REVISITING THE DEBATE OF ENGLISH-ONLY INSTRUCTION: PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS AT THE ROYAL SAUDI LAND FORCES AVIATION INSTITUTE

Author

Khalid Alotaibi, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

8-1-2015

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Applied Linguistics

First Advisor

Chang, Soo Jung

Abstract

This study investigated students’ perceptions of English-only instruction of the American Language Course as taught in the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Institute in Qassim, Saudi Arabia. The study aims to explore students' attitudes of monolingual approach in teaching the American Language Course at this institution. Since its introduction to military schools in Saudi Arabia, ALC has only been taught in English. This study tries to examine the students’ perception of this education policy and to what extent such teaching method is helpful. The study employed a descriptive method and inferential quantitative research design. A questionnaire was developed to elicit responses from students taking ALC in their intermediate level. The participants in the study were asked about their opinions and preferences of ALC English-only instruction. Most displayed a positive attitude toward this monolingual approach in the classroom. However, students also expressed their desire to use Arabic-English resources when needed (such as an English-Arabic dictionary) to be able to clarify points they did not understand in English. Only a minority of students preferred bilingual or Arabic-only instruction. Even in classroom management and giving directions, most students preferred their teacher to use the monolingual approach. Keywords: Monolingual, English-only instruction, Arabic, students, teacher factor