e/ sell, /ae/ cap, /ʌ/ cut, /ʊ/ bush, /eɪ/ pain and /əʊ/ tone" (Hancock, 2012, p. 136).…”

“…They improved in identifying English sounds to fill the phonemic word squares, for example, /i:/ beach, bean, cheese and knees, /ae/ bat, tap, cap and sat /e/ sell, tell, set, yet, /ɔ:/ tall, talk, call, laws and so on. This game can be adapted to teach any vocabulary item, and it is a great way to teach English pronunciation more clearly and distinctively, as cited by (Jahara & Abdelrady, 2021). After the initial pronunciation test, the other tests administered to the participants are exposed to open-ended tasks to enrich their listening and pronunciation skills and experience predicting abilities to perform better.…”