This study aimed at examining EFL teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of an OPD program provided by a Saudi University. The program lasted for almost one year, and consisted of different courses about teaching English language. An online questionnaire was sent to the teachers to examine their perceptions of the effectiveness of the program through examining teachers’ perceptions of the significant features of the program, their learning in the program, and their use of the new knowledge and skills. Findings indicated limitations in teachers’ positive perceptions of the features of the OPD courses, teachers’ learning, and teachers’ use of new skills and knowledge. Providers of OPD need to take into consideration teachers’ needs and preferences, and the obstacles that might inhibit teachers’ learning. Needs analysis might be helpful to discover their needs and preferences and solutions for the obstacles they face.

‘Grammar is the business of taking a language to pieces, to see how it works’ (Crystal, 1996, p. 6). The study of grammar has fascinated people for many years, especially in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). However, in recent years people became uncertain about its value. Consequently, some educational institutions ceased to teach it, others teach it very selectively (Crystal, 1996; Ellis, 2002). To know grammar means to know more about how to manipulate the parts of a sentence in order to provide a meaningful expression. Teaching grammar has been subjected to a tremendous change, particularly throughout the twentieth century. There has always been a development in thinking about the nature of language which has enabled people to see the point of the study and teaching of grammar. Also, there have been quite a number of adaptations of various methodologies of teaching grammar. This language component (grammar) has been always the centre of pedagogical attention. The aim of this project is to discuss the changing role of teaching grammar from a Saudi teacher’s perspective, and to explore why some Saudi EFL teachers might wish to change their approach to teaching grammar and how they might do so. In addition, the following section will try to shed light on some of the salient grammar methods throughout the field of English language teaching (ELT) and provide some implications for EFL teachers and learners.

Vocabulary is an essential element of English language learning. There are many strategies, which teachers can use in teaching vocabulary, especially to young learners. One of these strategies is using educational games to teach vocabulary more effectively. The aim of this quasi-experimental study is to investigate the effect of using educational games on the vocabulary learning of young children. The research was conducted at a kindergarten in Saudi Arabia, in which the participants were 40 Arab young learners. They were between 5 and 6 years old, and all of them were nonnative speakers. Participants were divided into two groups, control, and experimental group. The experimental and control group comprised of twenty students each. The experimental group was taught using games in which the children were involved. On the other hand, the control group was taught using a more “traditional” method by repetition. A vocabulary-based test, presenting as a pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test, was assigned to both groups. The study revealed that applying educational games as a learning technique with young learners, increased learner engagement, improved knowledge absorption and retention, and gave learners the opportunity to see real word application. Accordingly, this study recommends using educational games in teaching vocabulary more creatively with young learners.

Teachers’ proactive and reactive classroom management strategies are a significant component of teaching effectiveness. Teachers need to develop such strategies to structure a positive classroom environment. In addition, teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs concerning their classroom management strategies are equally significant. This research aimed to identify the teachers’ effective proactive and reactive classroom management strategies. It also sought to investigate the obstacles that inhibit proactive classroom management use and identify the association between teachers’ self-efficacy and classroom management practices. The research adopted a mixed-methods paradigm, consisting of two tools: a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The sampling included 80 Saudi teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) participated in the survey and eight teachers participated in the interviews. The results showed that EFL teachers find proactive classroom management strategies more effective than reactive strategies. In addition, there was a difference between novice and experienced teachers’ effective classroom management strategies, in which experienced teachers found proactive strategies more effective. The findings also indicated that there are four types of obstacles that hinder proactive classroom management strategies. System-related obstacles (subject-centered curriculum and institutional rules), system/teacher related obstacles (institutional rules and teachers’ predispositions concerning e-tools), teacher-related obstacles (lack of understanding of the discipline plan), and student-related obstacles (unmotivated students). The final finding cited the positive association between teachers’ high self-efficacy and proactive classroom management application.

This research explored the most common writing errors of Science and Arts students of the Foundation year program at a Saudi University that hinder them from achieving their course goals, learning outcomes and becoming efficient writers. The importance of this research stems from the fact that, it is a comparative study that shows the differences in writing errors between Science and Arts students and relates writing difficulties to students’ background education, family support, level of the language and teacher’s feedback techniques. It unveils the causes of writing errors and suggests suitable remedies from teacher’s perspectives. The findings can be useful for teachers, students and course designers.