The Implications of Authenticity and Intensity in EFL Teaching: A Study of the Intensive-Year Programme at the College of Telecom and Electronics (CTE), in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The current study endeavours to examine the extent to how authenticity, usage, and intensity of native English instruction impact EFL students behaviourally and linguistically at the preparatory year programme in CTE, where students undertake an intensive English course for one year. The programme is managed by an American company called Interlink and is entirely staffed by native English teachers. The implementation of this English instruction encompasses motivational, pedagogical, and administrative challenges that hinder its practicality for positive and achievable learning outcomes. To this end, this paper will attempt to address the sociolinguistic and historical profile of EFL in Saudi Arabia in order to present an overall picture of this study's context. Keywords: EFL, AYP, intensive, authentic, pedagogy, linguistic, students' needs IntroductionEnglish as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi Arabia (SA) has undergone various dramatic modifications due to some variables that lead to transforming the educational landscape in the Kingdom. Among the most significant of these are ongoing economic development, strong presence of English in Education and media, participants' attitudes and motivation. In addition, educational native English companies and the substantial number of Saudis studying in English countries can be seen as concomitant influences that affect EFL in the Saudi context.There are a number of researchers who have specifically studied the linguistic aspects of EFL learning and teaching in regard to methodology, curriculum, policy constrains, and teacher preparation that need to be functioned in with any appraisal of EFL paradigm in SA (Al-Subahi, 1988;Al-Mulhim, 2000;Alsobaihi, 2005;Al-Seghayer, 2011). On the other hand, some authors have gone beyond this as they mainly investigated the relationship between the Saudi society and EFL on what is known as sociolinguistic studies. They discuss the issues of attitudes towards English and its culture, anglicisation, and the role of the learners' social status in perceiving EFL (Al-Kahtani, 1995;Abed Alhaq & Smadi, 1996;Al-Khatib, 2006; Parry, 2012 It is assumed that exposing EFL students to native instructors besides adopting authentic practices and materials may have overwhelming consequences on the learning process in so many ways. Before addressing these issues in this paper, I will generally critique the sociolinguistic profile of EFL in order to paint an overall picture of the target context. This includes the history of English instruction in SA, its current status, and the attitudes of EFL students. English in Saudi Arabia History of English in Saudi ArabiaHistorically speaking, most of the Gulf Cooperation states such as Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates were introduced to English in the 19th century as a result of the British trade interests (Charise, 2007). However, it is unclear how English was established in SA since it has never been under European or American rule (Al-Seghayer, 2005). It was, indeed, the government's ow...

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“…Nevertheless, this positive finding of this study contradicts with other studies that reveal that NESTs' instruction has no statistical significance on the achievement of the Saudi EFL students such as Alshehri (2016), Alghofaili & Elyas (2017) and Elyas & Alghofaili (2019).…”

“…Generally, the research findings in the Saudi EFL context reveal two opposite readings about NEST. They either support the notion of having NESTs (Alseweed, 2012;Al-Shumaimeri 2013;and Ismaiel, 2017) or do not follow this mainstream viewpoint (Alshehri, 2016and Alghofaili & Elyas, 2017and Elyas & Alghofaili, 2019.…”

“…The results show that "there exist notable discrepancies between native and foreign English-speaking instructors in the EFL Saudi students' achievement in favour of NESTs" (p. 156). On the other hand, Alshehri (2016) implements a longitudinal study that focused on examining the implications of native English program for technical college students. The survey's sample is 42 teachers and 241 students, and the test sample is 1,414 students.…”

Teaching English Intensively by NESTs in the Saudi EFL Setting: Status and Implications

“…These are: 1) the present trend towards the notion of 'internalization' of Saudi's educational system which urges the Ministry of Education to adopt native English companies along with their native speakers, and 2) the ongoing efforts by policy makers to address the gap of language proficiency among the Saudi graduates (Al-shehri, 2022, p. 8). Therefore, NESTs or native English instruction is perceived as an attempt to remedy the language deficiencies that Saudi students possess (Alshehri, 2016 andBarnawi &Alhawsawi, 2017). In addition, it is grounded in the fact that learning English becomes crucial for Saudi university students "as part of their higher education requirements" (Alghofaili & Elyas, 2017, p. 2) that in itself requires English to be taught in an authentic manner by NESTs.…”

“…This study recommends that course contents should include the socio-cultural aspects of the Saudi students (Liton, 2013, p. 32). likewise, Alshehri (2016) carries out a longitudinal study aimed at examining the implications of having intensive-native English instruction in Jeddah city. The survey's sample is 42 teachers and 241 students, and the test sample is 1,414 students.…”