RIYADH, 4 September 2005 — The shortage of English teachers in government schools, coupled with a big gap between the standard and learning emphasis of the English textbooks taught to sixth grade elementary and those used in the first intermediate (7th grade), is going to create problems for students, teachers say.
The English book for the sixth graders starts at the elementary level. The first intermediate level book emphasizes building vocabulary and the controlled use of grammar.
The problem, according to English teacher Ali Al-Zahrani, is compounded by the acute shortage of teachers who have to teach in elementary, intermediate and secondary schools.
He said while male teachers can drive from one school to another, the case is entirely different in girls schools. “It is not possible for female teachers to teach in different schools in view of the restrictions on their movement. This creates a lot of difficulties for girls,” Al-Zahrani told Arab News.
He said the solution is either to recruit more English language teachers from Arab countries or to institute a scheme of incentives for students who attend special language courses for both English and Arabic during the after-school hours. “I suggest incentives for Arabic language, because they are not strong even in their own language,” Al-Zahrani said.
Similar views were expressed by Muhammad Al-Mubarak, another English teacher, who said the students were suffering because of the acute shortage of teachers. The ministry’s plan to introduce English from the first year of elementary has been put on hold.
On the question of standards, Al-Zahrani said the emphasis in elementary textbooks for 12-year-old students is on learning the alphabet and a few simple sentences.
The textbook for the13-year-old intermediate students suddenly jumps to developing their comprehension and writing skills. “They find it difficult both to comprehend the text and answer questions based on the narrative.”
Asked what can be done to motivate Saudi children to join English learning programs, Al-Zahrani said one of the options was to give incentives in cash or kind to the students if they attend English language courses regularly during after-school hours.
This is possible, he said, since the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has allocated SR12.5 billion from surplus revenue for educational development. The government should also designate a “Year of Reading” as they do in Japan to encourage reading habits among students.
“They don’t have any reading habit at all. They like to discuss cars or chatting online but never books. They neither go to libraries nor do they read any newspapers. They only read the sports page of Arabic papers. They spend their summer vacation playing computer games the whole night and sleeping all day,” Al-Zahrani said.
Both teachers felt that unless the government came out with a concrete action plan in terms of developing the English language skills of young Saudis, the Ministry of Labor would find it difficult to push through the Saudization program in the private sector.
A revised textbook, “Say It in English”, will be introduced for the first time for the third intermediate students (9th grade) when Saudi schools reopen next week.
