The United Kingdom is one of the top choices for students who wish to complete their education abroad, many of who are eligible for the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program. A large number of young Saudis spend between three to five years in the UK to attend university and many of them graduate and return home with university degrees but they still have poor English language skills. Some Saudi students even lack the ability to speak English fluently and they struggle to express themselves freely and confidently in this second language. Experts in the educational field pondering this problem question how one can live up to five years in a country and not acquire the native language? Many also ask why Saudi students who have studied in the United States become more adept at speaking the English language than those who studied in the UK? To get some answers, Saudi students shared their personal experiences and shed light on the challenges they faced while studying in the United Kingdom. Saad Al-Sulaiman who graduated from the United Kingdom with a Bachelor's degree told Al-Watan newspaper, “Having poor English language skills is the main reason why some Saudi students fail in their studies in British universities. The first step students take upon arrival in the UK is to enroll in a language institute to study English before attending university. The problem is that many of these English language schools are commercial in nature and their main goal is financial gain and they fail to give the Saudi student the head start he/she needs to dive into the English language.” “The lessons at most institutes are too superficial and involve teaching the language in a more relaxed, social, and daily life setting, rather than for academic purposes. For example, the student is rarely taught how to write essays, research, extract information from massive references and list the works cited for his/her paper. As a result, language skills remain weak and many students lag behind in meeting the university's demands. Once the student enters the university, it is too late to significantly develop his/her language skills. Students will be too busy coping with university life and studying the course material; they have no time to revise the basics of the language,” he added. According to Al-Sulaiman, the root of the problem lies in the fact that Saudi students on scholarship programs are free to choose any English language institute, as long as it is accredited with the British Council of Education. “Students lack the necessary knowledge and expertise to select the best English language school. If the student is dissatisfied with the institute, there are strict regulations in the UK that stipulate that if a student wishes to change the language institute, she/he must travel back to Saudi Arabia and reenter with another student visa, which is a long ordeal that most students do not want to go through. I think that the university in which the student has enrolled should require students to study at only one or two particular language schools that have high standards and have a good reputation in the UK.” Another student complained that many of the English language institutes in major British cities which are highly populated with Arab students are overcrowded. And as the student-teacher ratio in the classroom increases, the quality of teaching and the attention given to struggling students decreases. In order to avoid the problem, he said language schools should set a ceiling for the number of Saudi students they accept. Saeed Al-Amoudi, who graduated from the UK and now holds a PhD, said the problems and obstacles faced by Saudi youth when studying the English language start at home. “One factor behind the Saudi student's inability to excel at the English language is because the English language curriculum taught at government schools in Saudi Arabia is weak, highly lacking, and inadequate to prepare students to study abroad. Saudi students are under immense pressure and stress to do well on the IELTS exam required by British universities that they become desperate and will even memorize material to pass the exam. Due to this incorrect method of studying which is only a temporary quick-fix, the student does not absorb the language nor does he/she gain the necessary skills to truly acquire the language. Students should be trained to understand the workings of a language and not just blindly memorize.” “Another major factor that hinders the learning process of the English language is the student's personality. Withdrawn, shy students who avoid making British friends, fail to communicate with fellow students and teachers. Many Saudi students only socialize with other Saudis and Arabs and miss out on many benefits. Of course failure to read plenty of English books and newspapers will also hamper the learning process,” added Al-Amoudi. Muhammad Al-Swaidan, a PhD candidate currently in the United Kingdom, places the largest portion of blame on the students themselves. “Some students are inactive in university life, do not participate in events and forums, and lack the initiative to get involved in activities that would force them to interact more with their English-speaking peers and use the language more. Repeated absences, negligence in completing written assignments, and lack of participation in public speaking all contribute to the phenomenon of Saudi students leaving the UK with a degree but with poor English language skills. Some students graduate and they still struggle when speaking English, even to order a cup of coffee,” said Al-Swaidan. To be fair to Saudi youth, Al-Swaidan pointed to the widely-held view that most British nationals are harder to approach and communicate with than the average American. Al-Swaidan said that Americans are friendlier, more talkative, and more inviting which makes it easier for Saudis and other foreigners to engage in conversation with them and thus learn and practice the English language more frequently. Al-Swaidan urged the Ministry of Higher Education to launch a website that lists the best and highly recommended English language institutes in the United Kingdom that can help students gain both written and spoken language skills and succeed at the university level. __
