In Saudi Arabia, women's basic values and beliefs are changing in ways that affect their social, economic, psychological, gendered, and religious behaviors. These changes can be seen in the acceptance of many Saudi women of new roles and their participation in new fields, including education, work, government, and media. The purpose of this dissertation is to seek an understanding to these changes by looking at these women's perspectives on their roles, both within and outside the Saudi Arabian society, and the multiple identities that they create. This study also pays a particular focus to English as a second language as a tool in facilitating these changes. A qualitative study is employed using semi-structured, open-ended interviews with sixteen Saudi women attending English language programs in the United States. The emergent findings surround the themes of the importance of the English language as a tool which aids in changing these women's social capital, creating multiple identities, and empowering them. Yet, it is clear that these changes have to come from the Saudi women themselves through a balancing of the modern and traditional roles and expanding, but not crossing, borders. Thus, these women were empowered through an understanding and balancing of their history, religion, tradition, and multiple cultures they come into contact with.
English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia: New Insights into Teaching and Learning English offers a detailed discussion of key aspects of teaching and learning English in the Saudi context and offers a comprehensive overview of related research authored or co-authored by Saudi researchers. It provides readers with an understanding of the unique cultural, linguistic, and historical context of English in Saudi Arabia—with a focus on the principal factors that may influence successful teaching and learning of English in this country. Uniquely, the book looks separately at issues pertaining to in-country English learning and learners, and those pertaining to in-country English teaching and teachers. The volume also explores issues concerning Saudi learners and teachers in overseas contexts. Lastly, the book touches on the future of English as a Foreign Language and TESOL in Saudi Arabia and its implications for the field.
The evolution of Saudi Arabia's diplomacy since 1945 highlights its strategic adjustments in response to regional and global changes, focusing on economic diversification, energy leadership, and cultural diplomacy under Vision 2030. The study is primarily grounded in the multi-dimensional nature of addressing various geopolitical and socio-economic challenges. It encompasses several key approaches and analyses, including the critique of anti-terror policies and their implications for civil liberties, the influence of public opinion polling on international policy and diplomatic engagements, the evolving nature of military stances in response to new global threats, the promotion of cultural and educational exchanges through Arabic language centers and Islamic cultural institutes, the optimization of defense policies and force structures to address modern warfare challenges, and the navigation of jurisdictional complexities in international trade. Key Takeaways Saudi Arabia's diplomatic strategies have evolved significantly since 1945, incorporating economic diversification and modernization efforts as outlined in Vision 2030. The nation's role as a leading oil producer and its leadership in OPEC have been central to its global influence, necessitating adaptation to changing energy markets and sustainability concerns. Emphasis on cultural diplomacy and soft power, including educational reforms, cultural festivals, and media initiatives, has enhanced Saudi Arabia's global image. Vision 2030 has driven substantial social reforms, particularly in empowering women and promoting inclusivity in the workforce, reflecting broader societal shifts. Saudi Arabia's proactive stance in regional stability, evidenced by its involvement in Yemeni and Gulf conflicts, underscores its commitment to security and humanitarian efforts. The Kingdom's alignment with international treaties and adaptation to global legal challenges highlight its efforts to uphold global standards while maintaining national interests. Strategic military modernization and defense planning remain pivotal as Saudi Arabia navigates new geopolitical challenges and partnerships, focusing on regional stability and security.
Language and Identity is the third volume of the Readings in Language Studies series published by the International Society for Language Studies, Inc. Edited by Paul Chamness Miller, John L. Watzke, and Miguel Mantero, volume three sustains the society's mission to organize and disseminate the work of its contributing members through peer-reviewed publications. The book presents international perspectives on language and identity in several thematic sections: discourse, culture, identity in the professions, policy, pedagogy, and the learner. A resource for scholars and students, Language and Identity, represents the latest scholarship in new and emergent areas of inquiry.
Eva Alcón Soler Maria Pilar Safont Jordà Universitat Jaume I, Spain The main purpose of the present book is to broaden the scope of research on the development of intercultural communicative competence. Bearing this purpose in mind, English learners are considered as intercultural speakers who share their interest for engaging in real life communication. According to Byram and Fleming (1998), the intercultural speaker is someone with knowledge of one or more cultures and social identities, and who enjoys discovering and maintaining relationships with people from other cultural backgrounds, although s/he has not been formally trained for that purpose. Besides, possessing knowledge of at least two cultures is the case of many learners in bilingual or multilingual communities. In these contexts, the objective of language learning should then focus on developing intercultural competence, which in turn may involve promoting language diversity while encouraging English as both a means and an end of instruction (see Alcón, this volume). This is the idea underlying the volume, which further sustains Kramsch’s argument (1998) against the native/ non-native dichotomy. Following that author, we also believe that in a multilingual world where learners may belong to more than one speech community, their main goal is not to become a native speaker of English, but to use this language as a tool for interaction among many other languages and cultures.
Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, , language: English, abstract: The use of English as a language within the Arab-speaking countries gained significant attraction at the turn of the millennium. In most of the schools and Universities, the official language has been Arabic while English has always been taught as a secondary language or a foreign language. This is mostly true in the gulf countries. Each year, the assessment of English language to various cohorts of students involves a complex social phenomenon that has a very deep impact on both the students and the stakeholders within the education sector. Although most of the students pass these assessment tests in their foundational years, they still fail to cope with the enormous amount of academic requirements within the departments in which they are admitted. This is because of their lower understanding levels of the English Language. The main aim of this chapter is to explore the role played by the education stakeholders, more so focusing on teachers and instructors, in the assessment of the English language in the Arab Gulf countries and the North Africa; specifically in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The chapter examines the beliefs and role of instructors and teachers towards the assessment of the English Language in Saudi Arabia’s learning institutions. The assessment is based on two primary research questions: 1. What roles do the teachers and tutors offering English language assessment play in the implementation of practices at the foundation? and 2. How do the teachers and instructors perceive English language assessment program? The research methodology included the use of both primary data and secondary data. Based on the findings of the study in this chapter, there is a need for further research into the beliefs and practices of teachers in the assessment of specific language skills within the various contexts. The research in this area is found to be very limited.
Recently, research on study abroad has received particular attention. The majority of these studies, however, involve individuals (typically American) who study in European settings or focus on studies about Eastern Asian (i.e., Japanese or Chinese) students coming to an English-Speaking country, such as, the United States and the United Kingdom. Not a single study investigates the experience of Saudi Arabians' or Middle Easterners in a study abroad context. Thus, the goal of this paper is contribute to the field of Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) in exploring the journey of Saudi students as learners of English in the United States and how they see themselves changing as individuals and as learners. Also explored is how this experience of being away from one's own community plays a role in shaping one's identity and perceptions. Hence, the study aims to look at the totality of the Saudi students' experiences as people who arrived from and with a cultural, educational, and religious system that holds very different values and beliefs than those imbedded in the American culture. What would happen to a Saudi learner's social identity when inappropriate concepts within his or her culture (i.e., alcohol consumption) are encountered as appropriate within the host culture (America) or vice versa? How does his or her perception as individual and as learner change as a result of being exposed to and acquiring English as a second language in the United States? In order to answer the abovementioned questions, the following qualitative study is constructed. The data were collected by conducting extensive, one-to-one, ethnographic interviews with five Saudi participants (3 males and 2 females) using their native language, Arabic, in an attempt to fully capture the nature of their experiences. The participants were newly arrived, six months to one year, to the United States with low English proficiency and they were enrolled in intensive English program. The interviews were audio-recorded and ranged from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending upon participants' individuality. The data were then transcribed and coded in Arabic, and for presentational purposes, excerpts were translated into English. The data were coded using grounded content analysis. Using the grounded content analysis, the researcher found three super-ordinate categories: 1) educational views, 2) intercultural views, and 3) comparative views. Each of these super-ordinate categories included a number of subcategories, ranging from two to four themes, in an attempt to systematize the data and to better understand the participants' narrative. After the dissection of the data, some possible implication suggested for the Saudi English education, specifically, and for the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, generally. The researcher personal experience as an English learner in Saudi Arabia and, later, an English learner in the US, served as one of the motivating reasons behind this study. Learning English in Saudi Arabia, where the system followed a form-based approach to language learning, focusing on structural features of the language while excluding the culture associated with the English language, had a major impact on the experiences of studying abroad in the United States. Thus, the significance of this project is to inform the Saudi English educational system the relative importance of learning cultural knowledge about the target culture and understanding English as a social practice, rather than just grammatical forms to be memorized.
The Routledge Handbook of Language and Religion is the first ever comprehensive collection of research on religion and language, with over 35 authors from 15 countries, presenting a range of linguistic and discourse analytic research on religion and belief in different discourse contexts. The contributions show the importance of studying language and religion and for bringing together work in this area across sub-disciplines, languages, cultures, and geographical boundaries. The Handbook focuses on three major topics: Religious and Sacred Language, Institutional Discourse, and Religious Identity and Community. Scholars from a variety of different disciplinary backgrounds investigate these topics using a range of linguistic perspectives including Cognitive Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, Sociolinguistics, Pragmatics, and Conversation Analysis. The data analysed in these chapters come from a variety of religious backgrounds and national contexts. Linguistic data from all the major world religions are included, with sacred texts, conversational data, and institutional texts included for analysis. The Handbook is intended to be useful for readers from different subdisciplines within linguistics, but also to researchers working in other disciplines including philosophy, theology, and sociology. Each chapter gives both a template for research approaches and suggestions for future research and will inspire readers at every stage of their career.
