JEDDAH, 11 April 2008 — In order to provide young Saudis with better job opportunities and a chance to pursue further studies abroad, the US Consulate General has awarded 30 scholarships to students of both genders to take up English language courses.
The awards are part of the English Access Microscholarship program. “The program is a wonderful opportunity for students to acquire skills that can help them reach their educational and career goals,” said a US Consulate General spokesperson in Jeddah.
“We hope the program will continue to grow and that graduates will play an active role in helping to expand this opportunity to greater number of students.”
The program provides free two-year courses in English to 14- to 18-year-olds with a Saudi-based English language institute called Direct English.
Students in Saudi Arabia have been participating in the program since 2004 when it was first launched in Riyadh. Today, there are nearly 200 Saudi boys and girls enrolled in the Access program in Jeddah, Abha, Riyadh, Hail, Qassim, Hofouf and Alkhobar.
“We work with our local partner to advertise the program. We target students who are getting good marks in school but who might not have the resources to take English classes on their own outside school,” said the consulate spokesperson.
“The US Embassy and the US consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran evaluate applications and grant scholarships to the most deserving students,” he added.
Asmaa Al-Qudah, operations manager for Direct English, said that students study six levels of English.
“The first level is the fundamental level in which students learn how to give simple information about themselves and others. They also learn how to ask and answer simple questions on everyday topics with formulaic answers,” said Al-Qudah.
“The sixth level is the confidence level in which students learn how to express and defend opinions and question the opinion of others.”
Kholoud Al-Salami, 14, is in her third intermediate year at Bar’aem Al-Watan School and was selected to join the program. “This is truly an exciting opportunity for me to enhance my language skills. I come to Direct English three days a week and I find that to be very convenient for me. I can easily balance between school demands and studying English,” said Al-Salami.
Shatha Murad, another student who joined the program, told Arab News that her family encouraged her to join the program. She added learning English will provide her with better opportunities to study abroad.
“I feel comfortable. I could ask my teacher questions and not be embarrassed,” said Murad, 16, who is in her first secondary year at Dohat Al-Jazeera School. “We’ve been told that earning this scholarship gives us a better chance in winning scholarships to study in American colleges.”
The English Access Microscholarship program gives students the skills to compete for and participate in exchanges in the US. Access alumni have been selected for participation in State Department-sponsored high school exchanges and undergraduate student leader institutes in the US.
