Factors Affecting the Quality of English Language Teaching in Preparatory Year, University of Jeddah

Abstract

Several Universities in Saudi Arabia have recently made it their priority to pursuit excellence in effective EFL teaching-learning starting from the Preparatory Year Program (PYP). That is due to the rapid expansion of English as a lingua franca in tertiary education especially in science and technology, scientific and educational publication, technology, internet communication, etc. The present study will examine the current situation in EFL teaching and learning to identify the factors affecting the quality of English language teaching in the PYP at Jeddah University. When studying quality in EFL teaching, the concentration is usually put on the teacher where in fact the success of the operation is collaboration between three major constituents of the program triangle, the learners, the teachers and the institution. Therefore, these three constituents were asked to first identify what they think is important in regards to the quality of the EFL program, and what impedes achieving its goals. In order to identify and analyze the factors, this study applied the following survey: Quality in Language Teaching for Adults developed by Grundtvig Learning Partnership (2009-2011), on teachers, learners, and administrators. Slight variations in wording of the survey statements was implemented in order to suit each group. For data analysis, SPSS software was used. Recommendations and further fields of study presented were based on the findings.