The push for English acquisition has made countries rethink their internal academic curriculum affairs across all levels of education, K-21. Traditionally, most countries used their native official language as the mode of instruction in the classroom. In recent years, due to technological innovation, globalization and social networking, higher education institutions have created ways to adapt to and accommodate an increasing demand for English as a worldwide business language. English, which has in the past century become the second language of the world, has unofficially become the number one language of the global village, both in real terms and through the media. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not an exception. Many universities in the Kingdom have responded to the internationalization of the curriculum by facilitating mechanisms to deliver full degrees in English and have westernized their modes of instruction. But, what mechanisms have influenced the population to make English the preferred language for teaching and learning? For the purpose of this qualitative research, 67 freshman female Saudi students were asked to write about their motivation to become bilingual in English. To collect data, students wrote essays about their motivation and inspirations that drove them to learn English as a second language. The methodology incorporated the use of the five W questions approach: What, Who, When, Where and Why. Surprisingly, the primary forms of motivation to learn the language were parents at home. The second factor was social media outlets offering individuals the ability to communicate with the outside world, and thirdly, personal and professional reasons to make them more competitive and marketable in todays' demanding business world.
"St. Augustine College, a small, bilingual higher education institution, survived the pandemic by implementing structural and operational changes. The primary objective was two-fold: to create organizational changes that addressed the consequences of an unprecedented pandemic and to create the tools and mechanisms needed to sustain those organizational changes. Despite the circumstance, the institution’s commitment to its nontraditional student population, primarily female (78%) and Hispanic students (85%), motivated the necessary changes. The theoretical framework that supports this research study is the work of Kurt Lewin (1942)’s 3-Stage Model of Change. A mixed methods study determined the framework for data collection and analysis. The newly created Office of Academic Effectiveness (OAE) was the unit of analysis. The OAE is responsible for the quality assurance of the institution. Through qualitative data including interviews and observations, the Latino Educational Model, the new foundational teaching and learning philosophy of the institution, was developed. The quantitative data that served as the model’s creation was generated from four satisfaction surveys as well as students’ evaluations of course and instructors. This study provides a close examination of the office’s accomplishments and failures, institutional obstructions and passageways, and the balancing of existing traditions with new best practices. As a result of an arduous reframing process intended to revitalize the traditional culture, the college community united to create new units, revamp enrollment and admission procedures, update technology for different instructional delivery modalities, hire system disruptors, design and implement new policies, enforce assessment measures, craft onboarding regulations, establish faculty evaluation guidelines, build new academic programs, restructure and reevaluate the curricula, set up academic internships, conceive new certificates, and rebrand the institution, among other initiatives. The institutionalization of these changes seems to be the catalyst that will lead the institution to reclaim its position in the higher learning community."
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