Feelings of anxiety are commonly expressed by Saudi learners in their English as a foreign language (EFL) classes. These feelings typically exert detrimental effects on these learners' foreign language attainment. This paper reports on the findings of a large-scale study for which three data collection iterations were conducted over three years to investigate the levels and sources of foreign language anxiety (FLA) among 1389 Saudi EFL learners. Learners were asked to report the amount of anxiety they typically experienced in English language classes and the potential causes that aroused their feelings of language anxiety. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was used to evaluate learners' anxiety. Descriptive statistics, such as mean and standard deviation, were used to assess the levels of learners' anxiety, and an explanatory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to identify the sources that evoked learners' anxiety in classroom-based language learning. Participating learners in the three studies reported moderate to high levels of anxiety, with communication being the key cause of learners' language anxiety. The three studies' findings were highly consistent, and thus, we were able to propose a context-based model of FLA in the Saudi EFL context.

This paper is devoted to examining the factors responsible for the low achievement in English as a foreign language (EFL) among Saudi students. While some of these factors are demographic variables that pertain specifically to the learners themselves, such as gender, age, motivation, attitudes, aptitude, anxiety, autonomy, learning strategies, and learning style, most are external and outside the learners' control. These external factors are particularly represented by sociocultural factors, such as the influence of Arabic as the first language (L1); religion, culture, and society; instructional variables, such as teacher behavior and teaching styles, the curriculum, and the teaching methods; and finally, problems with the educational system in Saudi Arabia, such as overcrowded classes, lack of teacher training, and a lack of technology. This paper begins by emphasizing the importance of English language learning for Saudis, followed by an analysis and a discussion of the factors that might explain their lack of achievement. The paper concludes by presenting some implications and offering recommendations for EFL practitioners and policymakers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to address the factors contributing to low EFL achievement among Saudi learners.

While consensus exists about the critical role of learners’ motivation in second language acquisition, controlled investigations of the effects of teachers’ motivational strategies are limited. The research reported here used a quasi‐experimental design to assess the effects of motivational strategies used by Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers (N= 14) on Saudi EFL learners’ (N= 296) self‐reported learning motivation. The experimental treatment involved class‐time exposure to 10 preselected motivational strategies over an 8‐week period; the control group received traditional teaching methods. Multivariate analyses revealed a significant rise in learner motivation over time exclusively or predominantly among experimental vs. control learners, which held robust even when controlling for pretreatment group differences. These results provide compelling evidence that teachers’ motivational behaviors cause enhanced motivation in second language learners.

This study investigated the effects on learner anxiety of anxiety-reducing strategies utilized by English as foreign language teachers in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, sources of foreign language anxiety for Saudi learners of English (N = 596) were identified using The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). In the second stage, 465 learners who were divided almost equally into two groups (experimental vs. control) and 12 teachers were recruited. Anxiety-reducing strategies were implemented exclusively in the treatment group for approximately eight weeks. FLCAS was used to assess learners' FL anxiety levels before and after treatment. Statistical analyses (e.g. ANOVA and ANCOVA) were used to evaluate the study findings. These findings revealed that the intervention led to significantly decreased levels of FL anxiety for learners in the experimental group compared with increased levels of anxiety for those in the control group.

Abstract:The paper presents an experimental study designed to measure levels of intrinsic motivation in learners of English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia. As part of the study, a 27-item structured survey was administered to a randomly selected sample of 55 Saudi learners from public schools and universities. Data collected through the survey were subjected to some basic statistical analyses, such as "mean" and "standard deviation". Based on the results from the analysis, a number of generalizations and conclusions are made in relation to the role of motivation in the attainment of English as a foreign language in the Saudi educational setting. In addition, some recommendations are offered, which may enable Saudi teachers and learners of English as a foreign language to achieve better learning outcomes in an area widely associated by Saudis with lack of success.