ENGLISH, the most influential language of the world with an estimated 500 million to 1.8 billion speakers, is the third most spoken language. Despite being among the most widely spoken and understood languages, English has not yet acquired its customary omnipresent status in Saudi society, where all the official work is carried out in Arabic. One of the reasons that has kept Saudis away from learning English is their apathy towards western culture. Nouf Al-Marwaai, a Saudi clinical psychologist says, “Saudi society is conservative; people have a strong bonding with their culture. Since English is a Western language and is perceived to inculcate Western values in people, that's why a lot of Saudis show lack of interest in learning English.” Another factor enumerated by Marwaai is Saudi society's hesitation in learning foreign languages. “Many parents do not actively encourage their children to learn English. This results in an inbuilt hesitation to learn it and this hesitation keeps on shifting to the next generation.” However, the upcoming generation of Saudis are showing a readiness to learn English with gusto. Ironically, there are inadequate opportunities for Saudi youngsters here in the Kingdom, as the government schools' curriculum does not include English at the elementary level in a majority of schools. English lessons in government schools begin from grade six. “Introducing languages at an early age makes it easy for a child to pick it quickly as their minds are fresh,” said Fariha Raheel, a kindergarten teacher at a Saudi private school. “It is not difficult to communicate with Saudi kindergarten students after their first month in an English school, as children start to understand simple words and sentences. Though, it takes them time to speak,” Raheel said. She added that unfortunately Saudi society does not place a premium on learning English, and generally school teachers themselves have below par English skills, which place barriers for young Saudis to learn English easily. “Parental support and participation is a must in learning any language, since a child spends more time at home. Children can learn faster if parents talk to them in English.” She is optimistic about the coming Saudi generations and said that in the next five to 10 years conditions will be better. “I can see an enormous change in the attitude toward education in Saudi youngsters. They show a keen interest in learning English,” she feels. Marah Al-Jassem, 8, an Arab student of grade three at Al-Wesam School loves to learn English. “I find it easy to understand and speak as I started learning it from Kindergarten. Our conversation with our teacher is always in English. She teaches us new words and now I can speak some big sentences as well,” she said. Reem Iskandar, 12, a Saudi student of grade seven at Al-Bayan School finds it learning English no trouble at all. She said, “learning English is necessary because one can communicate with anyone in any country, if they know English.” She added that as she has studied English since early kindergarten, it is easy for her to communicate in English. “When we received the English syllabus of grade six we were really amused because we studied such English in grade one,” she added. Alia Yacoub, at Future Expert Center (FEC) said, “English is an international language which is spoken throughout the world, that's why it is necessary for Saudi society to know it to keep pace with the rest of the world. Languages help people to express themselves in a better way and be confident, so one should learn other languages.” “The biggest hurdle we face in teaching Arab children English is struggling with parent's expectations from their children. They expect from us to teach them English in a month, while there is less support for children from them, as every parent does not speak English. Languages need practice and continuity, simply going to an English school can't help children speak English fluently, especially when it is not their mother tongue,” says Yacoub. Lately, many private Saudi schools and centers have started giving English classes to young children in summer camps held during the annual vacation. Other centers providing English classes to Arab children include My Crib Daycare Center and the Professionals Institute for Professional Training and Development (PIPTD), which hold summer classes. FEC also provides English classes throughout the year to every age group, excluding boys above 12 years of age. FEC has set up a kindergarten for toddlers in the morning, where they are given English education along with a complete kindergarten syllabus. FEC also holds evening classes “Fun with English” for children aged four and above which is an activity based program that enables children to not only read and write English but to enjoy it as well. The activities include cooking, movies, and outdoor trips and are held thrice a week. Many Saudis now prefer to have their children studying in private schools where they can acquire an education in both English and Arabic, at any cost. “We have admitted our children in Manarat Schools where they are acquiring good English education along with our mother tongue Arabic. We know Arabic is obligatory but ignoring English will lead us nowhere. This era is of English and if we want to succeed we have to equip our next generations with it to play an effective role in the world. We are paying more fees here as compared to other government or private schools where English is not taught, only to make them learn English,” Amirah Al-Attar, a Saudi mother of four children.
