A language curriculum model : a case study in Saudi Arabia

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Authors
Madkhali, Husam M.
Advisor
Seig, Mary T.
Issue Date
2005
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (Ph. D.)
Department
Department of English
Other Identifiers
Abstract

This study is threefold: 1) To investigate the needs of English for Academic Purposes at the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (SA), and the needs of English for Job Purposes in the Saudi private sector; 2) To establish goals based on the needs found; and 3) To propose an alternate design for the current English Language Center at the IPA in SA. The researcher used multi-modal approach to data collection that included questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews with different populations: managers, employees, human resource managers, students, and teachers. In business settings, the results showed that English is often used in the private sector for the following reasons: existence of non-native speakers of Arabic expatriates in the private sector in SA, nature of the company, dealing with international companies, agents of some international companies, and the company itself is not Saudi. In academic settings, students faced difficulties mainly in three skill area: reading, writing, and speaking. Based on the needs found, the researcher suggested teaching two business courses: Business Correspondence and Business Communication. In addition, the researcher proposed an alternate design for the current program at the English Language Center which should focus on General English, rather than English for Specific Purposes.