Abstract-This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and suitability of the integrated holistic method for teaching EFL skills embedded in an Oxford ® series of courses selected for study at the lower-to-upper intermediate levels of learning EFL, namely Open Forum 3, Well Read 3 -Effective Academic Writing2. Participants of the study were selected from the population of students in a Southwestern Saudi university. The sample included 52 participants in intermediate levels. Researchers employed a pre-test, posttest control group design in a quasi-experimental method to evaluate the instructional effectiveness of the integrated holistic teaching method. Findings indicate that the treatment in this study, the Integrated Skills Treatment, had a significant effect on student performance in all skills presented instructionally according to an integrated, holistic approach. Further findings showed that the experimental group participants achieved improvements in gain scores compared with their peers in the control group on the tested language skills, namely listening and speaking, reading, and writing. Qualitative data from a follow-up questionnaire study asserted the effectiveness and appropriateness of an integrative pedagogy to teaching EFL skills. The paper, in the end, provides a set of relevant implications and recommendations for further pedagogical practice and further research implications.

Statement of the Problem: With the brisk technology developments, e-learning is revolutionalising the educational industry by leaps and bounds, thus becoming a popular method of education for many universities and colleges around the world. In Saudi Arabian universities, there is a tangible presence of Web-based curricular provisions within the traditional university known as blended learning. There is a growing call advocating the inclusion of online learning in every university to provide distance education. There are many issues that arise problematically. Some of these issues include study overload, lack of technological skills and feelings of isolation, problems in course design and course delivery formats. There are other organizational issues related to accreditation and quality assurance procedures. Approach: This study examines this progressive trend by literature review and survey and whether it is promising for the future of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Saudi Arabia. The study also assesses the effectiveness of and preference for, webbased learning as perceived by faculty and students. Results: Faculty and student responses were generally positive overall and indicated that learning improved in an e-learning environment compared to a traditional approach. Conclusion/Recommendations: The results of this study will inform EFL educators as to whether this mode of learning would serve as viable component of future ELT university programmes in English departments in Saudi universities and guide future research efforts towards more efficient and competitive online learning environments.

Culture-embedded teaching is integral to teaching foreign languages. In Saudi higher education, the cultural aspects of the target language is poorly integrated in foreign language education due to rigid doctrinaire ideologies. This study, using a survey research design, aimed to introspect the perceptions of EFL instructors about culture and literature teaching in EFL college programs, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The study also explored the perceptions and attitudes of EFL college English language instructors concerning the integration of culture in English language education programs. Utilizing a descriptive research methodology, the researchers made use of questionnaires and interviews to tap into the perceptions of faculty responsible for teaching English as a foreign language courses in the EFL program of the College of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University. The survey and interviews also examined the EFL teachers' attitudes towards the integration of literature teaching in English education. The findings showed that EFL instructors were concerned with explicit teaching of cultural issues through literature as an excellent source of culture-laden material for foreign language learning. However, due to meagre literature teaching, the current program is short of presenting adequate culture content integration. Barriers perceived include over-use of indigenous cultural and Islamic themes that interfere with proper teaching of the target language. Findings also revealed that teachers entertained positive attitudes toward integrating culture in language education through using a variety of methods and techniques. Pedagogical implications advocate the importance of integrating culture into foreign language teaching courses, especially in the literature curriculum stream as well as integrating real-life conversational excerpts for teaching culturally-laden content in listening and speaking courses. Suggestions for further research topics on culture integration in ELT are presented eventually.

No abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an acculturation programme designed for college learners. The researchers utilized an experimental research design involving a pretest, a posttest and a control group, and collected both quantitative and qualitative data. The participants were chosen by convenience (N=52) from different scientific colleges who joined a language enhancement programme (LEP), equally distributed to the study groups. The acculturation programme was designed specifically to stimulate and awaken the experimental participants' intercultural communicative competencies for one academic year. Findings from the t-test comparisons, effect size and the Blake’s gain ratio corroborate the effectiveness of the acculturation programme on developing intercultural communication competency in experimental participants. Qualitative data from the interviews affirm the results of quantitative data analysis, revealing six themes that verify the ICC survey results. Finally, the study concludes that the development of ICC skills can occur along with the development of language proficiency in college students. Keywords: cultural content, communicative language learning, teaching methods, Intercultural Communicative Competence, EFL, Acculturation programme