12

Teaching English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:

Slowly but Steadily Changing
Khalid Al-Seghayer
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia was first established in the early 18th
century, and modern Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932
by King Abdul Aziz. It is the largest of all nations in the
region, occupying approximately 863,730,000 square
miles in the central Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by
the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Gulf. It
has a population of 17 million people, of which about 4
million are noncitizens. All Saudi Arabians are Muslims
and nearly 98% are Arabs who are bound together by
their common mother tongue Arabic, strong family and
tribal relationships, and adherence to Islam.
In the broader context, English performs only one of the
four functions (regulative, instrumental, interpersonal,
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and imaginative–innovative) proposed by Kachru (1982)

and later by Berns (1990). English performs the
instrumental function as a medium of learning at various
stages in the educational system of Saudi Arabia. This
function is the central focus of this chapter.
History of ELT in Saudi Arabia
It is not clear how English was introduced in Saudi
Arabia because Saudi Arabia has never been under a
European power. In fact, it was the Saudi government

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 that undertook the initial steps in introducing English to
its people. Why did English become part of Saudi
society in general and the educational system in
particular?
Shortly after the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia in 1932, the Saudi government realized the
importance of training citizens who would be capable
of communicating with the outside world. The great
expansion of the oil industry crystallized the importance
of developing a foreign-language program that would
train citizens to staff government and Arabian American
Oil Company positions (ARAMCO, 1968). The early
stage of oil production required Saudis who could
successfully communicate in English with interests
outside the country and with foreign experts (Alam,
1986). In addition, nearly 2 million Muslims from all
over the world visited the country annually to perform
umra (a religious rite). Therefore, it became essential for
Saudis to be taught English so they could interact with
the large number of English-speaking visitors to their
country.
The huge revenues generated by the oil industry enabled
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the Saudi government to launch large-scale development

programs by the early 1970s. The purpose of these
programs was to create an infrastructure that included
transportation, telecommunications, electricity, water,
education, health, and social welfare. This required
importing manpower, whose common language was
English, and training Saudis who could communicate
with them. Thus, educational policymakers realized the
importance of introducing English into the curriculum to

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 prepare personnel who could fill positions requiring
knowledge of English.
Researchers generally agree that the English language
was introduced into the Saudi Arabian educational
system in 1927, a few years after the establishment of
the Directorate of Education in 1923 (Al-Abdulkader,
1978). English was registered as a subject at the
secondary level along with French, but with no definite
learning objectives. When the intermediate level (grades
7, 8, and 9) was introduced to form a transitional stage
between the elementary and secondary levels in 1959,
English became an established subject with specific
instructional objectives and syllabi (Jan, 1984). In 1960,
the same was done at the already established secondary
level.
English enjoys a high status in Saudi Arabia as the only
foreign language taught in public schools and in many
private schools, universities, and industrial and
government institutions. English is taught as a core
subject in public intermediate and secondary grades, all
private school grades, and at all Saudi universities as
either an elective subject or a major field of study. Even
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non-English majors are required to take an introductory

English course. English is used as the medium of
instruction in most university technical departments and
in science, medicine, and engineering. King Fahad
University of Petroleum and Minerals uses English as its
exclusive medium of instruction. A number of technical
and vocational institutes as well as military academies
include English as a subject in their curriculums. The
same is true in various public and private organizations,

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 which often have training centers that teach English to
their employees. This status also applies to other aspects
of employment. Advertisements for job openings in
private sector areas, such as industry, hospitals, and
hotels stress the employers’ preferences for potential
employees who can speak English.
The mass media is also a vehicle for the presence of
English in Saudi Arabia. One of the two national Saudi
TV stations, channel 2, is the English channel. The
European language radio station, with programming
mainly in English and some in French, transmits 24
hours a day. There are three English daily newspapers,
the Arab News, the Daily Riyadh, and the Saudi Gazette.
The ELT Curriculum
Education is not compulsory in Saudi Arabia except at
the elementary level. However, the high rate of school
enrollment (3,837,482 students in public education and
336,224 in higher education for 2001) shows that the
majority of Saudis attend school beyond that basic level
(Ministry of Higher Education, 2001; General
Presidency of Girls Education, 2001). Education is free
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at all levels for all citizens. Although men and women

are educated separately, they basically follow the same
curriculum.
General education comprises five levels: kindergarten,
elementary, intermediate, secondary, and higher
education. Kindergarten includes three divisions for
different age groups: infant, nursery, and preliminary.
The elementary level spans grades 1 through 6, the
intermediate and secondary levels are 3-year cycles, the

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 former including grades 7, 8, and 9 and the latter grades
10, 11, and 12.
English is the only foreign language taught to
intermediate and secondary students in Saudi Arabia. It
is a required subject for grades 7 through 12 in both
boys’ and girls’ schools. Thus, during their general
education, Saudi students study English for a total of 6
years. Textbooks and teaching methods are the same in
boys’ and girls’ schools, and all students have four
45-minute periods (3 hours) of English instruction
weekly. Zaid (1993) noted that because reading and
writing are considered most important in English
teaching, more emphasis is placed on teaching the
content of the language than on developing
communicative competence.
It has been decided recently that the English curriculum
be required at the elementary level beginning in the
academic year 2002–2003. Among the proposed
rationales for introducing English into elementary level
is that the current low English-proficiency level of Saudi
students has been caused by limiting English instruction
to the intermediate and secondary levels (Al-Shithri,
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2002). Furthermore, in 2000, the National Committee for

the English Language suggested the incorporation of
computer-based instruction in the EFL curriculum
(Ministry of Higher Education, 2000).
The teaching of English in Saudi Arabia is centralized
and controlled by the Ministry of Education (ME) and
the General Presidency of Girls’ Education (GPGE).
English teachers at each grade level are required to
adhere to identical syllabus guidelines and deadlines.

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 Instructional materials are developed in the
English-language sections of the departments of
curriculum development at the ME and GPGE. The ME
and the GPGE also assign and distribute ELT textbooks
to intermediate and secondary students throughout the
country.
According to Al-Hajailan (1999), the curriculum
departments at the central offices of the ME and the
GPGE undertake the tasks of developing guides,
establishing standards,
and planning instructional units. To further improve the
curriculum, these departments rely on teachers’
suggestions, supervisors’ reports, and the contributions
of language researchers. Although teachers are
encouraged to submit recommendations for improving
English teaching (especially textbooks), many do not
take advantage of this option, possibly due to lack of
knowledge about English-language curriculum
development, planning, design, and evaluation (Zaid,
1993).
Over the course of 70 years, the curriculum for English
as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia has undergone a
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number of developments. From 1927 through 1959,

although English was taught in Saudi schools, there was
no defined curriculum. The early 1960s witnessed the
emergence of a comprehensive English curriculum,
entitled Living English for the Arab World (Allen &
Cooke, 1961), adapted from neighboring countries’
curricula. Until 1964, a total of eight periods weekly
were allocated to English language instruction. In 1971,
the number of instructional periods was reduced to six

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 and later to four (Ministry of Education, 1982). Living
English for the Arab World remained in use until 1980.
Al-Subahi (1988) argued that this program was feasible
neither for Saudi education nor for the needs and
interests of learners.
In 1980, the ME, in collaboration with Macmillan Press,
introduced a new English program called Saudi Arabian
Schools English at the intermediate and secondary levels
(Field, 1980). This curriculum was believed to
correspond better to the needs of learners and remained
in use for almost 15 years.
In 1990, the Curriculum Department at the ME, in
collaboration with some EFL specialists from King
Fahad University, launched a new project to revise the
English curriculum. The academic year 1995–1996 was
marked for official implementation of the new
curriculum, called English for Saudi Arabia (Centre for
Statistical Data and Educational Documentation, 1991;
Directorate of Curriculum, 1995), for teaching English
as a core subject at the intermediate and secondary
levels.
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The new curriculum was developed around four major

components: objective, content, teaching method, and
student evaluation techniques. The main objective at the
intermediate level is to enable Saudi students to speak,
read, and listen with understanding to basic
contemporary English discourse and to write a connected
passage of up to half a page about a simple subject or
incident. A further objective is to give pupils enough
knowledge of the language to help them in their chosen
vocations and introduce them to the outside world. These

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 objectives are applied to the secondary level as well,
with higher expectations and a more demanding focus on
the four language skills—listening, reading, speaking,
and writing.
These textbooks underwent many modifications during
pilot experimentation in order to make them suitable for
all students. During the selection of instructional
material, the lessons and topics were examined to make
sure they dealt with a variety of issues, met students’
needs, and were interesting and easy to understand. They
include discussion of local, Islamic, and international or
target cultures. They were designed sequentially,
introduced students to sufficient grammatical rules
presented in an easy-to-grasp manner, and included
vocabulary levels appropriate to students’ educational
progress.
In 1995, the entire series was completed and came under
the ownership of the ME. These instructional materials
consist of a teacher’s guide and student textbook and
workbook (Directorate of Curriculum, 1995). This set
has been criticized for its lack of inclusion of some target
elements of culture, such as lifestyle, family orientation,
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and names of places and people (Almulhim, 2001).

The methods used in teaching English in Saudi Arabia
are the audiolingual method (ALM) and to some extent,
the grammar translation method (GTM). Zaid (1993)
noted that the ALM is the most popular method, and it is
preferred by English teachers; however, all of the
ALM’s components are not incorporated. Most
noticeably, the use of language laboratories is not
included, although their use is essential to the method.

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 Thus, Saudi students are not exposed to authentic spoken
English. However, teachers do comply with the main
tenet of the ALM, emphasizing the processing of
stimulus and response situations. As a result, students are
engaged in monotonous grammatical rule drills and
repetition of words and phrases. Another commonly used
teaching method in Saudi Arabia is the GTM. Teachers
tend to rely heavily on explaining grammatical structures
as the central focus of their teaching, as well as on
memorization and vocabulary instructions (Al-Ahaydib,
1986). Further, teachers often use Arabic in teaching
English or depend on translation (Abu-Ghararah, 1986,
1990).
The system just described, although built on sound
pedagogical objectives, fails to produce learners who can
carry on a basic conversation or comprehend a simple
oral or written message. This is not a normal
achievement level, especially after 508 mandatory hours
of English study over the intermediate and secondary
school years. There are a number of contributing reasons
for low EFL proficiency among Saudi students, some
that can be traced back to the teaching method
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employed, and others the result of student attitude and

motivation. Almulhim (2001) attributed Saudi students’
deficiencies in the four skills, especially speaking, to
extensive use of Arabic in the classroom.
Because English is not immediately relevant to their
needs, students usually do not pay serious attention to
learning the language, and devote their efforts to
acquiring the minimal competency needed to pass to the
next grade level. They tend only to memorize

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 grammatical rules, passages of written English, and
vocabulary (Jan, 1984; Zaid, 1993). Intrinsic motivation
is the key ingredient missing of most Saudi students,
who are goaded by the extrinsic influence of the
educational system.
English teachers in Saudi Arabia are trained to teach at
the intermediate and secondary levels in the public
schools in the English departments of different Saudi
universities or in 4-year English programs at various
colleges. Graduates of these programs are awarded a
bachelor’s degree in English. Prospective teachers enroll
in an intensive program for one semester, then join the
academic English program to take courses in linguistics,
phonology, morphology, syntax, English literature, and
teaching methods. The teacher trainees must take
varying numbers of basic required education courses and
courses prescribed by the department of English, along
with elective courses. The total number of courses, and
the number
of courses in each of these categories, may vary from
one institution to another. In the last semester of the
preparation program, prospective teachers are assigned
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to teach for one semester in an intermediate or secondary

school under the supervision of an advisor. Faculty
members in the preparation programs are drawn from
Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States,
Canada, Australia, and various Islamic and Arab
countries.
Currently, eight universities offer foreign-language
teacher preparation programs for both men and women,
who receive bachelor’s degrees in English. In 2000, the

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 total number of graduates reached approximately 1,500
(Ministry of Higher Education, 2000). In addition, there
are 4-year preparation programs that train female
English teachers throughout the country. In 2000, 759
female English teachers had earned bachelor’s degrees
(General Presidency of Girls Education, 2001).
Becoming an English Teacher
I am a product of the English-instruction environment
that has been described in the previous sections, first as a
student and later as an English teacher. I began learning
English at the age of 13, anticipating my English studies
with both enthusiasm and trepidation. I was fearful
because I had heard from other students how difficult the
subject was, but excited due to the high ambitions I held
for mastering the language. I was elated when I was
introduced to the English alphabet on the first day of
class, and went home that day proud that I could recite
some English letters.
I proceeded well during the first year of the intermediate
level, but my enthusiasm declined in the second and
third years because of the way I was taught and the
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seeming uselessness of English. My zeal soon returned

due to the teacher I had in grade 10 through grade 12,
who stressed the importance and relevance of English to
our educational and professional lives. In retrospect, my
interest in English as a future profession developed in
the 11th grade. This teacher inspired me and made me
constantly consider the heart of the problem associated
with learning English—the negative attitudes many of
my classmates expressed.

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 On graduating from the secondary level, I was admitted
to the English Department at the University of Imam and
enrolled in the intensive language-improvement program
for one semester. While in this program, I counted the
days, looking forward to receiving training as an English
teacher. I was disappointed when I realized that the
central focus of the English Department was on English
literature and linguistics. This put a gloomier face on the
picture I had of myself as an English teacher who could
simplify the process of learning English, and it seemed
unlikely that I could achieve my goal. My enthusiasm for
teaching English diminished greatly throughout my
college years.
The last semester of study in English departments in
Saudi institutions of higher learning offers teacher
trainees an opportunity to practice teaching at a
designated intermediate or secondary school. As I
approached this stage, I again saw an opportunity to
make a difference. I went to the classroom chiefly
concerned with restoring
students’ motivation and teaching them so they could
actually use English and not merely pass the final exam.
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Here I was, in a seventh-grade classroom where I could

implement my beliefs.
I spent some time talking to the students about the
relevance of English to their future, explaining that it
was important because it was commonly used for
international communication. When I felt students had
developed a positive attitude toward learning English, I
told them that their primary concern should be learning
the language. If they would show signs of such interest,

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 they would all pass the exam. Mindful of the fact that
classroom atmosphere is affected by the teacher’s
attitude and behavior, I tried to create a friendly place
where students felt free to express themselves without
fear of being corrected and embarrassed. Students were
given equal opportunities to contribute and were praised
for their participation. I believe my class had a positive
educational experience because the students did not raise
the issue of the final exam for the remainder of the
semester.
In 1993, I earned my bachelor’s degree in Teaching
English as a Foreign Language. At that time, my career
objective was to teach English to intermediate or
secondary school children. However, because of my high
grade-point average, I was offered a position as a
teaching assistant with the university. My responsibility
was to teach some of the language improvement courses
in the intensive English program that students were
required to take before being formally accepted into the
English Department. While in this position, my interest
in language education intensified and fueled my desire to
pursue graduate degrees at the master’s and doctoral
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levels. I believed that unless I enhanced my

understanding of the basic linguaphonic structure of
English, I would not be able to understand which
methods hindered or fostered effective teaching of
English to speakers of other languages. Enrolling in a
graduate program would provide the opportunity to
investigate the cognitive, linguistic, and social processes
involved in second-language acquisition from both a
theoretical and an applied point of view.

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 In 1993, I came to the United States to enter the master’s
program in English at the University of Indiana,
Bloomington. After taking some theory and
methodology courses, I once again had the chance to
become an English teacher, but this time with students
from different cultural backgrounds. I taught in the
evening English program for the spouses of international
students or visiting professors and researchers in the
spring semester of 1997. I initially thought that this
would be a terrifying experience, especially because I
was not a native speaker, my teaching experience was
insufficient in such areas as lesson planning, class
management, and daily organizational tasks, and my
class consisted of advanced students, some of whom
were professors or experts in their native countries.
To overcome my apprehension, I put my anxieties aside
and prepared well. As a result, I was fully confident,
well-prepared, and knew what to do and when to do it.
My efforts were appreciated and recognized by the
students, and, in spite of all my fears, the positive
aspects far outnumbered the negative. I did make some
errors as a result of my inexperience, and students also
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occasionally questioned my credibility.

They doubted my authenticity as an authority on English
because I was not a native speaker; this happened most
frequently when presenting an expression or an idiom.
Students often asked, “Are you certain this is the way
natives say it?” or “Are you positive this is the exact
meaning of this phrase?” Despite these bumps, I
continued to successfully use the same strategies I had
outlined before I began my first semester of teaching.

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 In September 1997 I enrolled in the Instruction and
Learning Department at the University of Pittsburgh to
pursue a doctoral degree in applied linguistics. This
stage did not involve teaching experience; rather, it
focused on academic advancement and research training.
Throughout my 4 years of study, I learned about factors
that optimize the teaching and learning of a second
language, I became informed about issues currently
confronting the profession, and I was exposed to
available research methodologies. I also was introduced
to scholars to whom I could relate, and learned how to
present and define a scholarly argument by involving
myself in the activities of my academic community.
After gaining some research training, I attempted to
make my voice heard, and I sent introspective essays to
two Saudi monthly academic magazines, Al-Mubtaath
Magazine and Manar Asabeel Magazine. The first essay,
“I Want to Be a Successful Language Learner, But
How?” appeared in Al-Mubtaath Magazine
(Al-Seghayer, 1997) and the second, “Using Arabic as a
Medium of Instruction in Teaching English,” appeared in
Manar Asabeel Magazine (Al-Seghayer, 1997). After I
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had established my identity as a fledgling scholar in the

field and built some confidence, I decided to begin
submitting articles to academic journals. I was thrilled to
have some of these articles and reviews appear in
leading journals in the field, such as TESOL Quarterly,
Language Learning and Technology, and the Computer
Assisted Language Learning Journal.
Having equipped myself with all of these skills and
having acquired a great deal of specialized learning, I

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 feelready to enter thearenaof practice. My hopeisto
makeadifference and to be a productive addition in the
field of teaching and learning English.
Conclusion
The discussion in this chapter has demonstrated that
since its introduction into the Saudi educational system
more than 70 years ago, English has continued to be seen
as an essential vehicle for personal and national growth.
It has also made clear that, despite the well-formed ELT
structure and curriculum, the achievement level of
learners is unsatisfactory. Although the curriculum has
been continually revised over the years, this process has
not been fast enough. Ever-changing developments in
the field of second-language acquisition require prompt
modification of the EFL curriculum.
Overall, the English proficiency level in Saudi Arabia is
expected to remain at its current level unless all relevant
factors are taken into consideration. School
environments
must be improved, more emphasis should be placed on
teaching methods in teacher preparation programs, there
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must be timely reform of the EFL curriculum, and

student motivation and attitude must be facilitated.
Positive results are anticipated in student proficiency
levels and the competency of English teachers with the
implementation of these measures.
References
Abu-Ghararah, A. (1986). An analysis of the English
language curriculum and instruction in the public
secondary schools of Medina, Saudi Arabia.

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Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/newcastle/detail.action?docID=237128.
Created from newcastle on 2022-03-20 06:37:06.
 Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of
Southern California, Los Angeles.
Abu-Ghararah, A. (1990). EFL speaking inability: Its
causes and remedies. National Association for Bilingual
Education (NABE) Journal, 14, 63–73.
Al-Abdulkader, A. (1978). Survey of the contribution of
higher education to the development of human resources
in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of Denver, Colorado.
Al-Ahaydib, M. (1986). Teaching English as a foreign
language in the schools of Saudi Arabia. Unpublished
doctoral dissertation, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
Alam, M. (1986). The effects of three experimental
interventions on the spoken English proficiency of eighth
grade Saudi Arabian students. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of Denver, Colorado.
Al-Hajailan, T. (1999). Evaluation of English as a
foreign language textbook for third grade secondary
boy’s schools in Saudi Arabia. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, Mississippi State University.
Copyright © 2005. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

Allen, S., & Cooke, R. (1961). Living English for the

Arab World. London: Longman Group Limited.
Almulhim, A. (2001). An English language needs
assessment of Saudi College of Technology students with
respect to a number of business sectors in Saudi Arabia.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, the University of
Mississippi, Oxford.

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Teaching English to the World : History, Curriculum, and Practice, edited by George Braine, and Braine George, Taylor &
Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/newcastle/detail.action?docID=237128.
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Copyright © 2005. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

295

Teaching English to the World : History, Curriculum, and Practice, edited by George Braine, and Braine George, Taylor &
Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/newcastle/detail.action?docID=237128.
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