THURSDAY
3:45-4:30
Reflecting on the Characteristics of Successful Saudis in the Academic Classroom, Elise Brittain & Beth Thomas, International English Institute
- How does your current practice interface with students from Saudi Arabia?
- an ESL program has the authority to place a cap on students from one country in order to diversify program - this institute did that…
- What are the unique characteristics of a successful Saudi learner?
- Surveys sent out surveys to the Saudi students who studied there in the past 5 years (alumni)
- Methodology
- Determine categories to describe a successful Saudi learner
- Create survey items to represent attributes in each of the categories (statement format)
- Divide participants into 3 groups "successful" "unsuccessful" "median"
- Interpret results be comparing respondent survey data representing "successful" and "unsuccessful"
- What attributes do successful Saudis exhibit?
- take personal responsibility for own learning
- students who branch out
- females tend to be more successful
- acculturation
- graduate-program bound students
- Research
- A successful Saudi
- critical thinking… problem solving… analysis… synthesize information… learn how to learn"
- teacher is facilitator
- desire to succeed
- think outside of the box
- "international vision"
- does not find threats to Muslim identity in teaching materials
- Survey
- Critical Thinking Skills
- Response to Target Culture
- Students' Self Perception
- Teacher & Student Relationship
- The Role of Shame
- Interpretation
- Unsuccessful Saudi learners perceive themselves as successful…
- Language Instructors need to focus on
- exposing where a student's strategy is not creating successful learning outcomes
- building a student's awareness of missing the mark
- encouraging acceptance of new strategies
- on an individual level, help the student recognize his/her own applications of strategies or lack thereof
- Go beyond attributing to exhibiting.
- (My personal question: Is there something shameful in admitting your weaknesses? Denial?)
- Survey Limitations
- online medium
- reading level
- small sample size
- statement format - student idealizes self
- Survey Expansion
- establish a larger sample size
- explore level specific promotional data
- pursue practical applications for admins, instructors, learners
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