English

Teaching English as a Second Language to Arab Students: Evaluating Research Paper

Teaching English as a Second Language to Arab Students

Introduction

This assignment aims to describe the process of Teaching English as a Second Language to Arab Students. The paradigm of writing and speaking of English language will be briefly covered through a critical analysis of two research papers, tilted as “Teaching EFL to Jordanian Students: New Strategies for Enhancing English Acquisition in a Distinct Middle Eastern Student Population”. This article is written by Ibrahem Bani Abdo and Gerald-Mark Breen. The other research paper is “Second language instruction with phonological knowledge: Teaching Arabic to speakers of English”, and is written by Khaled Yahya Huthaily. Another important research paper which is analysed is titles as “Determinants of EFL achievement among Arab college-bound learners” and is written by Ghazi Ghaith and Hassan Diab.

Other research papers will also be considered to provide a comprehensive overview of the difficulties faced by Arab students in acquiring and mastering English as a second language, apart from their mother tongue - Arabic. Much of the differences and problems arise due to the linguistic difficulties between English language and Arabic language. Apart from writing difficulties faced by Arab students, it is important to analyze the speaking or phonological hurdles faced by Arab students.

The primary aim of this assignment is to briefly sketch the reasons faced by Arab students in completely absorbing English Language. Some of the reasons include cultural differences.

Discussion

Importance of Language in everyday communicating

Language is an important means of communication and facilitates individuals in exchanging their own ideas, feelings, and thoughts with others. Language structures the thoughts and expressions of an individual in meaningful forms and shapes the social presence of a living entity. It builds the relationship of the individual with the world. Language helps an individual to express happiness, anger, love, and sadness; as language has become an important component of every culture. If an individual acquires a specific language, he or she becomes a key member of the respective linguistic community. This is the reason, why individuals across the planet acquire a deep-rooted love and emotional bonding with their mother tongues (Halasa 2012).

Emergence of English Language

English language has emerged as a necessity for people across the globe in order to communicate with each other. The very essence of this global expansion is the history of colonization. The 21st century has seen the advent of English Language as an international language, or technically Lingua Franca. The term translates into a language, which serves as a vehicular language, or a working language. English language helps people with different mother tongues to communicate with each other in a common language, which is known across the planet (Johnson et al., 2005, pp. 71-94).

Despite the significant status and unparallel importance of English Language as an international language of communication, the importance of other languages, especially Arabic can never be undermined or underestimated. Every language holds a special level of privilege amongst its speakers as they exhibit profound love for their native languages ...