This study, based on a qualitative research design, aimed at investigating English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' attitudes towards teaching English as a foreign language (FL), and how they influence their students' attitude and progress in English language learning. The main investigation in this study is whether or not teachers' attitudes, negative and positive, have an effect on the students' motivation, and ultimately, English language acquisition, as some of the literature suggests. The participants were two groups. The first group were thirty-five preparatory year program (PYP) students at a major University in Saudi Arabia, and in the second group, five EFL teachers at the same university. The thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews generated a total of 16themes which were further developed and arranged under five main categories. Keywords from the interviews were extracted, and the codes and categories were applied. The data analysis revealed several positive inclinations towards learning English when the teachers follow a favourable pedagogical approach. The conclusions drawn are that when teachers have strong positive attitudes towards teaching English, students have positive attitudes where the teachers managed to influence the reluctant students' mindset to a more flexible one as well as providing motivation and willingness in the students to face the challenges of learning English. Some recommendations were made for future research.

Learning English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) can be a challenging experience. Nevertheless, being proficient in English language guarantees better job opportunities in various fields and thus learners need to acquire an acceptable level of proficiency. Recognizing its significant role in the learners' academic and professional excellence, the English language has gained the status of a mandatory language in the Saudi higher education institutions. As students enter universities for higher studies, they are often required to take prerequisite courses in English to gain a higher level of proficiency. This qualitatively driven descriptive case study investigated the attitudes of EFL students who were enrolled in the Foundation Year Program. This study aimed to examine the learners' feelings, emotions, and attitudes in the light of their academic performance. In total, thirteen male and seventeen female students were interviewed using semistructured interviews as a main tool for the data collection. They were asked to recall and write their narratives regarding their experience of learning the English language throughout the foundation year program. The socio-constructivist nature of this qualitative case study offered an opportunity to participants to share their stories. Consequently, it highlighted the factors that motivated them for a language learning experience. Moreover, it allowed them to reflect on the challenges that they encountered during their learning odyssey of the English language course as part of the preparatory year program (PYP). Findings from this research study suggest that the participants' motivations to learn English are primarily related to socioeconomic reasons. Besides, students were particularly motivated to learn English when they were encouraged by their families and by 'good' teaching practices. Nevertheless, these findings failed to establish an association between the learners' attitudes and their performance on the assessments during the course. This case study adds to the existing literature by examining a context that lacks empirical evidence on the topic of EFL learners' beliefs about English learning. More research in this area is required to determine why this discrepancy occurred.

Learning English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) can be a challenging experience. Nevertheless, being proficient in English language guarantees better job opportunities in various fields and thus learners need to acquire an acceptable level of proficiency. Recognizing its significant role in the learners’ academic and professional excellence, the English language has gained the status of a mandatory language in the Saudi higher education institutions. As students enter universities for higher studies, they are often required to take prerequisite courses in English to gain a higher level of proficiency. This qualitatively driven descriptive case study investigated the attitudes of EFL students who were enrolled in the Foundation Year Program. This study aimed to examine the learners’ feelings, emotions, and attitudes in the light of their academic performance. In total, thirteen male and seventeen female students were interviewed using semi-structured interviews as a main tool for the data collection. They were asked to recall and write their narratives regarding their experience of learning the English language throughout the foundation year program. The socio-constructivist nature of this qualitative case study offered an opportunity to participants to share their stories. Consequently, it highlighted the factors that motivated them for a language learning experience. Moreover, it allowed them to reflect on the challenges that they encountered during their learning odyssey of the English language course as part of the preparatory year program (PYP). Findings from this research study suggest that the participants’ motivations to learn English are primarily related to socio-economic reasons. Besides, students were particularly motivated to learn English when they were encouraged by their families and by ‘good’ teaching practices. Nevertheless, these findings failed to establish an association between the learners’ attitudes and their performance on the assessments during the course. This case study adds to the existing literature by examining a context that lacks empirical evidence on the topic of EFL learners’ beliefs about English learning. More research in this area is required to determine why this discrepancy occurred

With a view to gathering insights for EFL proficiency development amongst Saudi EFL learners, this study reviews the empirical literature on the influence of four key psychological factors on learning English as a foreign language. Specifically, the study addressed the following question: In what ways do the psychological factors of attitude, self-efficacy, anxiety and motivation influence the development of English proficiency amongst university learners in EFL settings?. To this end, 49 research articles published between 1990 and 2021 were selected for a systematic review of the selected factors. The selected studies were conducted in diverse university EFL learning contexts spanning 18 countries. Of this number, the highest numbers of studies (in descending order) falling within the criteria of the review were conducted within the Iranian (9), Chinese (8), Turkish (6) and Saudi (5) contexts. The study found that the psychology of EFL learners at the university level is complex and that there are multiple factors linked to the reviewed factors which need to be taken into account by policymakers, curriculum designers, teacher trainers and teachers to ensure effective EFL learning. The findings of most of the reviewed studies suggest that EFL learning is positively perceived by learners, although obstacles to effective EFL learning do exist and attitudes towards learning English seem to be influenced by a wide range of factors including parental support, gender, level of study, community support and motivation. The reviewed research also suggests a link between strategy-use and EFL learners’ self-efficacy and anxiety management. A key implication of these findings for improving the EFL learning experience in the Saudi context is the need to carry out more qualitative and in-depth studies that can help to map and address the actual issues affecting EFL learners. Further, intervention-based, rather than purely survey-based, research can enable Saudi EFL education providers to understand what pedagogical interventions and strategies can work most effectively in the local settings. Longitudinal studies would also enable researchers to understand whether attitudes, self-efficacy, anxiety and motivation evolve over time, and if they do, then what are the factors influencing such development, whether positive or negative. These understandings are key to creating a transformative EFL learning experience for Saudi university students which in turn determines their prospects of success in the academic setting and future employability.

Learning English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) can be a challenging experience. Nevertheless, being proficient in English language guarantees better job opportunities in various fields and thus learners need to acquire an acceptable level of proficiency. Recognizing its significant role in the learners' academic and professional excellence, the English language has gained the status of a mandatory language in the Saudi higher education institutions. As students enter universities for higher studies, they are often required to take prerequisite courses in English to gain a higher level of proficiency. This qualitatively driven descriptive case study investigated the attitudes of EFL students who were enrolled in the Foundation Year Program. This study aimed to examine the learners' feelings, emotions, and attitudes in the light of their academic performance. In total, thirteen male and seventeen female students were interviewed using semistructured interviews as a main tool for the data collection. They were asked to recall and write their narratives regarding their experience of learning the English language throughout the foundation year program. The socio-constructivist nature of this qualitative case study offered an opportunity to participants to share their stories. Consequently, it highlighted the factors that motivated them for a language learning experience. Moreover, it allowed them to reflect on the challenges that they encountered during their learning odyssey of the English language course as part of the preparatory year program (PYP). Findings from this research study suggest that the participants' motivations to learn English are primarily related to socioeconomic reasons. Besides, students were particularly motivated to learn English when they were encouraged by their families and by 'good' teaching practices. Nevertheless, these findings failed to establish an association between the learners' attitudes and their performance on the assessments during the course. This case study adds to the existing literature by examining a context that lacks empirical evidence on the topic of EFL learners' beliefs about English learning. More research in this area is required to determine why this discrepancy occurred.