28.383, Review: Arabic, Standard; English; Applied Ling; Lang Acquisition: Al-Mahrooqi, Denman (2015)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-28-383. Wed Jan 18 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.383, Review: Arabic, Standard; English; Applied Ling; Lang Acquisition: Al-Mahrooqi, Denman (2015)

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Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2017 13:45:52
From: Asmaa Shehata [asm.shehata at gmail.com]
Subject: Issues in English Education in the Arab World

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/26/26-5584.html

EDITOR: Rahma  Al-Mahrooqi
EDITOR: Christopher  Denman
TITLE: Issues in English Education in the Arab World
PUBLISHER: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
YEAR: 2015

REVIEWER: Asmaa Shehata, University of Calgary

Reviews Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry

Summary

“Issues in English Education in the Arab World” is a collaborative volume
compiled by Rahma Al-Mahrooqi and Christopher Denman that investigates a
number of significant topics related to English education in the Arab Gulf.
The chief objective of the book is to present the current situation of English
language teaching in a number of gulf countries highlighting the current
challenges and possible solutions. The book has an introduction and 15 other
chapters. In the introductory chapter, Rahma Al-Mahrooqi and Christopher
Denman start with a brief summary of the historical background of English
language education in the Arab world in general and Gulf states in particular.
The authors overview the empirical studies presented in the book summarizing
their primary objectives, research questions, methodology, and main findings.

Chapter 1, ‘A Conflict of Desires: English as a Global Language and its
Effects on Cultural Identity in the United Arab Emirates’ by Sarah Hopkyns,
starts off with a very brief introduction to the history of English in the
Arab Gulf region in general and the United Arab Emirates in particular
highlighting the issue of cultural identity.  In addition, Hopkyns reports a
study that mainly explores the views of forty Emirati female students about
their English learning experience and its influence on their cultural identity
using open response questionnaires and an hour-long focus group interview.
Results demonstrate the significance of English in the Emirati context where
its use is restricted to the classroom setting and therefore students find it
to be difficult to retain. The chapter concludes with a call for research that
further examines the views of a  wider range of students and teachers. 

Chapter 2, ‘Unravelling Failure: Belief and Performance in English for
Academic Purposes Programs in Oman’ by Thomas Roche and Yogesh Sinha, explored
effective English for Academic purposes (EAP) practices by comparing Omani
students’ perceptions (N=118) and their performances to the perspectives of 47
teachers at two Omani institutions. To this end, two main instruments are
used: questionnaires and students’ end-of-the semester results. Findings
indicate that teachers’ beliefs differ from their students’ beliefs regarding
the best EAP practice. However, students’ low scores on the final exams are
found to be related to students who have different opinions from those of the
teachers. The chapter concludes with a recommendation to the pre-university
EAP programs to orient Omani high school students to the programs’ policies
and requirements. 

In a similar vein, Chapter 3, ‘Adaptation and First-Year University Students
in the Sultanate of Oman’, which is coauthored by Rahma Al-Mahrooqi and
Christopher Denman, explores the chief factors that affect Omani first-year
English foundation students’ level of adjustment to the instruction and
requirements of the English language program. Using a three-part
questionnaire, the researchers ask 60 freshmen at Sultan Qaboos University
(SQU) about themes such as their self-esteem, social adjustment and
difficulties they encountered. Students were asked to record their responses
using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly
disagree). Findings show that students’ difficulties in adapting to the
university life are mainly related to the absence of course information and
students’ low self-esteem. The authors provide a ‘preventative program’ as a
solution that can help students adjust in their transitional phase from high
school to the university. 

Along the same lines, Chapter 4, ‘Challenges of Teaching and learning English
in the Albaha Region of Saudi Arabia: A Diagnostic Study’ by Abdelrazak
Mohamed Elsagheer,  uses a 4-point Likert scale to uncover students’ and
teachers’ views about the challenges of teaching English in the region of
Albaha in Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that both Saudi students and
teachers encounter numerous difficulties in learning and teaching English,
including difficulties with  the teaching objectives, materials, and
methodology. In this regard, the study ends with various recommendations for
addressing these problems, such as providing teachers’ training, using
language labs and jointly integrating the four language skills (i.e., reading,
speaking, listening and writing) in the English as a foreign language (EFL)
teaching. 

Chapter 5, ‘Mixed Ability Classes in English Language Teaching: Challenges and
Opportunities’, by Shaker Ali Al-Mohammadi investigates the challenges of
mixed ability classes by interviewing nine teachers of English as a foreign
language (EFL) at two Omani Universities. In their interviews, EFL teachers
report a number of problems including classroom management,  teaching
materials, and the learners’ different learning styles, backgrounds, and 
motivation. Although the researcher aims at understanding teachers’ cognition
of this issue, the study also  presents possible remedies for the problems as
suggested by the interviewees. Then the chapter concludes with listing the
study’ limitations and directions for future research.  

Chapter 6, ‘From Small ‘R’ to Big ‘I’ the Impact of Classroom-Based Action
Research in Pre-Service Teacher Education’, Kay Gallagher introduces an action
research case study where an Emirati teacher-in-training teaches vocabulary to
grade 2. The chapter describes her research explaining its effects at three
different levels: personal, local and public levels. The limitations of the
action research are presented as well.

Using empirical data, Chapter 7, ‘The Effect of Graphic Organizers on the
Writing Performance and Attitudes of Oman Grade Eight EFL Students’ by Badria
Adul-Aziz Al Bulushi, investigates whether using graphic organizers can
enhance Omani students’ writing skills and how learners see their
effectiveness. The results revealed that students’ performance significantly
improved. Then Al Bulushi presents the pedagogical implications of the
research , its limitations and some directions for future research.

Along the same lines, Shaikha Rashid Sa’eed Al Shabibi in Chapter 8, ‘Types of
Questions Omani Teachers Use in Cycle One and Two Basic Education and Their
Effectiveness on Communicative Language Use’, investigates whether Omani EFL
teachers use different types of questions in two cycles of basic education and
whether their choice affects the classroom interaction. Results show that EFL
teachers use more display questions than referential questions at different
levels of basic education; this  triggers different types of language
communication.

In Chapter 9, ‘An Evaluation of Alternative Assessment Tools Used in Grades
5-8 of Omani Basic Education Schools as Perceived by EFL Teachers’, Maimona Al
Ruqeishi scrutinizes beliefs of EFL Omani teachers of a new version of
assessment, i.e., alternative assessment that evaluates both the practice and
outcome of student performance, and whether their views vary based on their
gender, qualification and teaching experience. To this end, teachers complete
a questionnaire that covers three chief dimensions regarding the alternative
assessment tool: hitches, appropriateness and training. Findings indicate that
despite experiencing difficulties with alternative assessment, teachers find
it a satisfactory tool of assessment. Finally, the chapter concludes with a
discussion of the results and their practical implications.

Chapter 10, ‘Integration of Language Skills and Culture in English Language
Teaching: Rationale and Implications for Practice’ by Emira Derbel and Shaker
Ali Al-Mohammadi, presents an empirical study that analyzes data from 10 EFL
teachers from Buraimi University College who participate in two main tasks:
semi-structured interviews and 10 classroom observations, to explore role of
the integrated-skill approach in teaching the four basic English language
skills. Results exhibit the effectiveness of the integrated-skill approach in
English language teaching, emphasizing the significance of integrating the
four language skills with the target language culture.

In Chapter 11 ‘Teachers’ Views on Learner Autonomy in the Omani Context’,
Alina Rebecca Chirciu underscores the noteworthy role of learning autonomy in
the English language teaching in the Sultanate of Oman by exploring the
perceptions of nine EFL teachers of the usefulness of learner autonomy and the
processes of disseminating it . Using both a questionnaire and semi-structured
interviews, Chirciu found that teachers’ views regarding autonomy are shaped
by two main dimensions: their cultural backgrounds and their amount of
exposure to novel teaching approaches. Findings suggest that the concept of
learner autonomy needs to be reconsidered. 

Along the same lines, Chapter 12, ‘Looking Through the Crystal Ball: Exploring
Learning Autonomy Within the Classroom Dynamic International Space’ by Alina
Rebecca Chirciu and Tulika Mishra, explores teachers’ perceptions of their
teaching autonomy, its effects on their learners’ autonomy and on
student-centered learning. The two researchers interview five teachers and
observe one class for each teacher. Results suggest an indirect relationship
between teacher autonomy and learner autonomy. In addition, findings reveal
several factors that affect the teacher-learner relationship like rapport and
teacher reflection. 

In Chapter 13, ‘Checklist Analysis of Oman’s Basic Education EFL Textbooks
Series’, Rahma Al-Mahrooqi and Christopher Denman present an evaluation of two
main sets of EFL textbooks used in Oman across all 12 grades; the textbooks
are judged by two evaluators, a professor of applied linguistics and an
experienced English instructor, using a 15-item checklist and reviewers’
feedback. Data analysis shows that the two series are compatible with
students’ needs and the prevailing communicative teaching methods but lack
textbook authenticity.

Unlike previous studies that address issues related to the English language
instruction in the Arab Gulf states, Chapter 14, ‘The Changing Status of
English in Sudan: A Historical review’ by Hala Nur, thoroughly depicts the
history of teaching English in Sudan. The author exhaustively underlines the
different phases it has passed through, the prominent factors that affect
English instruction and its current status in both North and South Sudan.

In Chapter 15, ‘Problems of Teaching language Acquisition in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia’, Khadijah Bawazeer detects the primary challenges that Saudi learners
face in learning the English language and examines them in light of the
researcher’s extensive teaching experience with the goal of finding a
substitute for the current language teaching approach; the study uses a mixed
methodology: qualitative data including interviews with four English teachers
and the researcher’s observations, and quantitative data drawn from a
questionnaire distributed to 38 learners. Findings denote a number of factors
that affect the acquisition of the English language such as assessment, and
teacher training. The study calls for further research that examines the
robustness of the findings on the  one hand and teacher training on the other
hand.

Evaluation

This edited volume is an extensive reference, and inspiration for foreign
language instructors and researchers. The 15 studies cover a broad range of
themes within English language education in EFL settings, including EFL
teachers’ and students’ views, English textbook evaluations, action research
and learner autonomy. Even though ten of the 15 contributions take place in
the Sultanate of Oman, with two others centering on  the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia and two others drawn from the United Arab Emirates, they are still
applicable to other English language programs in the Arab Gulf region. 

The book is quite well edited and its writing style is clear, effective and 
easily followed  . Moreover, it raises a number of extremely important issues
and/or topics for discussion such as mixed ability EFL classes, the challenge
of teaching English in EFL settings, and classroom action research.  

Nevertheless, there are a few limitations of this volume. First, the book
title, ‘Issues in English Education in the Arab World’, is misleading. Whereas
the title  suggests that it covers issues in the entire region of the Arab
world, which includes 22 Arabic speaking states in North Africa and the Middle
East, the book mainly discusses topics related to three Gulf countries. It
would have been better to narrow the scope of the title to the Gulf region.
Secondly, the introductory chapter is missing important information like the
purpose of the book and it does not give the book’s conclusions. Thirdly, the
use of a questionnaire, mostly Likert-scale items, and/or an interview with a
small number of participants (Chapter 5 and Chapter 12) is unlikely to provide
the depth of insight required by most language teacher cognition studies.
Fourthly, administering questionnaires without piloting (Chapter 1 and Chapter
11) is another major flaw as it will probably lead to untrustworthy or obscure
data (Bartels, 2005; Wagner, 2010). 

This book can be useful to researchers who are interested in a quick overview
of English instruction in the Arab Gulf states in general and the Sultanate of
Oman in particular. Since the papers are not detailed and are not technical,
they could be useful to undergraduates. In conclusion, this book represents a 
source for educators interested in foreign language teaching and constitutes a
starting point for future research on English education in other Arab states. 

References

Bartels, N. (2005). Researching applied linguistics in language teacher
education. In N. Bartels(Ed.), Applied linguistics and language teacher
education (pp. 1-26). New York: Springer.

Wagner, E. (2010). Survey research. In B. Paltridge & A. Phakiti (Eds.),
Continuum companion to research methods in applied linguistics (pp. 22-38).
New York: Continuum.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Asmaa Shehata, is a faculty at the University of Calgary, Linguistics,
Languages and Cultures Department. Her research interests include second
language phonology with particular focus on cross-language speech perception
and production.





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