Bring a Foreign Language and Its Cultures to Saudi EFL University-Level Classrooms

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects Twitter has as a social networking platform on the development of Saudi EFL psychological variables (attitude, confidence, motivation, interest in L2 culture, social interaction and engagement), actual learning outcomes and the relationship between these psychological variables and their results. Twitter provides a valued accessible window to the target culture and promotes cross-cultural competence and comprehension that is focused on meaning rather than form, as well as repeated exposure to L2 cultural products, practices, perspectives and the target language. A sample of 39 students enrolled in an English course during the second semester of the 2014-2015 academic year, as well as two non-native English speakers (NNSs) working at the English Program, agreed to participate in the study. It adopts a combined inductive-deductive research approach to fulfil the research purpose and answer the research questions. The findings of this study underscore the latent use of the Twitter microblogging platform in EFL classes, as well as revealing the positive impact upon Saudi EFL students' social interaction (engagement), enthusiasm and interest in learning more about L2 culture in English language classes.

A longitudinal investigation of the impact of code-switching versus target language only on Saudi EFL students' written receptive vocabulary knowledge development in terms of breadth

“…Second, by examining the Saudi context of education in terms of research output, there are several studies conducted to date on code-switching at different social, political, and educational levels (e.g., Abalhassan and Alshalawi, 2000;Al Alaslaa, 2018;Al-Jarf, 2011;Aljasir, 2020;Alsalami, 2021;Alshahrani, 2017;Al Tale and AlQahtani, 2022;Omar and Ilyas, 2018;Sabir and Safi, 2008). However, these studies explored merely the code-switching phenomenon among Saudis as the main core of investigation by dropping shade on the functions of code-switching in different contexts, the attitude of their users toward employing this phenomenon in different contexts, and the general differences between the profiles of their users.…”

“…As mentioned earlier in this research, code-switching employability preference in the EFL classroom context has long been considered a controversial subject. For instance, at the Saudi higher education level, Alshahrani (2017) qualitatively investigated the reasons and functions of code-switching performed by two non-native English instructors at King Khalid University. Results of his research indicated that the main functions behind employing code-switching were to switch topics, affective function, giving instructions, and explaining new vocabulary.…”

“…Results also indicated that the highest frequency measurement was related to explaining new vocabulary functions. Alshahrani (2017) concluded his research by providing a pedagogical recommendation that EFL instructors should achieve a balance between using the target language and the first language in their classrooms. On the same page of arguments, Al Tale and AlQahtani (2022) explore the impact of code-switching versus target language only on EFL students.…”

Microblogging educativo en el aprendizaje de idiomas: una revisión sistematizada de las investigaciones publicadas entre 2010 y 2018

“…Por su parte, la competencia ortográfica puede verse limitada por la ausencia de un corrector automático . Como aspecto positivo, sin embargo, se puede concluir que, por la exposición a la lengua, los mayores beneficios del microblogging tienen que ver con la adquisición de vocabulario y, por tanto, con un desarrollo de las competencias semántica y léxica (Alshahrani, 2017;Alsharidi, 2018).…”