Dr . Mansoor . S . Al – Malki
Vice Director TUELC / Vice Dean PYP Assistant Professor Applied Linguistics TUELC
Before the proceedings of the interview , let ' s run through a quick personal history .
I currently work as a Deputy Dean of the PYD as well as an Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at the ELC . I obtained my PhD from one of the world ’ s leading universities “ the University of Melbourne ” in Language Assessment in 2014 . I also hold an MA in TESOL and the Cambridge CELTA certificate , and taught English for several years in Saudi Arabia as well as in Australia . My main research interests include language assessment , blended approaches in language learning and language teaching , and qualitative research methods . lived in Saudi Arabia all my life until 2007 . But living in Saudi Arabia and studying , then teaching English , left me with a series of questions . It is these questions which have motivated me to be specialized in language education . The questions relate to processes of change and innovation , to ways of teaching EFL , and finally to assessment . In time , I moved to Australia to continue my studies , then opportunities arose , and this is how I now find myself working as an Assistant Professor at the ELC .
How do you see English Language in the backdrop of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ?
Being a second language learner myself has provided me with a broader perspective of how a second / foreign language should be facilitated and taught to students . There are three main language learning metaphors that I can classify for language learning . Namely , language learning as instruction , language learning as acquisition , and language learning as socialization . These metaphors characterize the practices of all language domains of learning , teaching and assessment . Nonetheless , certain approaches to teaching and learning of languages are more common in certain settings . In Saudi Arabia we typically use a formal lecturebased approach to teaching and learning , similar to the ‘ instruction ’ metaphor where it somehow inherited its roots from the old grammar translation method . Actually , not only our language learning practices that are framed with the instruction metaphor , rather our whole educational landscape is instructionally predominated . With the current initiatives in the EFL context like technology implementation , I believe that there will be a shift in language learning . This shift will be in moving from language learning as ‘ Instruction ’ and ‘ Acquisition ’, as it is currently , to language learning as ‘ Socialization ’, where the pedagogical focus can be more on multimodal activities and the overall growth of the language community . In my opinion , the main challenge learning English in an EFL context , like the one in Saudi , is trying to find more opportunity to use English away from the classroom . Exposure to the target language is currently limited at all levels . This contrasts with English taught in English-speaking countries where students have inherent opportunities for language practice outside the classroom . It is , therefore , our
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