1. Saudi Arabian Scholarship Students in MELP’s IEP: Goals, Successes,
and Challenges
Leah Kronick
Introduce myself (name and position)

2. Saudi Arabian Scholarship Students in MELP’s IEP: Goals, Successes, and Challenges
Context and background
Research Questions
Literature Review
Methods
Discussion and findings
Limitations
Implications for teachers and administrators
Suggestions for Future Research
Questions?

3. Context: Minnesota English Language Program (MELP)
Intensive English Program (IEP)
2013/2014 Academic Year
Plan B Project for master’s degree in TESOL
Explain what a plan B is

4. Research Questions:
What are the goals of KASP students studying in an IEP in the U.S.?
What do these students perceive as being the greatest challenges they face and successes they achieve, linguistically and otherwise?
How does the programming at the IEP align with the goals of these students residing in the U.S. for the purpose of studying English?

5. Background: Why this study? Why now?
1 of the 3 largest populations at MELP
Perceived differences in learning styles
Assumptions about linguistic and cultural background
Practical/relevant to teachers
Personal involvement with the population

6. Literature: General Background on Saudi Arabia (KSA)
“The starkest mix of medieval and modern of any country in the world” (Coleman, 2012).
Islam/ Wahhabism/ Shari’ah
Constitutional Monarchy/ no “modern” constitution
Oil economy
Extremely high unemployment
Gender segregated society

7. Literature: Overview of King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP)
Administered by Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM)
Began in 2005
Current total numbers somewhat unclear
Projections for future totals
Goals of the program, stated and perceived
Continued expansion and extension
Not the first program of its kind, but by far the biggest
44,566 in US (as of 2013), 80,00-120,000 total abroad (as of 2011)
300,000 by 2015, 1% of the total population of KSA
----- Meeting Notes (11/15/14 15:20) -----
“to meet the needs of Saudi Arabia in relation to the development of a professional and academic workforce that would be internationally competitive” (Alhazmi & Nyland), to make KSA “world-competitive in the work market and academic research” (website of KSAP), also (unofficially) unemployment, relationship with “The West,” less oil-dominated society, freer/ more open society
At least 2020, so far

8. Literature: Saudi Students Studying Abroad
Cultural Differences
Identity and Performativity
Short-term and long-term effects
Motivation
Gender
(Redden, 2013) Cultural differences: dedication to family, negotiation/ Strategies: adapting attendance policies, sensitivity training
(Alhazmi & Nyland, 2013) Identity/ performativity/ gender, interaction between individual and environment
(Hilal, 2012) Comparison between KSA and UAE, positive: new/ modern ideas, economic benefit, better higher ed, less unemployment, better international perceptions, better educated population/ negative: adoption of Western habits, lack of economic gain, “paid vacation”
----- Meeting Notes (11/15/14 15:20) -----
Al Zayid, 2012) Motivation over time. Positive: NEST, communicative/ student-centered teaching, KASP, support system. Negative: IELTS/ TOEFL “nightmare”
(Al-Shekhly, 2012) Female students: high degrees of inter-cultural competence, high motivation, want to improve outcomes for women at home
(Heyn, 2013) Male students: perceptions/ experiences/ strategies/ support. Better teaching, better access to tech, fears about religious freedom, violence, and racism. Language challenge. Support from religion, other Saudi students, family, and teachers

9. Literature: Saudi Students Studying in IEPs
Proficiency (writing vs. speaking)
Identity construction
Learning strategies
Perceptions
(Bollag, 2006) Sudden jump in enrollment, speaking vs. writing proficiency
(Giroir, 2014) Case study, 2 male participants. Identity construction, active construction, individual identity vs. national identity. Some hostility related to 9/11. Active participants in identity.
(Alhaisoni, 2012) IN KSA! Use of learning strategies. Higher proficiency learners use more strategies, no difference between male and female, need to teach strategies explicitly
(Shaw, 2014) Most similar to this study, perceptions: differences: teaching methods/ relationships with teachers, lack of negotiation, mixed-gender classrooms, access to tech. Strategies: time management, planning, goal setting, etc.

10. Methods: Participants
11 participants, 6 male/ 5 female
Ages 19-28
In U.S months
MELP Levels 1-4
Wide range of previous education
5-15 years of English
3 high school, 1 Associates, 6 BA, 2 MA (in progress)

11. Methods: Data Collection and Analysis
Semi-structured individual interviews
10 standard questions
Recorded and transcribed
Codes from data
Coded by theme and research question
Questions: strengths/ weaknesses, goals, successes and challenges in language, classroom culture, etc.

12. Discussion: Reasearch Question 1
What are the goals of KASP students studying in an IEP in the U.S.?
Specificity
Educational vs. Career
“First language”
Bayan: “I like English very much because I think it’s good for my education to learn about English and it’s very famous to learn English to complete my masters degree and maybe Ph.D.”
A lot of what’s included here does not relate explicitly to the lit review, explain why this is
Most students mentioned specific fields, all stressed the importance of English (not surprisingly)
Most focused more on career goals than education
Minority of participants, but noteworthy for its scope

13. Discussion: Reasearch Question 2 What do these students perceive as being the greatest challenges they face and successes they achieve, linguistically and otherwise?
Language skills: student perceptions vs. commonly held assumptions
Classroom activities/ teaching style
Quality of self-evaluation
Abdullah: “Here I can talk. My country just I receive.”
Maryam: “Mmmm, I don’t know but, maybe...I recognize some of my weaknesses. I thought that I’m okay in something and now I know. I wasn’t aware about this.”
“goes against commonly held beliefs”
Confirms previous research as far as difficulty with adjustment: group discussion, relationships with teachers, etc.
Not mentioned in previous literature

14. Discussion: Reasearch Question 2
What do these students perceive as being the greatest challenges they face and successes they achieve, linguistically and otherwise?
Ahmed: “King Abdullah, when he give us the scholarship to come here to study, many people want to study, so they understand many things, they understand other cultures and when they go back to KSA they will do something better.”
Independent living
Cultural exchange and interaction
Length of scholarship program
Advancement policy/ summer program
Confidence
Successes and challenges
Assumed, homesickness etc. is part of cultural adjustment, but not explicitly mentioned in most of the literature: most participants mentioned it and both a challenge and a success, 1 said it wasn’t a problem
Not mentioned in literature, but may go against commonly held assumptions:
Not mentioned in the literature (notable for being one of the only major issues participants perceived with regard to the scholarship program itself
Specific to our program
Supports findings? (mentioned by nearly all participants)
Specific to this study (not mentioned elsewhere)

15. Discussion: Reasearch Question 3
How does the programming at the IEP align with the goals of these students residing in the U.S. for the purpose of studying English?
Sense of community
Mixed-gender environment
Class schedule/ course catalog
Flexibility
Malik: “I have to become comfortable. But also I have to preserve my culture.”
Relates to conception of identity formation occurring in the interaction between individual and environment?
For the most part, a non-issue, goes against previous literature (mentioned by only 2 people, in both cases as a
May relate to “predisposition to negotiation”? Otherwise, not mentioned elsewhere

16. Limitations: Small/ localized sample Self-selection
Relationship with researcher
Gender of researcher

17. Implications for Teaching and Administration:
Individuality/ self-representation
Avoiding stereotypes
Awareness of challenges
Explicit expectations
Students as whole people
Making personal connections

18. Suggestions for Future Research:
SLA focus
Other IEPs
Follow up beyond IEPs
Results in KSA
Other populations (Omani/ Chinese?)

19. Questions?

20. Contact Leah at kron0062@umn.edu
Thank you!
Contact Leah at

21. References
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