This exploratory study investigated the development of speaking and writing skills of L1 Arabic EFL learners based on their level of perception and understanding of phonetic transcriptions through visualisation of letter-to-symbol representations using the International Phonetic Alphabet (henceforth IPA). The participants were 169 University-level Preparatory Year Program (PYP) male Saudi EFL students. The study was carried out as a pedagogical approach to improve university first year students’ pronunciation, correct speech and writing skills. The students selected attended 6, 50-minute Integrated Pronunciation Teaching (IPT) lessons which included IPA transcription codes using both audio and visual teaching methods in addition to one ICT aided lesson.  Throughout those lessons, students were initially introduced to the IPA phonetic codes in gradual increase of difficulty and were encouraged to use the monolingual (English-English), Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDCE). Two written tests and one oral test were conducted using a number of carefully selected IPA transcription codes related questions and results were analysed and interpreted. Results obtained showed slight variations between higher and lower ability students in understanding the IPA transcription codes. As a whole, however, the results indicated that students reached a high level of understanding of letter-to-symbol representations – the IPA system - and oral test results proved that phonological awareness can help Saudi students at tertiary level education improve their writing and speaking skills. Above all, learning the phonetic transcription codes helped them develop a sense of autonomy and competence when using monolingual dictionaries. The study concluded with a brief discussion of the ramifications of the study and the potential for further research.

This small-scale, quantitative study investigated the reading habits and interests of Saudi English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students at a university-level preparatory year program (PYP). The study aimed to identify certain habits and preferences of EFL learners with regard to various personal practices of the reading process in first language (L1) as well as in second language (L2). The study utilized a custom-designed, 10-item questionnaire on a Likert scale format in order to gain more insights into the manners with which students may or may not approach reading. The participants were newly-registered, male and female students (n=330) on the university PYP course with mixed English Language proficiency. Analysis of the data collected using descriptive statistical tools indicated several issues relating to the reading habits in general, including students' lack of interest as well as lack of motivation towards 'academic reading' in both L1 and L2. However, the analysis revealed a greater level of engagement in reading in social media contexts. The study has several implications for future research and pedagogy in EFL reading as well as implications for the EFL classroom.

The study aimed at exploring the attitudes and perceptions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers at public schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in achieving the Kingdom"s "2030 Vision" which relates to the development of education in general and to the EFL discipline in particular. The study adopted the descriptive approach by utilizing a survey tool for the study which consisted of nineteen items divided into four constructs. The study sample consisted of 550 female and 450 male, Saudi government schools EFL teachers from the main regions of the Kingdom. The results of the statistical analysis of the responses of the participants indicated overwhelmingly a high level of positive attitude towards professional development in the teaching of English Language (EL), reaching 91% as well as a near unanimity in the responses of the participants which was reflected in the lack of statistically significant relationship between the responses of the participants towards implementing 2030 vision through the achievement of professional development as well as working towards establishing international networking with teachers of English in various countries around the ISSN 2325-0887 2017 www.macrothink.org/ijele 84 world. The results also indicated that there are still certain obstacles that may adversely affect the implementation of the vision of Saudi Arabia in 2030. Thus, the researchers have made several recommendations including conducting future research studies that will look into further areas not covered by this study.International Journal of English Language Education

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