Service Training of EFL Faculty Members for Professional Development in Saudi Arabia

 Research Report
Service Training of EFL Faculty Members for Professional Development in Saudi Arabia
Abstract
English is a globally recognised language. However, the use of English differs from country to country. Countries like Saudi Arabia have to learn the correct usage of the English by learning it as a unit in their academics. This makes the role of the faculty members very crucial as the students perceive them as their role models and incorporate all the skills of their faculty members in their respective learning. This essentially calls for professional development of the faculty members so that they can contribute effectively for attaining the objective of educated and English speaking community in Saudi Arabia. This paper identifies the attributes that are considered to be essential for the professional development of the faculty members and also relates it to the Students in various institutions, colleges and universities in Saudi Arabia.
The paper begins with a brief introduction which presents the rational for conducting this research study. Further, a review of the existing literature has been carried out which forms the basis for the actual research process of this study. The responses of the13 participants who willingly contributed towards this research has been analysed to determine the crucial factors for the professional development of the faculty members. The next part of this study discusses the key points highlighted in the findings and the literature review. The last part of the report puts forward the limitations of this study and a brief conclusion in the end ties the contents of the report together.
Table of Contents
Introduction	3
Teaching English in the Saudi Context	3
Research Context	3
Significance of the Study	3
Review of the Literature	4
Previous studies on EFL learning-teaching in Saudi context	4
Theoretical Notion of Teaching Language	5
EFL Learning Motivation	6
Summary	8
Methodology	8
Findings	9
Discussion	11
Limitations of the Study	12
Conclusion	12
References	13
Appendices	15
Appendix A	15
Questionnaires used for Survey	15
Appendix B	18

Introduction
Today, English is a global language. The same is the case in Middle Eastern countries as well like Saudi Arabia and English is being used as an official and formal language in schools, institutions, universities and also at the corporate level. However, unlike native English speaking countries, the use of the English in countries like Saudi is contingent upon the teachers who teach this as a subject which is EFL (English as a Foreign Language). This paper identifies the level of training and the importance of the professional development of these faculty members in close relation with the learning of the language of English.
Teaching English in the Saudi Context
Saudi Arabia has undergone tremendous boost as far as its social, economic, professional and political development is concerned. The ministry of Education thus introduced EFL (English as a foreign language) in the early 1925 with a view that increasing amount of dependence was on trade relations which required learning the language of English appropriately to understand the scope of the trade relations comprehensively. With this came the importance of the faculty members who since then have assumed the responsibility of sharing their knowledge to all the students so that the maximum members of the community start to use the language of English. It was thus understood that it was crucial that these faculty members are trained and developed in the most efficient manner so that the objective could be attained  (Al-Ahaydib, 1986).
Research Context
A lot of previous studies have focused in this domain of EFL and professional development and the same has provided rich background information to base the process of this research paper. The objective of this paper is to understand the developments of the faculty members who teach English in various universities, colleges and institutions. The results can significantly contribute in improving the level of learning of the students of Saudi, which would ultimately result in the fulfilment of the objective of everyone speaking the language of English competently (Brown, 2004).
Significance of the Study
Owing to its great oil reserves, the trade relations of the Saudi Arabia are spread across various countries around the globe. Hence the correct usage of the language of English not only leaves a lasting impression with different parties, it is also essential for a comprehensive understanding of the prevailing opportunities and potentialities in the foreign markets. Hence, it is vital for the students to learn the language of English from their faculty members. Thus, the grooming of the faculty members is an important criterion for the overall development of the country of Saudi Arabia.
Review of the Literature
This section of the paper deals with identifying previous research that has been carried