How Important are Teaching Strategies in Motivating Students to Learn English as a Second Language in a High School in Saudi?

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HOW IMPORTANT ARE TEACHING STRATEGIES IN MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO LEARN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN A HIGH SCHOOL IN SAUDI?
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Introduction
English language continues to grow year by year across the world (Dalby 2002, p. 10). Due to its significant popularity, the language is increasingly being used in many areas of human interaction that initially used local languages of the society around. With its vertical and horizontal growth, English language has made its way into a large number of academic institutions and has even been integrated into their curriculum. One good example of a country where English is learnt as a second (or foreign) language is Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is currently involved in playing a crucial role in the world politics as well as commerce. To further develop and reinforce its evolution, the country needs to be aggressive on the international dialogue table at every level. This it must do with the help of English. Considering the position and use of English in the world, the Saudi government has made the teaching of English as a second language mandatory at schools and higher education institutions.
Despite the efforts by the Saudi government, the quality of English among the Saudi students is still wanting and way below average. Past research carried out in Saudi high schools present that a lot of students dislike English classes and do not wish to attend them. The same research results indicate that teachers believe that students can respond well to English if they are allowed to personalise their own learning experiences. This constitutes motivating the students to continue learning the language through unique strategies. Motivation is paramount because research carried out at the Lebanese American University in Lebanon indicates that students of English as a second language are able to learn the language when well-motivated and left to personalise the entire learning experience since every student has a learning need different from others’ needs (Bahous, Bacha, & Nabhani 2011). As Dornyei confirms (Dornyei 2010a), there are a number of techniques to motivate students. These techniques include a great number of psycho-sociological as well as various linguistic factors; all the techniques must be engaged in the learning process for the learners to appreciate the language. In fact, students’ motivation to learn English language in Saudi Arabia strongly relates with their desires to be actively engaged in the learning process. Additionally, the students’ motivation concerns the objectives or goals for involvement or otherwise in academic activities. As a result, Saudi English teachers should be trained on how to identify individual student’s problem types and also the corresponding factors that the student encounters in the learning process.
English in Saudi Arabia
English language is considered important in political communication, technological and social development. In this regard, it is considered to be one of the most crucial subjects that every Saudi student has to learn and master. Recently, the English language became the medium of instruction in all higher learning institutions in Saudi. Further, English has also been introduced as a subject in high schools. In fact, English mastery has become a prerequisite for one to be accepted in the King Abdullah Scholarship Program. The Saudi job market has also made a substantial step in ensuring that recruits have sufficient English mastery in order to land a superb and highly competitive job.
The teaching and learning of English in Saudi is currently a challenging task; this is for both teachers and learners. For example, English teaching in Saudi starts in grade 6 and continues till grade 12. It is expected that by the time students reach grade 12, they ought to have mastered English sufficiently; however, this scenario is not the case. Even after such lengthy periods of learning, students still fumble when communicating in English in both public and classroom contexts. These challenges have made decision-makers to move in quick and act to provide strategies and efforts to turn things around. A number of researchers have also carried out detailed diagnostic studies in order to detect problem types as well as the corresponding factors that can either elevate or hinder learning and teaching of English in Saudi Arabia.
From the research studies that have been conducted, it is clear that Saudi students’ motivation to learn English has more to do with their individual desire to participate in the entire learning process. However, their desire also concerns the students’ goals for involvement or noninvolvement in academic activities. Every student in Saudi has a unique sour...