Perceptions of pharmacy students regarding language of instruction in health education

Abstract

The Arab world is a gateway between the West and the East and a land of ancient cultures and conflicts. Arabs are living in confusing times while attempting to build modern civilizations based on ancient traditions. Presently, Arab students stand at crossroads regarding the medium of instruction in health education (English-versus-Arabic). Federal policy pursues proficiency in English and accredits English authored text-books while native beneficiary population still faces considerable linguistic inertia and prefers Arabic. In countries like Saudi Arabia, where tutor population is majorly fractioned into Arabic and non-Arabic speakers, the perception of students is pivotal in assessing the role of language in achievement of learning objectives. This study explores Arab students linguistic preferences and attitudes in pharmacy education through administering a semi structured questionnaire. Survey based data suggests that a majority of Arab pharmacy students still prefer Arabic as the predominant medium of classroom instruction. The key underlining factor for such attitudes is the harmony between 'thinking and speaking' that is created with the use of 'familiar 'language.