DATE: 03/06/2009 10:19:24 / MOOD: teaching

Vocabulary teaching and learning constitute a major problem for EFL instructors and students. The pretest showed that freshman students at COLT have difficulty in pronouncing, recognizing the meaning of, using and spelling English words. In their first semester, freshman students are required to take a vocabulary course that consists of 50 lessons (2000 words), each consisting of a presentation page and a practice page. To help the students learn, retain, apply and relate word, the instructional approach focused on connecting the printed form of the word with its pronunciation (the hidden sounds, double & silent letters, and homophones), with its part of speech, singular or plural form, synonym or antonym, English & Arabic meanings, usage, component parts, previously-encountered words and others while presenting the new vocabulary items in each lesson. Categorization, association, and visualization skills and mnemonic approaches were emphasized. Out of class extensive reading and listening activities were also encouraged. Quizzes required the students to make the above-mentioned connections. Comparisons of pre and posttest results and of the experimental and control groups' test scores revealed significant differences in vocabulary knowledge and skills. The experimental approach proved to be effective in enhancing vocabulary learning by struggling EFL college students.

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,<a href="http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf">http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf</a>

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DATE: 03/06/2009 10:18:29 / MOOD: other

Year after year, EFL and translation programs at King Saud University are experiencing significant increases in female freshman student enrollments. This study aims to investigate the effect of female freshman student enrollment figures in EFL programs on student achievement and attitudes, program staffing, classroom instruction, management, assessment, resources and facilities utilization on the basis of female faculty demographic, female faculty teaching load, number of courses and total number of credit hours offered by the department, freshman students’ enrollment statistics, grammar test scores. Female students, instructors, department head and program coordinators' perceptions of the causes and outcomes of large female freshman student enrollments will be reported.

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,<a href="http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf">http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf</a>

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DATE: 03/06/2009 10:17:26 / MOOD: teaching

Thirty six EFL freshman students at the College of Languages and Translation, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were given a dictation, a listening comprehension test and a decoding test. The purpose of the study was to find out whether EFL freshmen students' spelling ability correlates with their listening comprehension and decoding skills. Data analysis showed that the typical EFL freshman student misspelled 41.5% of the words on the dictation, gave 49.5% correct responses on the listening comprehension test, and 52% correct responses on the decoding test. The median and mean scores showed that the subjects’ spelling, listening and decoding achievement is low, which implied that the subjects were having spelling, listening comprehension and decoding difficulties. The students’ spelling errors and correct listening comprehension and decoding responses revealed strong correlations among spelling ability, listening comprehension and decoding skills. This means that good spelling ability in EFL is related to good listening comprehension and good decoding skills. The better the listening comprehension and decoding abilities, the fewer the spelling errors. When listening comprehension and decoding skills are poor, spelling ability is also poor. Recommendations for spelling, listening and decoding instruction are given.

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,

<a href="http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf">http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf</a>

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DATE: 03/06/2009 10:16:07 / MOOD: teaching

65 EFL freshman students were enrolled in a 4-hour writing course. Pretest results showed that the students could not put two words together. The posttest results showed a great improvement in writing ability. The students could write fluently and communicate easily. Spelling, punctuation and capitalization errors significantly decreased. Improvement was noted in essay length, neatness, mechanical correctness and style. Improvement was due to student factors and efficient task management factors. Although the students’ English was extremely poor, they were eager to learn. They accepted comments on their essays and were always ready to try again. Each week a variety of small writing tasks were practiced. For each task, the objective was stated, what to be performed was explained and illustrated by examples while students are attentive. Then the students practiced the task under supervision. Individual help was provided. Extension Activities were done in class within a time limit. At the end of the week, all the tasks were put together in writing a one-paragraph essay. Students were encouraged to write and not to worry about spelling, grammatical, punctuation or capitalization mistakes. I gave communicative feedback focusing on meaning and only errors related to tasks under study were highlighted. Feedback was provided on the presence and location of errors but no correct forms were provided. Self-editing and peer-editing were encouraged. Extra credit was given for good paragraphs. Quizzes were given every other week. They required completion of similar tasks or writing of an essay alternatively. Graded quizzes were returned with comments on strengths and weaknesses, and with words of encouragement. Answers were always discussed in class. A Powerpoint presentation will show samples of students’ essays, students’ views, and T-test results of the pre- and posttests, in addition to descriptive statistics of the quizzes to show the gradual improvement.

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,King Saud University,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,<a href="http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf">http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf</a>

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DATE: 03/06/2009 10:15:20 / MOOD: about language

English is, undoubtedly, the global language. One of every four people in the world can communicate in English. English is the official language of 85% of world organizations. It is the language of political meetings, the language of international conferences, the language of technology, commerce, banking, tourism, most research papers, reference books, terminology, economics, and international business. It is the language of the most widely-circulated newspapers, T.V. programs, movies, airlines, multinational corporations, and foreign labor. 90% of the material available on the internet is in English. What made English the most powerful language in the world? This study will explore the historical, political, economic, technological and cultural factors that made English a global language in the past and present. What does the future of English look like?

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,King Saud University,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,<a href="http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf">http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf</a>

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DATE: 03/06/2009 10:12:16 / MOOD: other

The study investigated college students’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of English and Arabic, towards using English and Arabic as a medium of instruction at the university level, and the types of educational reforms that need to be carried out in the light of their responses. Findings of interviews and questionnaires administered to a sample of students at Jordan University and King Saud University showed that 45% of the subjects prefer to educate their children at an international school where they can learn all the subjects in English at a very young age. 96% of the students at Jordan University and 82% of the subjects at king Saud University believe that Arabic can be used as a medium of instruction in religion, history, Arabic literature and education, whereas English is more appropriate for teaching medicine, pharmacy, engineering, science, nursing, and computer science. Findings indicated that the students are more keen on teaching their children English than Arabic. They consider English a superior language, being an international language, and the language of science and technology, research, electronic databases, technical terminology, dictionaries, and teaching methodology. They gave many educational, vocational, technological, social reasons for favoring the English language. The study concluded that Arabic is facing a serious threat by the expansion of English language in all walks of life, lack of language planning, linguistic policies that protect, revive and develop the Arabic language, inadequate Arabicization processes in the Arab world, inadequate number of technical books translated and published in Arabic, misconceptions among college students about first and second language acquisition by children and adults, and about the language of instruction at medical and technological colleges around the world.

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,King Saud University,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf

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DATE: 03/06/2009 10:11:00 / MOOD: technology and esl

In the past six semesters I have used online courses in teaching EFL courses to freshman students. Blackboard and Nicenet were used as a supplement to in-class instruction. We used our PC's and internet connection from home. Students posted stories and poems that they read on the internet or in books and liked to share, and wrote short paragraphs related to the themes covered in class and textbook. I encouraged them to write for communication and not to worry about grammatical and spelling mistakes. I never edited their posts not corrected their errors. Positive comments were always given. Students commentated on each other's threads and were always supportive of each other. They were enthusiastic and felt free to write and not to worry about mistakes. Few weeks after the beginning of the semester (the first course), a student asked me if she could post anything. To my surprise, she posted a poem that she wrote. The students, as well as myself, were extremely thrilled. She received complements and I gave her extra credit and a gift. Soon few more students had the courage to post their own poems. In the following semesters, I started to tell the students that I had creative writers in my previous courses and would like them to write their own poems and stories and post them on the discussion board. Few would respond. In each class, I had between 5-9 students (about 5-10%) who were creative writers and who were able to compose their own poems, write their own short stories and paragraphs about their own experiences although they were in their first semester of college and were of an intermediate proficiency level. Interviews with creative writers showed that the online learning environment had a positive effect on their attitude towards the writing process. It made writing an enjoyable task. It provided an environment secure for making mistakes. Their motivation and sense of achievement were enhanced. Creative writing was enhanced by the multiple skills practiced and extension activities that they enjoyed. The number of poems, stories and essays written by creative writers as individuals and as a group will be reported and samples will be displayed. Many students and instructors feel that writing in a foreign language is a chore rather than an enjoyable task. Students are always hesitant to write because they are inhibited and are afraid of making mistakes. Many cannot generate ideas. My experience with 6 groups of students showed that creative writing does not require a special talent or a high proficiency level in EFL. It is not difficult to achieve in the EFL classroom. Instructors need to encourage the students to write for communication rather than focus on grammatical and spelling correctness. Positive feedback is essential. Creative writers need an online learning environment that is supportive, and secure for trial and error. They need to feel free to express themselves and need to feel good about themselves and what they can do and achieve. 

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,King Saud University,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,<a href="http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf">http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf</a>

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DATE: 03/06/2009 10:10:15 / MOOD: teaching

Although the language program at the College of Languages and Translation, King Saud University offers several English language courses: Listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary building, grammar a dictionary skills in the first four semesters, the spelling skill is completely ignored. Since many college students at COLT are poor spellers, I developed a spelling course that was integrated into the teaching of listening, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary and dictionary skills courses that she taught. The course aimed at providing students with the basics of English spelling and helping them associate the spoken sounds with the written forms. The course consisted of a series of graded spelling lessons that covered the following: English vowels, different pronunciation of the vowel letters; adding a final silent e; pronunciation of vowel digraphs; vowel digraphs and silent e; vowel digraphs with the same pronunciation; consonant letters with more than one sound; different pronunciations of consonant letters; silent consonants; double consonants; words with 2 pronunciations; 2 words with the same pronunciation; words with 2 parts of speech; words commonly confused; doubling consonants before –ed, -ing, -er; hidden sounds; spelling rules for regular verbs; dropping silent e before a suffix; doubling consonants before a suffix; changing y into I before a suffix; adding –s and –es to verbs and nouns; adding –ed, -ing, -er to verbs; spelling rules for the present progressive, the simple present tense and simple past tense; spelling of irregular verbs, plural nouns, adjectives, adverbs; rules for adding affixes (adding consonant and vowel suffixes, dropping silent e before a suffix, changing y into I before a suffix, doubling of consonants, adding a combining vowel or a combining consonant, consonant replacement before a suffix; changing pronunciation of a consonant before a suffix (assimilation); adding verb-forming, noun-forming, adjective-forming and adverb-forming suffixes; words with 2 parts of speech (words ending in –ate, -ment, -age, -ain); spoken vs written forms (assimilation, elision, flaps, reduction, vowel linkage, pause and juncture); punctuation (use of hyphenation in compound, apostrophes, contracts, ordinal numbers; acronyms and abbreviations; spelling variations (American vs British spelling). Each lesson consists of one rule and words illustrating that rule. To help the students compare and contrast, make the connection and recall the rules, a summary lesson was given every 5-7 lessons. Minimal pair practice is also given. The written forms are always associated with the spoken sounds and vice versa. The students were encouraged to make their own word families. Pre- and post-test results showed significant differences between students who took and those who did not take the spelling course in spelling performance as well as the spelling performance of students before and after taking the course.  

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,King Saud University,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,<a href="http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf">http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf</a>

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DATE: 03/06/2009 10:09:11 / MOOD: other

This study aimed at finding out whether the National reading curriculum for grades 7-12 in Saudi Arabia contains global themes, in which grade level those global themes are introduced, the percentage of global themes in each grade level, and which global themes are emphasized more than the others. A checklist consisting of four main global themes was developed. Those are (1) global systems such as cultural, political, economic, ecological, technological, social, educational and healthcare systems, international organizations and international law; (2) global issues such as peace and conflict resolution, refugees; (3) human values like tolerance and cooperation, and (4) global history such as ancient civilizations, history of world religions, the industrial revolution, colonization and liberation movements. A content analysis of the reading textbooks for grades 7-12 showed that Quranic verses and Prophet Mohammed’s traditions constitute 10%, 29% of the themes focus on Islamic history, 13% focus on general topics, 11% deal with classical Arabic literature, 8% focus on the history and geography of Saudi Arabia, 6% focus on scientific issues, 6% focus on fauna and flora, 4% focus on Arab and Islamic countries, 1% are devoted to Arab and international organizations such as UNESCO, and 1% of the topic deal with foreign figures (non-Arab) such as doctors and inventors. It was concluded that the Saudi national reading textbooks do not develop global awareness in Saudi junior and senior high school students. The study calls for a re-selection of reading themes and re-structuring and of the reading curriculum.

Prof. Reima Al-jarf,King Saud University,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,<a href="http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf">http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf</a>

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