Current English Language policies in Saudi Arabian higher education English departments : a study beyond the domain of the classroom

Abstract EN

This paper reports on a mixed-method study on English Language Policies (ELPs) in Saudi higher education English departments.

It examines the current ELPs at English department level (outside the domain of the classroom) in a country where Arabic is the official language.

The topic of Language Policies (LPs) in Saudi Arabia has been attracting increasing attention in recent years, and the investigated area has not been tackled so far.

Staff members with different academic degrees and ranks and from different regions responded to six online survey questions (n = 210).

Additionally, seven department chairpersons and one vice chair from different regions participated in semi-structured long-distance interviews and responded to four questions.

The findings of the study show that not all English departments in Saudi Arabia have ELPs.

It was also found that most current ELPs are verbal (i.e., non-official), and only partly written (i.e., official).

The paper also reports on how ELPs are created in Saudi English departments and how they can be developed.

The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for English departments in EFL contexts, such as calling for macro-level ELPs, which would maximize the chances for English practice and include non-Arabic speaking staff members.