Review Of The Challenges Affecting English Language Learning For Saudi Students In Australia

Introduction of English Language Learning in Saudi Arabia

Discuss about the Review of the Challenges Affecting English Language.

This review aims to study the issues and challenges faced by Saudi students who are learning English as a second language and how the Australian context is influencing their learning. In order to understand the significance of the Australian context, we will begin by taking a look at the history of exposure to English for the Saudi citizens and the challenges faced by them in learning the language in their native country. We will then study how those challenges fare in Australia, and what factors can help facilitate the learning of English. This review aims to suggest ways of improving the current framework within which students are learning the language. At the same time, the challenges that remain will be uncovered, so that they can, in turn, be managed. There have been a few studies that have studied the English language learning difficulties for Saudi students, however, very few were available that studies Saudi students situation in Australia. This study attempts to bridge this gap in the literature of learning English.

Saudi Arabia had adopted English language as a secondary language of learning to integrate them or it? Into the mainstream. English language is one of the main tools responsible for globalization, by bringing the world together through a commonly understood and spoken medium of communication. This linguistic globalization manifests itself in an intensified use of verbal language across all domains of business and personal life across countries. Since the adoption of the Wallerstein? World system by the Saudi state, a comprehensive policy, SELEP- Saudi English Language Education Policy, was devised to facilitate the process. The Wallerstein world system segregates the world into three kinds of countries: Core, Semi-periphery and periphery countries. The periphery countries are the developing nations that rely primarily on their raw materials and physical resources, and the Semi-periphery are those countries which are moving towards increasing development and industrialization. The Core countries are the developed nations that have a monopoly over the production of either knowledge or goods, a functional communication with the rest of the world, and good governance of their own citizens (Wallerstein, 2006, pp. 26-29, 42-55). Hence, in order to move from the Semi-periphery to the Core region, it was essential that Saudi Arabia adopts English as their secondary language to facilitate their communication with the world.

This drive for assimilation in the Core part of the world began with King Abdul Aziz’s interventions, along with the help from (first)?, the Great Britain and then, the USA. As a result, English language training was introduced in Saudi much before it had become a State in 1930. However, the growth in English learning was quite slow. Despite its introduction in 1924, till 1949, only one college in Mecca taught English for two hours a week and the first English department was set up only in 1957 at King Saud University. After the Second World War, the United State emerged as the foremost world power and its influence and association with Saudi Arabia, the country with huge oil reserves, became far more intricate then what the Saudi-UK relationship had ever been. Accordingly, the English language also found more takers with increasing economic and infrastructural development. A lot of American expatriates and migrant workers arrived in Saudi Arabia to support the development, bringing their language and culture here from the 1970s onwards. Hence, the environment in the country grew increasingly open for communication, giving impetus to English learning. Ministries of Education, Defense, Petroleum, and Interior, all setup English learning centers and a number of institutes teaching the language also, sprung up. The number of English programs broadcast on radio and TV increased, the State tried its best to create a favorable opinion for English among its people and companies began demanding English speaking job candidates.

The Australian Context

The next step came with the resolve of the State to move from the semi-periphery status to being a Core nation. This was believed to be possible by moving towards becoming a knowledge power. In Riyadh (2009), the Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Abdullah Alireza announced that “Saudi Arabia is moving away from simply being a gas station of the world toward a sophisticated laboratory of excellence, innovation, and knowledge” (Rasooldeen, 2011). This gave impetus to the growth of higher education in the country. There are 52 Universities in Saudi Arabia currently, with most possessing an English department. The mode of teaching in many Universities, Engineering and Medical colleges is English. The schools have introduced English from the primary school level. In order to gain better acceptance for English among the people, the State has proclaimed it to be a great medium for spreading Islam for improving peace and humanity in the world. Thus, we find that the growth of reach and eminence in the spread of the English language has been possible, due to the sustained, painstaking and methodological steps taken by the Saudi State (Faruk, 2013).

In 1990, Australia attracted almost 25000 foreign students for its higher education programs; these numbers grew to over 20 million students in 2003 and 30 million in 2014. Australia is the third most popular world destination for education currently, coming after the US and the UK, and it attracts more than 7% of the world’s students to its higher education programs. The valuation of this industry stood at 15 billion in 2014, making it the fourth biggest export of Australia ( International Students in Australia and their role in the Australian economy, 2014). International students have other benefits for Australia too, they address the shortages in skills availability, and they give an impetus to tourism, and help in jobs creation.  Hence, the interest for the higher education authorities to show active participation in language learning for these students is manifold. Moreover, above everything else, these students are inherently valued by Australian teachers as being learners.

For the International students, Australia offers not only good education opportunities but a chance to learn the English language well, while immersing in its culture and context. In fact, some studies have found that the learning of the English language supersedes the desire for the education degrees for many students. The Saudi students expect to improve their English language skills to an extent that they become fluent like the native speakers. English is also crucial to performing well in their disciplinary courses (Yates & Wahid, 2013). This shows that the inherent desire and motivation to learn the language is very much present in Saudi students.

Saudi Students in Australia

In order to ensure that the International students feel at ease in their country, the Australian government had established a set of Good Practice Principles for the higher education sector (Australian Universities Quality Agency, 2009). Two principles in specific, are related to English language learning:

“Principle 8: International students are supported from the outset to adapt to their academic, socio-cultural and linguistic environment” (Australian Universities Quality Agency, 2009, p. 3).

“Principle 9: International students are encouraged and supported to enhance their English language development through effective social interaction on and off campus” (Australian Universities Quality Agency, 2009, p. 3)

These principles acknowledge the concern and interest of the Australian government to help International students learn and adapt to their culture and language. It, also, gives due credit to the role of social interactions between students for enhancing their learning experience. Australia offers far more than a mere classroom instruction and examinations for learning, it offers a native English speaking culture that allows its learners to practice their English speaking and writing skills as they go about their daily lives. The interventions began by the Australian government, show that they consider the difficulties and issues related to English learning, seriously and responsibly.

In 2013, more than seven thousand students came from Saudi Arabia to study in Australia ( International Students in Australia and their role in the Australian economy, 2014). The spurt in the numbers of students going abroad for studies from Saudi has been attributed in part to the King Abdullah scholarship program which was started in 2005. This scholarship program has helped to send a number of students abroad since its inception, catapulting the numbers from hundreds into tens of thousands. The program sponsors the stay, the course fees and aids in finding employment, thus, reducing the financial and mental burden from the students, preparing and supporting them better than how any other International student is.

However, for the Saudi students, apart from the regular challenges of adapting to a new nation and language, there are added adjustments required to move from a gender segregated society to a mixed one, which has significant departures from their conservative society (Groves, 2015). In a Doctoral dissertation on male Saudi students in Australia, it was reported that feelings of distance in language, identity and culture were felt extensively by them. Saudi men were content to learn English but, to an extent that it did not conflict with their culture and the practice of their religion (Midgley, 2010). This finding has implications for the authorities and the teachers, because if the teaching of the language is perceived to be at the cost of the existing values and religious teachings, for instance, the practice of Purdah, the restrictions in mixing of gender, and the other socializing norms, then the same will be rejected by these students and cause cognitive dissonance in them. We will next take a look at the current challenges faced by these students while learning English.

The topic chosen for the learning of English of the Saudi students in Australia is having a greater importance in the increasing world. The globalization has come up with the advancement in the society as well as the people which ultimately leads to a whole total development of the nation or the country. This can also be said that English is such a language which binds up the whole world with in a bond by which different culture, different people, and different society were able to mingle up with each other without any hesitation. As Saudi is particularly a different language country having the Urdu language as their main language, therefore there is an urgent need for opting English for the way to open up to the rest of the world for the further world. As there are the periphery, semi-periphery, and the core countries according to their base of development, so, therefore, the main aim for opting this study is to take the Saudi from semi-periphery country to the core country with a defined development. For this reason, Saudi has selected English as their second language to make it more sophisticated in every term of innovation, knowledge, and excellence. The Saudi students are present in every country and thereby they are usually going on with the processes of the country’s education system and also the education system affects their education structure. So as in Australia, as it is very much popular in providing higher education to foreign students, so there have a higher amount of export of the students to Australia for further studies. Same ways many Saudi students are residing in Australia also need to improve their English language so that they may not face any issues in the continuation of the studies. The improvement in the English language in the Saudi students also helps them to take up the studies to a higher state of the disciplinary courses which is also a resultant of the interest of the Saudi students in the language. Therefore in this research, it is important to unfold the reasons for the Saudi students are lacking and the reasons for their motivation for their development and their improvement.

This topic of the English learning of Saudi students makes them continue in the international environment with ease, for which the Australian government has taken many measures to enhance the English learning on the growing globalization. The website of Australian studies give the idea regarding the foreign students residing in Australia and also it shows that students from Saudi in Australia are approximately of 26,764 in numbers. They are there for the enrolment in the various sectors of the world for making their successful career and also the professional growth of the country. This is the reason why Australian government had formulated the principles for the adaptation of the cultures which will be further helpful in the enhancing the learning process with greater experiences. The students will eventually be more active in every situation regarding the speaking of English which will enhance their daily basis skills in their day to day lives. Some research studies have also shown this type of difficulties faced by the Saudi students in the different parts of the world that not only in speaking region but also with the writing part which they must need to develop. In a study submitted to the University of Auckland, it is said that the Saudi students have been facing many challenges in the writing part which is hampering the persuasion of their mainstream studies. Also, the study shows that at first the students have some hard situation for the particular English language which was changed with going time and motivation which will be helpful for the Saudi students to study in any university in the world. In another study of the overview of the English learning in Saudi shows the context of the English learning in the particular region which also gives many indications towards the social, cultural and economic values of Saudi. It also reviewed in the paper that Saudi Government is trying and taking required measures for the increase and enhancement of the English language in the nation as this is very important key for the advancement of the nation in every aspect. The government also have the idea to take the country into the list of the core countries or the developed countries by increasing the environment with more and innovations and knowledge of the people. Another study shows the motivation of the students of Saudi for the advancement of the country. The paper of the role of motivation and the motivational strategies says about the motivation of the students to enhance their languages and skills which will eventually be helpful in increasing the professional growth of the student and the nation. Therefore the Australian government and the Saudi government both are very much active in helping the students in pursuing the growth of their professional career.

The changes in the teaching tradition of Saudi people are a sign of the changing of the national culture by the effect of globalization which eventually changes the individual images of the public to actions. The English learning has intended for the fusion of the eastern and western cultures in the Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia  and Australia both are having bilateral relationship. In this particular scenario the study by Eiman Nather shows about the programs that have been indulged for the student to learn English in their culture. In this study approach the students are supposed to enhance their linguistic confidence by increasing their reading and writing experiences which in ultimate condition increases the competence in the students. The effects of acculturation factor on Saudi Arabian English language learners is a study that shows the parameters by which there is a basis of comparison between the Saudi and Australian who are studying in Australia. The way of integration and assimilation between the students with respect to their culture describes the particular atmosphere that affects the percentage of acculturation. Generally when the Saudi student goes to Australia, he or she generally faces a wide amount of challenges in the new environment of studying. The basic challenges are the feeling of outsider, which arises due to the language barrier. The language barrier makes the students uncomfortable in sharing their feeling and emotions with each other. For the issue of this language barrier the Saudi students must need to increase or improve their degree of English learning through which the intermixing of culture will be possible. Due to this language barrier, the students newly shifting to Australia generally get into the cultural misunderstandings, which eventually take time to cope up with. Therefore the English learning of the Saudi students in Australia is much important and necessary for the personal and professional growth of the students as well as the nation.

International students in Australia cite English language difficulties- both verbal and written, as their number one concern and challenge, surpassing cultural difficulties, homesickness, and other social issues. This is not surprising, as communication is the foundation over which all learning is based. In 2000, Robertson et al. had studied the problems faced by International students in an Australian University and concluded that most of the students had language learning difficulties, exacerbated by the difficulty in comprehension and colloquial uses. The situation has only just improved since then.

The English language is very different from Arabic, which belongs to the Semitic language family (Sayidina, 2010). This increases the difficulties faced by Saudi students while learning it. Let us take a look at the other constraints faced by them.

Figure 1.1 Source: (Al-Seghayer, 2014, p. 18) 

The Belief constraints mentioned by Al-Seghayer (2014), consist of the expectations, the perception and the experiences of students regarding the English language. He believes that Saudi students get little opportunity to use the language in their everyday lives, thus their intrinsic motivation to learn it is low. The classroom teaching in Saudi is dry, devoid of interaction and merely an instrument for passing an examination (Al-Seghayer, 2014). This constraint does not exist for the Saudi students present in Australia. Similarly, the constraints in the curriculum, pedagogy and administrative policy do not apply to the students studying in Australia. In fact, the same constraints turn into motivating factors as English becomes a necessity for them to survive and prosper in this country and the pedagogy and infrastructure support their learning.

However, a number of issues remain. The history of studying English through rote learning and mechanized responses to exercises creates barriers in learning when faced with a completely different environment of teaching where, critical thinking, problem-solving and greater application of grammar and expression are required (Sawir, 2005, Xiao &Tianjing, 2006). The students become stressed as they cannot answer their lecturers or have any proper communication with their peers. This brings their academic satisfaction down (Lalasz, Doane, & Springer, 2014).

Inter-mixing with students from Australia who are native speakers of the English language would help increase the opportunities for using the language outside the classroom, thus, enhancing the learning and create a more natural, barrier-free method of learning. However, Saudi students tend to stay together, not mixing much with others, no doubt, due to their low confidence with the English language and also cultural constrictions (Ankawi, 2015).

Saudi EFL learners have been consistently reported to get the lowest scores in their writing skills in IELTS when compared to their listening, reading, and verbal skills. It has been found that the vocabulary of these students is too limited, their learning of the language too formulaic and the knowledge of grammar too constricted, to allow any meaningful writing skills (Al-Khairy, 2013). Moving these students towards a creative expression of the language and then to argumentative and expository essays will be a very tough challenge (Grami, 2010; Bersamina, 2009).

The same picture is apparent when we analyse the reading skills of Saudi students. Saudi students possess weak reading skills at L1 and L2 levels and are de-motivated readers, who can barely comprehend their reading due to a teaching culture that harps on “reading aloud” more than understanding the text. The lack of teachers’ and parents’ interest and absence of any English writing that has closer cultural and contextual ties, has really affected the love of reading in the students adversely (Al-Qahtani, 2016).

Having seen the challenges, let us consider the enabling factors for overcoming them. As learning is dependent on an individual’s attitude and perception towards it, it is necessary to investigate the same for the students as they embark on their learning journey in Australia. Enquiring about their feelings – positive or negative about learning the language, their education history, the learning method and experience with English in their native country and their expectations from the learning program should be essentially done (Sawir, 2005; Bernat, 2006). This makes an active participation of the tutors in this program, extremely crucial. Unless the teachers believe the merits of the individual approach to learning and wholeheartedly support it, it will not be a success. A detailed discussion at the teacher-student level at the beginning of the semester for clarifying, the student and teacher expectations, the ability and level of comprehension of the student with the language, and any fears she may harbor about learning it. This discussion will also help in establishing a working and personal relationship between the two most important stakeholders that will act as the biggest facilitator for future performance.

Secondly, enough resources of time, efforts, and money, have to be allocated to the language learning programs. This will ensure that proper emphasis is placed on this in the minds of the students, the tutors, and the educational institutions. Though, language assistance centers have been set up in Australia, but the approach and scope of these centers need more reflection. Similarly, the Saudi State should also, invest in building bridging institutions that prepare students mentally and with language learning courses to ease their passage to Australia. Currently, the bridging institutions that exist in Saudi, are more focused on getting the students to pass examinations like IELTS, rather than any actual learning of the language. 

Differences in the region wise aptitude to learning were studied by Siebert in 2003. She reported middle-eastern students to underestimate the time required for learning a foreign language and to have greater faith in their own ability to learn the language as compared to Asian students. This finding is encouraging as this self-esteem will help in motivating the students towards their learning.

A study by Moskovsky&Alrabai (2009) has found that Saudi students in Australia exhibit a high level of awareness of what learning the English language will mean for them. They know that learning English will allow them to enjoy reading English fiction, watch movies, communicate freely with people across the world and get a high paying job. They also enjoy the greater control offered by teachers for their learning in the Australian classrooms and the variety of activities that are part of the teaching process. The students have also, shown a high appreciation of activities that allow working in groups or pairs. These findings have great implications for teachers and curriculum designers if English teaching can be made more participatory, involving a number and variety of activities, trips and involve group work, then better results can be expected. Thus, the natural propensity of the students to learn the language, clubbed with their awareness of its role in their life, should be a good springboard for better learning.

A doctoral dissertation by Groves (2015), has shown that Saudi students, who were more proactive in starting conversations with Australians, clarifying their social perceptions and cultural mismatches, were more likely to have longer, more meaningful, and more fruitful discourses with their peers, which translates into a better learning of the language. This works on two fronts: it gives more opportunity to practice learnt vocabulary and grammatical rules with a non-threatening figure of a friend or a stranger, rather than a more formal authority figure like a teacher, who helps in correcting mistakes and demonstrating correct use of the language, and by clarifying and removing the inhibitions that are acting as deterrents in these students’ minds. Therefore, more such opportunities and platforms where such discourses are initiated and sustained amongst students need to be introduced, nurtured, and maintained. One such example has been The University of Newcastle’s Community Connections program that has received a lot of success.

Another doctoral study of Saudi students in Australia reported that when Saudi students engaged in utilitarian conversations, they were superficial and impersonal in nature and kept their conversations as short as possible. Such conversations did not allow much opportunity for having an in-depth exploration of ideas or words. On the other hand, personal discourses allowed a more meaningful exchange of ideas, consisted of a number of wide-ranging topics, were warmer, and more personal in character, thus serving a better purpose as a learning tool (Groves, 2015).

To conclude, the Saudi students (where? In Australia or?) have pointed out the English language learning to be their biggest fear and inhibiting factor, hence, a change in the attitude to learning has to be achieved (Reference). This may be possible only with a right-from-day-one approach to imparting positive feelings about learning English. The paranoia that grips Saudi students about English, needs to be met with a module-based program, with small achievable goals, that helps them feel that learning and mastering this language is very much possible. The fact that the authorities are committing themselves to the students’ well-being and working with them, should also, instill confidence and motivation. The need of the hour is to design and implement more such learning activities and platforms for social discourse among international students and natives that help in overcoming the challenges of cultural distance, and other challenges to language learning. Further research is also needed to devise ways to involve academic communities into taking the learning of the language outside the classroom. This will not only combat the inhibitions of the Saudi students but, also make the transfer of learning easier, create functional and personal friendships among students as they work together and allow a more flexible, hands-on approach to the learning of the English language.

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