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Podcasts are audio files that are automatically delivered to the student’s computer, smart phone, iPad or MP3/MP4 player. They can be automatically updated. Students typically subscribe to podcasts using "podcatcher" software such as iTunes. The present study proposes a model for integrating grammar podcasts in teaching English grammar to EFL/ESL college students. It gives examples of English grammar podcasts that can be integrated in in-class grammar instruction. It shows how grammar podcasts can be downloaded and used and some of the grammatical structures and topics are covered by those podcasts. Grammar podcasts contain 2-5-minute-long audio explanations of a particular grammatical point or structure. They include a lesson script, exercises, quizzes with an answer key, and/or an English grammar help where answers are given to students’ questions about problematic grammatical points. Students can download podcasts, print the script, do the exercises and score their answers themselves. Elementary, intermediate, and advanced level grammar podcasts can be downloaded depending on the students’ needs and proficiency level. Unlike face-to-face classroom lectures, students can listen to grammar podcasts anywhere, anytime and as many times as they need. Classroom discussions on a grammar podcast can be performed in pairs, small groups or even whole class. End-of-semester grammar tests can be given to find out improvements in the students’ grammatical knowledge/achievement as a result of integrating grammar podcasts in EFL grammar courses. Recommendations for the effective use of grammar podcasts are given.

Negative yes-no (polar) questions in Colloquial Arabic (CA) are formed by intonation without adding yes-no question particles, in which case, a statement is uttered with a rising intonation, whether this polar question is negative or affirmative. This case is more common in CA than written MSA. Sometimes, the same negative polar question is uttered with different intonations, giving different meanings. This article investigates the multiple meanings of negative polar questions in Hijazi Arabic (HA), the kinds of ambiguities resulting from using different rising intonations, and how negative polar questions are answered. A sample of negative polar questions in HA was collected. Each was uttered with different rising intonations by a sample of students enrolled in a Semantics and Pragmatics course at the College of Languages and Translation and recordings of those were made. The student informants were asked about the meaning conveyed by each intonation of the same negative polar question. Results showed that ما شريت فستان الأسبوع الماضي؟ Didn't you buy a dress last week?” is a negative polar question formed with a change in intonations. It is ambiguous and may render the following meanings: (i) a neutral question about whether she bought the dress or not, replying with the truth-value of the situation, or is replying to the polarity used in the question. The answer would be either "Yes" or "no", or an echo answer: "Yes I bought it" or "No I didn't buy it"; (ii) a confirmation question to which the reply is "yes" only; (iii) a confirmation question to which the reply is "no" only; (iv) disapproval: "Didn't you buy a dress last week? Why do you want to by another dress? (v) an exclamation: Wow! You have bought a new dress, although you bought one last week! What a surprise! The context makes it clear which meaning each intonation implies. Detailed results of the interpretation of a sample of ambiguous spoken negative polar questions are reported.

Son and daughter metaphorical expressions are common in general as well as technical languages. This study explores the similarities and differences between English and Arabic ibn (son) and bint (daughter) expressions, and the difficulties that student-translators have with them. A corpus of English and Arabic general ibn (son) and bint (daughter) expressions (daughters of Eve, daughter of invention, son of Adam, son of a biscuit, son of a gun) and another corpus of specialized expressions (son of Minos, daughter board, daughter activity) were collected, analyzed and compared. It was found that ibn (son) and bint (daughter) expressions fall into 4 categories: (i) those that are identical in form and meaning in both languages (daughters of Eve, son of Adam); (ii) those that are similar in meaning but differ in wording (step-daughter); (iii) those that exist in English, but have no equivalents in Arabic (daughter of Sappho); and (iv) those that exist in Arabic but have no equivalents in English (daughter of Yemen, i.e., coffee). Specialized expressions used in medicine, computers, business and others are exact translations in both languages (daughter company, daughter cyst, daughter isotope). Student-translators could translate fewer than 13% of the Arabic test items and 12% of the English test items correctly and left 75% blank. Son and daughter expressions similar in both languages were easy to translate (like mother like daughter), whereas opaque ones (بنت الشفة), culture-specific ones (بنت أبيها، بنت بنوت، ابن لبون) and those requiring a specialized background knowledge were difficult (daughter board). Extraneous translation, paraphrase, Literal translation, use of synonyms, transliteration of Arabic words, partial translation, and giving the same translation for different expressions were the most common strategies. Translation difficulties are due to semantic and syntactic problems that the students have. Results and recommendations are given in detail.

Arabic has a standard form used in formal situations and print materials and a non-standard, colloquial form used in daily conversation. Each Arab country has its own dialect. Before social media, educated Arabs used to use Standard Arabic when they communicated in writing. But with the advent of social media, people started to use non-standard Arabic, i.e., their own dialects, when they communicate in writing on social media. A corpus of spelling errors in Arabic was collected from Facebooks posts and analyzed to find out the types of errors made, the strategies Arab Facebook spellers use, why educated Arabs make those errors and their effect on decoding ability and communication. It was found that Facebook users completely ignore Standard Arabic spelling rules. They spell words the way they pronounce them in their local dialects. They delete vowels, substitute long vowels by short ones and vice versa and confuse consonants with the same sound. Some graphemes are no longer used. They connect several words together as one word, ignoring the pauses between them. The same word or phrase, in the same dialect, is spelled differently by different users. Sometimes it is difficult to understand what some users are trying to say. It seems that the non-standard Arabic spelling used on Facebook is undergoing a simplification process. Users do not seem to recognize word boundaries, cannot connect phonemes with the graphemes they represent and cannot distinguish vowel length in their spoken dialect. A detailed classification of spelling anomalies, the faulty spelling strategies used and reasons for those spelling weaknesses detected are reported.

Students majoring in translation at the College of Languages and Translation take a stylistics course (3 hours per week) in the 5th semester of the translation program. The course aims to introduce students to the stylistic features of different genres in English such as journalese, advertisements, commercial, scientific, and legal texts. The present study aims to investigate ESL translation students’ ability to comprehend and identify the stylistic features of legal documents, to find out the stylistic features that are easy to identify, and those that are difficult to identify. Sixty EFL junior students enrolled in a Stylistics course took a test which consisted of an English legal (notarial) text and asked them to identify its lexical and syntactic features. Analysis of the subjects’ responses showed that the features that they could identify were: Use of legal verbs (69%); prefixing and suffixing of prepositions (63%;) prepositional/adverbial phrases (57%); long complex sentences (52%); coordination of synonyms (doublets) (52%); statements (22%); no adjectives (10%); few pronouns (8%); use of technical vocabulary and emphatic auxiliaries (7% each); use of passive structures, relative clauses and scarce use of pronoun reference (5% each); use adverbs and putting adverbs in an unusual position (3% each); rare pronoun reference, descriptive adjectives, few adjectives, long words, sentence with unusual order, and long nominal clauses (1.6% each). These percentages reflect the difficulty level of the different lexical and syntactic features of the legal text and features with which the students have comprehension difficulties. The lower the percentage, the more difficult the feature is. Difficulties in processing the notarial text may be attributed to lack of linguistic competence and unfamiliarity with the notarial text structure. Recommendations for instructional techniques that would help enhance the students’ ability to identify and comprehend the lexical and syntactic structures of legal texts are given.

A sample of 560 Arab Facebook users consisting of students, faculty, schoolteachers, and other professionals with different proficiency levels in English was selected. The study analyzed how Arabic personal names on Facebook to find out how names with the glottal stop (hamza) [ʔ] and/or voiced pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] in initial, medial and final positions, with different Arabic short and long vowels before and after them are spelled; whether there are variations in their spelling; causes of spelling variations, and the spelling strategies used. Results showed that 63% of the names have an initial hamza; 10% have a medial hamza; 24% have a final hamza. 65% have one variant and 29% have two variants. Names with the highest occurrences are Eman (26); Ibrahim (18); Alaa & Ismail (17) each; and Asma (16). In some names there is a cluster of 2-3 vowels (Waeel, Ismaiel, Ismaeel, Ismaeil, Doaa Duaa). The voiced pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] in all names was substituted by a vowel as this phoneme/grapheme does not exist in English. Thus both [ʔ] and [ʕ] are represented by vowels and pronounced the same in English. 64.5% have an initial [ʕ], 30% have a medial [ʕ] and 5% have a final [ʕ]. 85% of the names with [ʕ] have one variant and 13.5% have two variants. اسماعيل has the highest number of variants (Esmail/Ismail, Ismael, Esmaiel/Ismaeil, Ismaeel) because [ʕ] ع is preceded and followed by long vowels. Some names with final [ʔ] and [ʕ] and followed by a long vowel were spelled with a single -a or double -aa. In Asma, Wafa, Haifa and Sana, [ʕ] was deleted because the spelling matches how the name is pronounced in the local dialect. In Abduh, Amro Enayah Waed, transferred the Arabic spelling system was transferred to English. [ʕ] was deleted is some names (Menem, Yakoub, Gomma) and the vowel was retained to facilitate pronunciation. An apostrophe was added in Ro’aa, Asma’a to split the vowel cluster. The study gives recommendations to help EFL students spell names with phonemes/graphemes that do not exist in English accurately and to help English speakers pronounce the English version correctly.

This study aims to explore the denotative meaning of compound shop names in Saudi Arabia, and identify the types of semantic and syntactic anomalies in the Arabic transliterations of English compound shop names. A corpus of compound shop names was collected from 12 major cities in a Saudi Mall Directory. After eliminating international shop names, pure Arabic shop names, single-word and duplicate shop names, a sample of 168 compound shop names consisting of locally-coined English shop names and mixed shop names was subjected to further analysis. In addition, a sample of students majoring in languages and translation took a compound shop name test where they had to judge the semantic and syntactic accuracy and acceptance of compound shop names. Results showed that 69% of the Arabic transliterations of the compound shop nouns in the sample have syntactic and/or semantic anomalies. 22% have syntactic anomalies as opposed 14% semantic anomalies and 23% have both semantic and syntactic anomalies combined. Some compound shop names are meaningless because the two elements of the compound are incongruous (Operation Falafel اوبريشن فلافل; Rude Shake (روود شيك. Others have faulty word order (Mama Batata ماما بطاطا ; قوركان شيف) ; faulty use of the definite article ((المنيو دونتس; use of constituents in the compound with the same meaning from two foreign languages )THE BEAU WOW); the English plural /-s/ is added to the Arabic word ملهم in Max Molhams ماكس ملهمز; splitting words into syllables or two parts ) اكس و ريزAccessories(; كلاي ماكس(Climax); combining two words and spelling them as one lexeme شرمبشاك)). Responses to the judgment test of the semantic and syntactic anomalies in shop names showed that the students could identify more semantic than syntactic anomalies (90% vs 80% respectively). They had difficulty understanding ماكس ملهمز- قوركان شيف - أوبريشن فلافل- شرمبشاك –ماما بطاطا that have both semantic and syntactic anomalies. They found them unacceptable and difficult to comprehend. The study gives some recommendations for translating rather than transliterating English compound shop names to overcome the semantic and syntactic anomalies.

This study aimed to analyze a sample of Arabic transliterations of foreign shop names in Saudi Arabia; to identify the inaccuracies, and inconsistencies in the Arabic transliterations; the causes of the Arabic inconsistent and erroneous transliterations; whether shoppers (who do not know English) can decode and pronounce a sample Arabic transliterations of shop names; and the factors that should be taken into consideration in transliterating foreign shop names to Arabic. Results of the data analysis showed that 52% of the inaccurate transliterations are in the vowels and diphthongs; 36% are inaccurate and inconsistent transliterations of consonants. In 11.6% of the shop names, ch was reduced to sh; and /g/ was transliterated in 3 ways. 13% of the consonant transliteration deviations occurred in words containing a silent letter. In 6%, the Arabic vowel was double. In 8%, compound shop names were spelled together (blended) in the Arabic transliteration; In 7%, foreign names from French, Italian, Japanese, and Turkish were transliterated as they are pronounced in English, not in the original language. Findings also showed variant spellings of the same name shop names especially from French, Italian and Turkish (Parfois بارفواه بافويس; Spring سبرينق سبرينج; Semit Sarai سميت/سيميت; Chocolate شوكلت/شوكليت). Results of a decoding test given to a sample of college students and faculty who have a low proficiency level in English showed that the subjects could decode shop names such as ماكدونالدر، بيرغر كينج، هارديز، كوستا، ساربكس.. نسكافيه بيرجر كينج، تويز ار اص، but had difficulty decoding , دولس قوستو, أدفنتورا, جارليشوز لاونج, أميريكان إيجل أوتفترز, أكسسوريز, بايليس, باربكيوتونايت, لولو سلبريت, ذا تشيلدرنز بليس and other. The students and faculty had difficulty decoding Arabic transliterations because they are not familiar with the shop name in the foreign language, and because of the absence of short vowels in the transliteration, which makes it difficult to pronounce the transliterated names correctly. Deviant transliterations are attributed to transliterators who are non-native speakers of Arabic, English and other foreign languages. Recommendations for accurate Arabic transliterations of foreign shop names in Saudi Arabia are given.

This study explores how sectarian language prevalent on Arabic media shapes common Arab people's perceptions of sects such as Sunni, Shiites, and others. A sample of Arabic sectarian expressions was collected from social media, print media and TV channels. A sample of students and faculty was surveyed. Sectarian language was analysed according to the components of perception (perceiver, target, and situation), the factors that affect each, and the social amplification and attenuation risk framework. Sectarian language used by students, faculty and Arab media is characterized by contempt, hostility, hatred, and intolerance of the sect(s) they disapprove of as they constitute political and ideological threats. Many Sunnis are afraid of the Shiite tide and Shiite Crescent. Hezbollah, Houthis, and Muslim Brothers are considered “terrorists” and “militias”.

This study aimed to explore variant transliterations of the same Arabic names in English by Arabic native speakers on Facebook; to find the distribution of English variant transliteration of Arabic names; the types of variant transliterations produced by Arabic speakers; the strategies they utilize in transliterating their names to English; and the sources of the variations in the English transliteration of the same Arabic name. A sample of 112 names with a total of 332 variant transliterations and 1139 occurrences (repeats) was collected from the author’s friends on Facebook. It was found that 59% of the Arabic names have 2 variant transliterations in English and 26% have 3 variants transliterations. Names with the highest number of variant transliterations are الجرف (35), محمد (7); محمود, يوسف, شريف, (6); نور نورة شيماء (5). Variants with the highest occurrences are الجرف (154), محمد (153); احمد (90); Ali (67); محمود (53); هناء & السيد(19). In 97% of the names in the sample, the variants differ in how the vowels/diphthong are represented in the English transliteration because Arabic and English differ in the number of vowels, vowel quality and vowel articulation. Arabic has 3 long vowels, 3 short vowels and 2 diphthongs, whereas English has 12 vowels and 8 diphthongs. In transliterating their names, Arabic consonant sounds for which two English graphemes exist were spelled differently. There are variations in transliterating Arabic surnames with the Arabic definite article /al/. In 18% of the names in the sample, the subjects transferred the Arabic spelling to the English transliteration of their names. The short vowel was not represented in the English transliteration. In 15%, the subjects transliterated their names the way they pronounce them in their local dialect (El-Garf in Egypt; Aljerf in Syria and Aljuruf in Palestine), not as the name is pronounced in Standard Arabic. In 17%, the subjects with a background in French transferred the French phoneme-grapheme representations of vowels and consonants to the English transliteration (Hicham, Aouatef). The study gives some recommendations for the correct transliteration of Arabic names to English.

Due to Covid-19, there was a sudden shift to distance learning (DL) without prior preparation. Students and faculty surveys showed that 51% of the students were dissatisfied with EL, online communication with their instructors, had difficulty understanding the online class lectures and material and had concerns about exams. Even when face to face instruction was resumed in Fall 2021, some courses were still delivered online. It seems that some departments, colleges, and universities will continue to offer some courses online. To make the best use of online teaching and learning, this article proposes a model consisting of strategies for making distance teaching and learning in foreign language, linguistics and translation college courses effective, interactive, engaging and fun. Those strategies are: Using some free platforms, supplying devices and good infrastructure to both students and instructors, practicing using the platform, supplementing the platform with one or more technologies, orientation, training and support, telling the students about online class logistics, selecting online course material and resources, integrating global topics and participation goals in the class material, practicing a variety of language skills with online videos, blogs, mobile apps and others, using effective teaching techniques, assignments, and activities, giving feedback, motivating and engaging the students, online communication and interaction, nurturing the online classroom community, preparing and following effective and reliable online testing procedures, the instructor’s role in the distance learning environments, evaluating the students’ and faculty DL experience, and providing teachers’ professional development and support.

This study explored the reading interests, and preferences of educated Arabs such as students, faculty and professionals, the types and number of books they read before, during and after the Pandemic (between 2012 and 2022). Data were collected from Twitter threads, hashtags and surveys and responses to the question “What are you currently reading”. The Twitter data analysis showed that the preferred book titles with the highest percentages were novels/fiction (31.5% before the Pandemic and 41.5% during the Pandemic); Islamic books (22.5% before the Pandemic and 12% after the Pandemic); (iii) self-development books (12.5% before the Pandemic and 20% during the Pandemic). 80.7% preferred to read paper books and 19.3% electronic books. In most surveys, between 50%-60% of the respondents do not read at all. In 2 surveys, between 76%-80% do not read. The highest number of books read was during the Pandemic as 32.5% read 5 books and 38.5% read more than 20 books. The status of reading after the Pandemic was like that before the Pandemic (43.4% did not read). Even graduate and undergraduate students. 31% of graduate and undergraduate students read nothing outside their course textbooks. For enhancing students’ reading interests, preferences and the types and amounts of books read, the study recommended using book clubs, BookTok, encouraging students to visit libraries, using online courses, blogs, and mobile apps for discussing books read, integrating global topics in the school and college curriculum and others.

A sample of political expressions that have been common in Arab media since the Arab Spring in 2011 was collected from TV newscasts, online news websites and social media pages. Analysis of their structure, denotative and connotative meanings revealed the following features: (i) Use of lexical hybrids (اخوانجي- الدم قراطية – سني ستان - الحقيقة ليكس- عسكريتاريا; (ii) revival of ancient Islamic expressionsأمير المؤمنين - غزوة الموصل) ); (iii) use of blends (صهيوأمريكية); (iv) few borrowings (BRICS); (v) use of new acronyms (ISIS) with verbs, nouns and agents derived from them (دواعش استدعاش); and (vi) phonological and lexical substitutions in names of political and religious personalities that the users oppose (Kerdogan for Erdogan;حزب اللات for Hezbollah). Semantically, Arab Spring political terms refer to types of governments, places (towns), minority groups, religious sects, names of militia groups, weapons and military tactics, revolution squares that were not widely used before. They are also characterized by their non-literal use, i.e., use of loaded expressions, dysphemisms, and slurs that express disparagement, derogation, criticism, and disrespect towards those they oppose and towards the social and political situation as inالخرفان المتأسلمين - الفئة الضالة – شبيحة – الفلول - المخلوع. Translation and interpreting instructors need to integrate emerging political terms commonly used in the media in political and media translation courses. students majoring in translation and interpreting need to be familiar with new political terms and should be able to translate them from Arabic to English and vice versa. Students need to keep their own lists of new terms used in the media together with their equivalents in English or Arabic. They need to use Google Translate with caution as Google Translate usually gives incorrect word order in compounds. It also gives equivalents that do not match source terms in part of speech and in the type of derivative.

This study investigates grade inflation in 127 language, linguistics, translation, education, and computer courses taught at some Saudi universities before, during and after the Pandemic. Grades obtained from some instructors for courses taught over 8 semesters were analyzed. It was found that between 20% 65% chose a pass/no-grade results, the rest of the students mostly earned A & B grades in Spring 2020 when instruction and assessment were held online compared to students’ grade in Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2019, and after the Pandemic (in Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022). Grade inflation was the highest in computer courses followed by education courses and was the least in language, linguistics, and translation courses. Grade inflation in Spring 2020 was due to the adjustments mandated by universities to alleviate students’ anxiety caused by the sudden shift to online teaching and assessment. Universities allocated 20% of the course marks to final exams, gave alternatives to a written final and to be lenient in grading. Students had the option to drop the course or have a pass with no-grade result. In Fall 2020, classes were still held online but exams were held on campus. Starting Fall 2021, both instruction and exams were held on campus. Mark distribution and exam requirements went back to normal as before the Pandemic. However, grade inflation continued in many courses even in Spring 2022. The study gives recommendations for maintaining exam reliability, validity, and fairness in emergency and normal situations to achieve the desired learning outcomes.

In Saudi Arabia, there are several school types where children go and learn both English and Arabic: (i) Public (government) and Quranic schools; (ii) private schools where Arabic is the medium of instruction with an intensive English course; (iii) international schools where English is the medium of instruction, and one course is allocated to Arabic and Islamic Studies. This study surveyed a sample of parents to find out the number of hours allocated to English; kinds of textbooks used and whether parents consider them sufficient; parents’ views of their children’s proficiency level in the different English language skills; which language is stronger in children: English or Arabic; which language children use in communicating with their siblings, parents and relatives; the effects of learning English (L2) on Arabic (L1); and the optimal age for starting to learn English. Results showed that at government and Quranic schools, students take 1-2 hours of English a week which parents think are insufficient. At private schools, hours allocated to English vary (between 5-10). At international schools, English is the medium of instruction in all courses. Most parents prefer that children start learning English in kindergarten or first grade. English is the stronger and preferred language for international school students. Private School students have a good command of English and Arabic. Arabic is the stronger and preferred language for Government and Quranic School children. Some parents think that the textbook used at Government School are good, but some teachers are incompetent in their instructional techniques. Some Public Schools (in remote areas or small towns) are understaffed which results in reducing the teaching hours from 2 to 1 hour per week. Parents’ views on the status and quality of foreign/second language education in each type of elementary school in Saudi Arabia are reported in detail.

At Saudi universities, there was a sudden shift from face-to-face instruction to distance learning and assessment in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This study explored the status of online exams in language, linguistics, and translation courses in the first two semesters of the Pandemic (Spring 2020 and Fall 2020). Analysis of faculty surveys and students’ comments on Twitter showed that the main concern of 91% of the students was final exams and passing courses with high grades. Students were worried about the negative effect of online exams on their GPA. Since the students were not familiar with online exams taken via Blackboard, they were anxious and wondered if they would do well. Some cheated on online exams as their cameras were turned off. Numerous adjustments were mandated by university administrations to alleviate students’ anxiety such as allocating 20% of the course mark to the final exam, allowing more exam time, giving projects, open-book exams, term papers, reports, assignments or giving a presentation instead of the final. Some instructors gave easy questions and were lenient in grading to avoid students’ complaints. They gave no essay, just objective questions. The students were given the option to drop the course, to choose a letter grade, pass/fail, i.e., no grade, or to have a course mark included in their GPA. Based on faculty surveys, this study reports challenges of online exams during the Pandemic, design and delivery of online exams, assessment forms and choices, grade inflation issues, and lessons learned and some recommendations.

In Saudi Arabia, English is taught starting from kindergarten at National Public and Private Schools. At International schools, English is the medium of instruction. This study aims to explore how parents promote children’s language development, their evaluation of their children’s proficiency level, which language the children use in communicating with family members and on WhatsApp. Surveys with parents revealed that English is stronger and preferred by children in International Schools and many children in Private Schools. More parents worry about their children’s proficiency level in English than Arabic and promote English more than Arabic. Watching English cartoons and movies, using English educational and entertainment apps/programs, playing English games, and enrolling the children in English courses during holidays are common home-based activities. To promote Arabic, some parents hire a tutor. Others encourage their children to read Arabic stories and watch Arabic cartoons. Results and recommendations are given in detail.

This article proposes a model for integrating text-to-speech software (TTS) in students’ interpreting training and practice. It shows the aims of the model, the definition of TTS, the advantages of using TTS, how to search for TTS, instructional stages with TTS, and the interpreting instructor’s role. The students can use TTS software online; download it to their laptop, use a Google Chrome extension to listen to webpages, online ebooks, Google Docs, webpages, and emails; or use a TTS mobile app. Practicing interpreting with TTS starts with introducing students to the TTS, how to copy and paste a text in the text area block, choosing a male or female reader, American or British accent, and reading speed. The students practice interpreting with TTS on their own, out of class. They listen and interpret without looking at the screen. They practice different interpreting modes (simultaneous, consecutive, liaison and sight interpreting). They can take notes only in consecutive and simultaneous interpreting. In sight interpreting, they interpret while reading the text from the screen silently without listening to the text being read. They practice individually, in pairs or small groups where they can listen to each other’s interpreting and provide feedback ad comments on the quality and errors. The instructor serves as a facilitator. She can help the students find and download TTS that meet their needs and may select texts and exercises for the students to practice. She follows the students up to make sure they are making the best use of the TTS software. The article concludes with some recommendations for interpreting practice with TTS and other forms of technologies that can be utilized in student-interpreters’ training and self-study.

Two groups of freshman students, enrolled in a Vocabulary I and Reading I courses, participated in the study. Before instruction, both groups took a recognition (vocabulary) and a production (oral reading) pre-test. Comparisons of the pre-test scores showed no significant differences between the experimental and control group in decoding skills and pronunciation proficiency. Then, both groups were exposed to the same in-class vocabulary and reading instruction. They covered the same lessons, skills, exercises, and tests. Since freshman students have problems in producing phonemes, consonant clusters, word stress and lack skill in associating written graphemes with their corresponding phonemes, read word by word and lack oral reading fluency, the experimental group used a text-to-speech (TTS) software called NaturalReader. Every week the students typed or copied and paste the lessons they took in class from the textbook into NaturalReader and practiced listening to the lessons read by the software. They could listen to the text as many times as they needed in the language lab or at home and could adjust the software reading speed. Every 4 weeks, experimental students took an oral reading and a vocabulary test and at the end of the semester (after 12 weeks), both groups took a recognition (vocabulary) and a production (oral reading) posttest. Results showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups as a result of using the NaruralReader. Improvement was noted in the decoding skill enhancement, reading fluency and pronunciation accuracy but not in vocabulary knowledge. Results showed slow but gradual improvement. Significant improvement was noted after 8 and 12 weeks. There was a positive correlation between the number of lessons and texts practiced and weekly practice time and decoding and pronunciation proficiency posttest scores. The students reported positive attitudes towards practicing decoding and pronunciation via NaturalReader. Procedures, results and recommendations are given in detail.

I used Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, Nicenet and RCampus in teaching reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar courses to freshman students as a supplement to in-class instruction that depended on the textbook. In each online course, there was a student leader. Student leaders had the highest posts and responses (between 50- 150 posts) and the highest student-student and student-instructor interaction. Student leaders were the first to register. They posted their own threads, short paragraphs, poems and/ or stories on the online discussion board. One posted a daily quote, another posted a weekly poem of hers, and a third posted a daily joke. They could locate information from internet sites. They responded to threads posted by me or by their classmates. They created a warm online climate by responding to their classmates, by sending encouraging messages and thank-you notes, and inviting students to respond to their own posts. Student leaders had a higher proficiency level in EFL, were well-read, had a good writing ability, and many were creative writers. They were more competent and more comfortable with technology than their classmates and above all they were highly motivated and eager to learn. This qualitative study explores a sample of student leaders’ role in their online courses, their technological and linguistic competence, their personality traits, the online course environment, their attitutes and online learning experiences, and the instructor’s role and characteristics. It also provides sample posts and responses and reports results of interviews with a sample of student leaders.

English and Arabic have different types of collocations, i.e., groups of words that go together. This study aims to explore the difficulties that Saudi undergraduate student-translators have in translating English word + preposition collocations such as verb + preposition, noun + preposition, and adjective + preposition collocations to Arabic. A corpus of faulty word+ preposition collocations was collected from students-translators’ graduation projects to identify the types of translation errors, translation strategies, sources of translation errors and the contexts in which the translation errors occurred. A comparison of English and Arabic word + preposition collocations showed the following categories: (i) cases were the Arabic word + preposition collocations match those of their English equivalents in form and meaning (depend on يعتمد على, apologize for/to يعتذر لـ/عن , interested inمهتم بـ ) ; (ii) cases where a preposition is used in the English collocation but no preposition is used in the Arabic equivalent (wait for ينتظر ); (iii) cases where an Arabic preposition is used after a word but no such preposition is used in their English equivalent ( gave him tea قدم له الشاي, offered him a proposal عرض عليه اقتراح, stopped participating توقف عن المشاركة, lack somethingيفتقر إلى ). Results showed that the students mistranslated certain prepositions in word + preposition collocations. In 84% of the errors, the students substituted a preposition in the translation by a faulty one, in 13%, they added a preposition after an Arabic word that does not require a preposition, and in 3% they deleted a preposition from a translation that requires use of a preposition. In addition, 19% of the errors were interlingual (transfer errors from English) and 81% were intralingual due to inadequate competence in L1 (Arabic). 44% were extraneous errors, 21% were due to ignorance of Arabic language rules of preposition use and 18% were due to faulty common use of the preposition in the students’ local dialect. 86% were syntactic; 11% were semantic and 3% were stylistic errors. Results are reported in detail and implications for translation pedagogy are given.

Polysemes are words that have multiple meanings. They exist in all languages as in Arabic جناح عين صوت جدول and English base, plant, system, present, left. A sample of Arabic and English polyseme translation errors was collected from homework-assignments and exams to explore the difficulties that student-translators have in translating English and Arabic polysemes. Data analysis showed that the students made more errors in translating Arabic polysemes to English than English polysemes to Arabic. They made more errors in translation polysemous compounds than single-word polysemes and the equivalent compounds had collocation errors. The students utilized different faulty strategies in translating polysemes, especially in source texts which have one-to-many equivalents (system, affairs). They tend to overgeneralize the equivalent they know to all contexts (develop, system), not the one suitable for a particular context/domain (*chemical plants; under president). They resorted to literal translation, i.e., word for word translation rather than using fixed formulaic equivalents that are dissimilar in structure to the source polyseme. They also overgeneralized the same equivalent to all contexts (develop, system; association), although each shade of meaning has a different equivalent. Faulty translation of polysemic words may be due to inadequate L1 competence such as the availability of different regional Arabic designations for ‘parliament’ and the different designations used in American and British English for (وكيل وزارة الخارجية الامريكي); lack of proficiency in EFL, i.e. limited vocabulary knowledge; unfamiliarity with specialized meanings (*chemical plants) and commonly used equivalents for ‘affairs; resources’; lack of world knowledge (exchange programs; الاتحاد الأوروبي) and others. The study recommends that translation instructors develop students’ vocabulary knowledge, word knowledge accuracy, schemata and world knowledge, metacognitive skills, i.e., thinking processes while translating, word and context analysis skills, i.e., using semantic and structural contextual clues to figure out the meaning of polysemes; and identifying the domain in which a polyseme is used.

Teaching and learning of technical terms constitute a major problem for ESP instructors and students. To help the students learn, retain, apply and relate technical terms, a multiple-associations instructional approach that focuses on connecting the printed form of the technical term with its pronunciation (the hidden sounds, double and silent letters, and homophones), with its part of speech, singular or plural form, synonym or antonym, English and Arabic meanings, usage, component parts (prefixes, suffixes, roots), previously-encountered terms and others should be followed while presenting the new technical terms in business, computer science and engineering to the students. Categorization, association, and visualization skills and mnemonic approaches should be emphasized. Mind maps can be used to show those connections. Out of class, extensive listening and reading activities are also encouraged. Quizzes should require the students to make the multiple associations described in the article. The multiple-associations instructional approach proved to be effective in enhancing the learning of technical terms by EFL college students. Further recommendations for strategies that can be used in teaching multiple associations are given.

Freshman students at the College of Languages and Translation received direct instruction in plural formation. Instruction covered regular plural nouns, irregular plural nouns, plural formation of words ending in –f, and –o, nouns that have the same plural and singular form, and words with Latin and foreign plurals. The students did all the exercises in the textbook, then took an immediate test a week after instruction and a delayed test at the end of the semester (3 months later). Responses were scored and a corpus of 3099 errors was collected from both tests. No significant differences were found in the amount and types of errors made by the students in the immediate and delayed tests. Results revealed that freshman students tended to regularize English plural formation and overgeneralize regular English plural morphemes (63.28%), i.e., they deleted the regular plural suffix from nouns ending in an –s or –es (35.37%) or tended to add the regular plural suffix to words that do not have it (27.91%). They also confused singular and plural endings of Latin words (15.07%). They either confused the singular and plural forms of the same Latin word or added a faulty Latin suffix to a Latin word or even a non-Latin word such as criterium, *curriculon, *natia, *salma, *petrolea. In other cases, they thought the singular and plural forms of a word were the same (7%). In addition, findings showed that the most difficult plurals to master were those of words that end with an –s or –es but have no singular form such as measles, news, pajamas, means, linguistics (28.85%); words with Latin plurals (21.85%); non-count nouns such as information, electricity, petroleum, salmon with no plural form (21.4%), and words that have a plural, but they thought they have no plural form such as nation, illness, infection, African (8.55%). Interference among the English plural morphemes themselves and confusing plural formation rules caused most errors. No interference from Arabic pluralization was found. Recommendations for improving students’ English plural formation competence are given.

To help ESP college instructors improve the English curriculum taught at polytechnic institutes, colleges and universities, the current study proposes a model for designing English for Polytechnic Purposes (EPP) courses for undergraduate students majoring in mechanical engineering, chemistry, technology, economics, textile industry and other applied sciences. It aims to show instructors the following: how to identify students’ needs; how to assess students’ proficiency level in English; how to define the EPP learning outcomes (course objectives); how to identify the language skills and language elements that should be taught to a particular group of students; how to select technical terms and topics related to the students’ area of specialization; how to select the course content and material to be used; how to integrate the content and skills while teaching, i.e., how to teach content and listening skills, content and speaking skills, content and reading skills, content and writing skills, content and technical terms, content and grammar, and how to integrate current global events in the course; how to develop students’ prior knowledge in their area of specialization; teaching students how to search for information in online resources; the types of technologies that can be integrated in EPP instruction; the kind of assignments, practice and application activities to give to the students and assessment.

This study aimed to explore the types of pronunciation errors that student interpreters make in pronouncing foreign Proper Nouns during English-Arabic and Arabic-English Liaison Interpreting, the pronunciation error strategies that students utilize when they encounter unfamiliar Proper Nouns in media discourse, and the factors that affect students’ incorrect pronunciation of foreign Proper Nouns. A corpus of foreign Proper Noun pronunciation errors was collected from interpreting tests and in-class practice. Error analysis showed that students have difficulty identifying and discriminating one or more phonemes in foreign Proper Nouns such as Rio di Janeiro, Paraguay, Abuja, Davos, Scandinavia, Missouri, Helsinki, Crimea, Al Gore, and Yuan, whether such words were heard in English or Arabic. Whenever the students heard an unfamiliar Proper Noun, they produced (made up) nonsense words that rhyme with the unfamiliar source words as in *Dagos, *Dados, *Dabos which they provided for Davos; *lizouri, *rozouri, *kansouri, *mansouri instead of Missouri; and *Scinavia for Scandinavia. Sound analogy was also used in producing equivalent for unfamiliar Proper Nouns. Volcanoes and *burkini were provided as equivalents for Balkans and *NADO for NATO. They reduced, i.e., deleted part of the Proper Noun, whether it is a vowel, consonant or even a syllable as in *Buja instead of Abuja, United *State, *Izheimer, *Philippine, *Parkins, *Bloomber probably because of the length of the words and poor short-term memory. Phonemes were changed and substituted by a longer or shorter vowel, by another consonant or another syllable as in Dracula /dracola/, /gri:k/; Sergey Lavrov /sergi la:vro:v/; *snab shat, *Uzbakistan, *foks fagon, Ukraine /ʊkrɜ:rɪə/, /sinofa:rm/. The Arabic pronunciation was retained and overgeneralized in Eiffel Tower /i:fəl/ or /i:vəl/, *Ardoghan, *Anadol, and *Athina. A vowel was inserted to break the consonant clusters in *Beligrade, *Bangaladesh, *Barazil, *Danimark, *Kazakhistan, *Uzbakistan, *Shangahai, *Tarafalgar. Syllables were reversed in *Serbrenica and *ALESCO. Most pronunciation errors in interpreting are attributed to lack of knowledge of Proper Nouns commonly occurring in the media. Knowledge of the similarities and differences in Proper Noun pronunciation in English and Arabic and extra practice using online videos, podcasts, mobile apps, and TED Talks are needed in Liaison Interpreting instruction.

This study investigates the status of grade inflation in language and translation courses in Saudi Arabia. Analysis of the pass rates and percentages of students who obtained Grades A+, A, B+ and B in 70 English language skills and translation college courses, in addition to the English course scores of students in grades 1 to 11 at a private school, showed evidence of grade inflation at the school and college levels as revealed by the high pass rates and high percentages of students obtaining Grades A+, A, B+ and B in most courses. Responses to a questionnaire-survey by a sample of schoolteachers and language and translation college instructors showed several factors contributing to grade inflation such as: school and university administrators’ tendency to raise students’ marks and course grades and exercising pressure over instructors to pass the students. There are misconceptions about educational quality. Administrators correlate high quality with high pass rates, regardless of the learning outcomes. Instructors worry about students and parents’ complaints if some students fail. They worry about being investigated and about losing their job. Instructors would like to be liked by the students, be popular and get good ratings on the students’ course evaluation forms. Instructors give easy questions and are lenient in grading. Exam results do not reflect individual differences and distinctions. The grading system produces a high pass rate as 60% of the course marks are allocated to attendance, assignments, quizzes, and class work. Exams focus on a small portion of the course/textbook material. Many course topics are not covered by the tests. Tests contain few easy questions that measure rote memorization and recall rather than higher-level thinking skills. Prior to exams, students enrolled in General English courses are given practice tests with similar questions to the final exam (in form and content). Hence, students know what to expect on the final exam. The study gives some recommendations for combating grade inflation at Saudi schools and universities.

Analysis of a corpus of errors in pronouncing Proper Nouns used in English collected from the spontaneous speech of a sample of Arab informants showed that Arabic speakers have the following problems: (i) mispronouncing English vowels in Google, Moodle, Uber, Nixon, London; (ii) replacing consonants absent in L1 (p v) by their equivalents (bebsi, jafa); (iii) geminating consonants in city and country names (Peking; Venezuela, Minnesota); (iv); inserting a vowel in consonant clusters in Proper Nouns and acronyms (Zelinsky, Logansk, SNAS, GMC, ); (v) breaking words into two sub-words (Kasper+sky, Sky+pe); (vi) pronouncing words the way they are spelled (Nazi, Nike, Huawei, Hyundai, Wednesday); and (vii) transferring Arabic stress rules to English words (McDonald, Mayflower). Pronunciation errors made by Arab students are attributed to transfer from the native language, i.e., Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or the local dialect, insufficient mastery of English pronunciation rules, phonics and phone-grapheme correspondences and lack of knowledge of the differences between English and Arabic phonology. To correct pronunciation problems, the study recommends that students watch pronunciation practice videos that focus on a single error or rule at a time; raising students’ awareness of English pronunciation rules, phonics, phoneme-grapheme correspondences and comparing English and Arabic vowels, consonants, syllable structure, pause, juncture and stress rules; providing direct pronunciation instruction, graded lessons and remedial exercises. Future research needs to investigate Arab students’ pronunciation problems in assimilation, elision, and others.

Many EFL students have limited opportunities to listen to native speakers, practice English out of class, have problems in listening comprehension, oral expression and lack oral fluency. This article proposes using YouTube videos to improve EFL students' pronunciation. It aims to show the following: (i) How YouTube videos can be integrated in EFL instruction to teach pronunciation; (ii) the advantages of integrating YouTube videos: They are free, provide variety of topics, speakers, difficulty level, can be easily downloaded to the laptop or mobile phone and can be viewed anywhere and anytime; (iii) show how examples YouTube videos that target a specific pronunciation skill can be located; (iv) criteria for selecting online videos such as the video length in minutes, topic familiarity, difficulty level, speed of the speakers, students’ proficiency level, and students’ interests; (v) pronunciation subskills that can be developed through supplementary YouTube videos; (vi) teaching and learning with YouTube videos before watching a video, while watching the video and after watching the video. Further recommendations for developing students’ pronunciation are given.

The present study proposes the integration of mobile fiction Apps (MFAs) in reading instruction to help EFL college students understand the form and content of literary works. It will give examples of fiction Apps that can be downloaded from the Google Play and iPhone App Stores, give the advantages of using MFAs, literary appreciation skills that can be developed with MFAs and instructional stages with MFAs. MFAs can be used as extension activities or as a supplement to in-class reading instruction in ESL/EFL. They are free, easy, and quick to download, update and delete, can be used anywhere, anytime and as many times as the students need. Instruction with smart mobile phones begins with downloading an MFA such as Harry Potter, Oliver Twist, Sherlock Holmes, Wuthering Heights, a novel by Agatha Christi or a collection of stories. Both simplified and original versions can be used depending on the student’s proficiency level, story/novel length and difficulty level. A story/novel video, app or e-book can be used online or offline. Some MFAs provide notes and tests. The instructor can ask pre-questions that require the students to identify the plot, setting, characters, main theme, point of view, symbolism, style, and tone of the narrative, and infer the meanings of figurative language and imagery in the story. Questions and students’ answers, summaries, comments on each other's' responses can be posted in an online discussion forum, blog or social media page. The students can discuss the elements of a literary work under the instructor's supervision. The integration of fiction Apps showed improved reading comprehension, literary appreciation and text analysis skills among participating students and increased their engagement in reading and literary analysis.

Three groups of EFL freshman students were concurrently enrolled in a grammar and a writing course. One group was taught the grammar and writing courses by the same instructor; the other two groups were taught grammar and writing by two different instructors using the same textbook but different instructional and assessment techniques. The study aims to find out which group made higher gains in grammatical knowledge and writing skill development. It also aimed to find out the effects of instructor qualifications, assessment, and pedagogical variables on students’ grammatical competence and writing skill development. Comparisons of the grammar and writing post-tests showed significant differences between the three groups in the writing and grammar post-test mean scores. There were strong correlations between the grammar and writing post-test scores. Performance of the Group that received a combination of writing and grammar instruction by the same instructor (Instructor A) was the highest. The relationship between grammar and writing instruction seems to be reciprocal: writing instruction affects grammatical competence and grammatical knowledge affects writing skill development. Better achievements were made when both courses were taught by the same instructor as she can make the right connections between what is taught in both courses, which specific structures and skills should be emphasized. The instructors’ qualifications, pedagogical system, educational and professional experience, the integration of online instruction, the type of error correction and instant feedback given to the students and the formative assessment technique used were significantly more effective than writing/grammar instruction that depended on the textbook alone. These variables proved to be important for enhancing the grammatical knowledge and writing quality of unskilled, low ability EFL students and resulted in a significant improvement in their grammar and writing post-test scores.

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, there was a sudden transition from face-to-face to distance learning (DL) at Saudi schools and universities. 55% of students surveyed were dissatisfied with DL, online communication and had difficulty understanding the course material. Students showed low self-efficacy, engagement and motivation, a negative role and absence of goals. They were mostly concerned about passing with exams. Starting Fall 2021, Saudi universities resumed face-to-face instruction in combination with DL on alternate days. Unlike the past 3 semesters, instructors and students join their online classes from campus, not home. The instructors are still complaining of students’ lack of interest, engagement, and interaction in online classes. Students are still inattentive and uninterested in class participation. Instructors’ survey showed unfamiliarity with positive psychology and how its principles can be applied in DL courses. To enhance college students’ self-efficacy, interest, interaction, and engagement in DL, and help students become happy and relaxed learners, overcome their anxiety, this study proposes the integration of positive psychology and gives practical guidelines to develop positive attitudes, positive thinking, build students’ resilience and teach them how to cope with and manage challenging learning situations in DL by setting clear teaching and learning goals, standards for passing courses, sending positive messages, writing success stories, providing moral support, reading self-help books, watching self-improvement videos and giving positive feedback. It also gives sample activities for increasing students’ engagement, interaction, and communication.

Results of surveys with a sample of EFL and translation instructors and students showed that many instructors feel that their role is limited to preparing the teaching material, in-class instruction, writing exams, grading assignments and other paperwork. They declared that students have many academic problems in EFL and translation and interpreting course. They added that they are unaware of positive psychology and how to apply its principles in their courses. Students’ responses and comments on social media showed that they have a negative image of themselves. They feel inadequate and are always afraid of failing their courses. If they fail, they blame it on their bad luck, on the instructor or exams. Some are not willing to try, hate school and studying. They are under stress if they have a writing or translation assignment, a class presentation, or a test. They cram and lose sleep. Based on findings of the surveys, this study proposes a model for applying the principles of positive psychology in EFL and language classrooms to help the students become happy and relaxed learners, overcome stress and anxiety, develop positive attitudes, positive affirmations, emotional resilience, positive thinking and make more achievements and improvements. The model consists of strategies and tips for improving students’ English language and translation skills, providing psychological help (e.g., student-instructor communication, giving moral support, feedback, reading simplified self-help books, watching motivational videos), and developing students’ pragmatic skills (goal setting, time management, study skills, presentation, and note-taking skills). In addition, it provides some strategies for effective teaching.

Results of a questionnaire with a sample of EFL instructors at some Saudi universities showed that the instructors just follow the assigned textbook and do not integrate any global themes in their EFL courses. Therefore, this article aims to proposes a model for integrating global themes in the EFL college classroom, especially in reading and speaking instruction. The aim of the model is to help EFL students learn about the ideologies, cultures and customs of other countries; address current global problems; compare the similarities and differences the peoples of the world share; focus on the interrelatedness of human beings; recognize stereotypes western people have about Islam, Muslims, Arabs, women; and listen to multiple perspectives. The model proposes 4 areas of global themes that can be integrated in EFL reading and speaking: (i) global systems (political, economic, cultural, ideological, ecological, health, social, technological, educational, ideological and judicial; (ii) diverse human values such as conflict resolution, cooperation and teamwork; (iii) current global issues issues (terrorism, fundamentalism, violence…etc); and (iv) the history of contact and interdependence among peoples. It also proposes the integration of 4 types of goals: knowledge, skills, values and participation goals. Examples of concepts, and types of objectives related to the global themes, resources for locating global themes; stages of teaching the global themes and instructor’s role are provided.

A class blog was created and used as a supplement to in-class EFL writing instruction for freshman students. Topics that focused on current global events such as Ramadan in Islamic countries, the Tsunami in Japan, the Royal wedding, and refugees in Europe were posted by the instructor. The students were required to look for videos, photos or articles related to the assigned event and write a short paragraph (blog post) that describes the photo, summarizes the video and article content, or talk about the event in their own words. They also had to write their reaction to the event, and post comments and feedback on their classmates’ blog posts. The students worked on their blog posts individually, in pairs or small group. Comparisons of the posttest scores of students who blogged about current global events and those who used paper-and-pencil assignments on the same topics showed significant differences in writing improvement in favor of the blog group. In addition, students in the blog group had positive attitudes towards the blogging activity. They enjoyed interacting and collaborating with their classmates and reflecting on their own writing in response to the feedback and comments they received from other blog members. Blogging about current global events proved to be effective in raising students’ global awareness and enhancing their writing skills in EFL.

This study aims to find out whether EFL instructors at Saudi universities use blogs; whether EFL students blog about themes related to the Covid-19 Pandemic in EFL course; to show EFL instructors how a class blog can be used to blog about the Covid-19 Pandemic and to give examples of topics related to the Covid-19 Pandemic that can be utilized in blogging activities. Results of surveys showed that EFL instructors do not use blogs in their EFL courses and do not blog about the Covid-19 Pandemic in their writing courses. Therefore, this study presents a model for blogging about the Covid-19 Pandemic in EFL writing courses. Topics about the Covid-19 Pandemic are characterized by being current, familiar, tangible, specific and widespread. The students will have no problem in generating ideas and will only need to focus on organizing ideas, and linguistic aspects. A class blog can be selected and used as a supplement to in-class EFL writing instruction for freshman students. The students can search for articles, photos, or videos related to the Covid-19 topic assigned and write a short paragraph or s summary of the article or video and posted in the blog. They post questions, comments, reactions and feedback on their classmates’ blogposts’ form and content. The instructor serves as a facilitator while the students are blogging. She encourages the students to write and interact. The article ends with some recommendations for expanding the blogging activity of EFL students in writing courses.

Vocabulary teaching and learning constitute a major problem for EFL instructors and students. EFL freshman students have difficulty in pronouncing, recognizing the meaning of, using and spelling new English words. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, all college courses have shifted to online distance learning since March 2020. Surveys with samples of college students and instructors in Saudi Arabia showed lack of interest among the students in online instruction, participation, giving oral presentations, doing homework-assignments, attending online classes, low engagement, interaction, communication and self-efficacy. No adaptations have been made in the college curricula. Since the new distance learning environment requires new modes of teaching and learning, the present study proposes a variety of online vocabulary tasks and technologies that vocabulary instructors can choose from, such as mobile-based applications viz Vocup, Quizlet, Quizizz, game-based mobile apps, Saving Alice, Duolingo, Kahoot, vocabulary flashcards, mobile audiobooks, collaborative mobile ebook reading; podcasts; online dictionaries; concordance-based glosses; picture viewing and picture drawing on tablets; videos; e-portfolios; teaching idioms via graphic novels; multimedia annotations; social networks; project-based learning and mind-maps. To engage, motivate and encourage student-student and student-instructor interaction in the distance learning environment, the study proposes the following: using WhatsApp, ConnectYard, creating a community of inquiry, creating learning partnership, collaborative writing exchange projects, student collaboration, social interaction, integrating text-chat and webcam, and utilizing technology-mediated task-based language teaching. Online vocabulary tasks can be performed individually, in pairs or in small groups; interactively or collaboratively; synchronously or asynchronously. Instructional phases and teacher and students’ roles are also described.

Use of dictionaries is an integral part of language learning and teaching. With the availability of smartphones, EFL, ESL and ESP students can access and download a variety of specialized mobile dictionaries Apps (MDAs). Specialized MDAs are of special importance for students learning English for engineering, business, and computer science purposes. They contain thousands of essential specialize technical terms covering several sub-categories within the engineering, business and computer science fields. They are a good tool for enriching the students’ specialized vocabulary and helping them learn faster and remember more in a shorter time. This article aims to show ESP instructors examples of engineering, computer science and business MDAs available in the Google Play or Apple Stores; how specialized MDAs can be located; criteria for selecting specialized MDAs; the lexicographical features of specialized MDA and instructional stages with MDAs. Instruction with MDAs goes through three stages: pre-task, task, and post-task phases. The instructor serves as a facilitator. She can help students find and download MDAs that meet their needs and purposes and match their proficiency level; gives pre-questions; and follows the students up to make sure they are making the best use of MDAs. The article concludes with some recommendations for ESP pedagogy with MDAs.

Almost every upper- and middle-class family in Saudi Arabia has a foreign housemaid who does the housework and takes care of the children. This study aims to find out whether foreign housemaids have an impact on children’s acquisition of Arabic, the children’s first language. Surveys with 300 mothers with children under the age of six revealed that most housemaids speak neither English nor Arabic upon arrival in Saudi Arabia. The housemaids learn to speak Arabic by immersion. However, their language is characterized by faulty pronunciation and grammatical forms, production of incomplete sentences, and limited vocabulary. Mothers surveyed asserted that about half the children imitate the housemaid all the time when they first start to learn to speak Arabic at age two and three years. Those children cannot produce Arabic sounds correctly and make grammatical mistakes, but when they go to kindergarten, traces of foreign accent resulting from imitating the housemaid’s foreign Arabic accent disappear, and the child is able to speak Arabic correctly and natively. This means that housemaids have a temporary influence on Saudi children’s acquisition of Arabic as the children get older. It seems that the housemaid’s influence depends on how much time the child spends with her, how much time the mother spends with the child, and whether the child has siblings and playmates.

This article proposes a model for teaching interpreting for tourism purposes. It shows the aims of the model, interpreting materials, training strategies, training environment and assessment techniques. The model aims to train students to interpret in English with or without prior preparation or knowledge of the topic and without taking or reading form notes. The training model consists of the following exercises: (i) breathing exercises; (ii) memory training exercises; (iii) shadowing exercises; (iv) sentence paraphrasing; (v) summarizing sentences, then whole paragraphs about tourism; (vi) listening to single words, sentences, and a short paragraph about tourism and interpreting them; (vii) listening to familiar and easy tourism topics, then more difficult ones with a variety of tourism sub-topics. In a multimedia language lab, the students may listen to tourism podcasts, watch tourism documentaries or TED Talks and interpret the content from English to Arabic and vice versa. Simulations (role playing) of tourists and interpreters in teams of three or more may be conducted. Students may also visit a local tourist attraction, interpret, or give a commentary on-site. The training program objectives, types of interpreting, interpreting exercises, training materials, teaching and learning strategies and assessment techniques are described in detail.

Schoolteachers and college instructors from around the world can create or join special Facebook pages (FPs), groups, or clubs for ESL teachers for free. Those FPs are online learning communities that provide opportunities for in-depth peer-to-peer interaction, communication, and support. This study aims to give examples of FPs for ESL teachers; identify the kinds of topics and issues posted about the teaching and learning of English as a second/foreign language; find out whether there are special ESL Teachers’ Facebook Pages (TFPs) that focus on remote teaching and learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic; whether there are difference in the topics posted in TFPs before and during the Pandemic; and to explore the advantages and shortcomings of TFPs, and their role in teacher’s professional development before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic as perceived by a sample of ESL teacher who are members of those pages. 2500 posts from 75 ESL TFPs were analyzed. It was found that 12% are general TFPs, 42% target ESL teachers in specific countries, 16% are devoted to recruitment and job announcements, 38% are theme-based, and 22% focus on online/virtual and home-based teaching. The topics that teachers post in the TFPs, teachers’ views of the benefits and shortcomings of joining TFPs, and the role of TFPs in their professional development are reported in detail.

This study explores the similarities and differences between English and Arabic numeral-based formulaic expressions, and difficulties that student-translators have with them. A corpus of English and Arabic numeral-based formulaic expressions containing zero, two, three, twenty, sixty, hundred, thousand…etc., and another corpus of specialized expressions with numerical prefixes (mono-, bi-, milli-, kilo-, mega-) were collected, analyzed and compared. It was found that English and Arabic numeral-based formulaic expressions fall into 4 categories:: (i) those that are identical in form and meaning in both languages (seventh heaven, four eyes, fifth column); (ii) those that are similar in meaning but differ in wording (cats have nine lives, high five, cloud nine); (iii) those that exist in English, but have no equivalents in Arabic; and (iv) those that exist in Arabic but have no equivalents in English. Specialized expressions containing numerals or numerical prefixes used in business, sports, science, politics and others are exact translations in both languages (five-power agreement, five percent rule, five tigers, tripartite alliance, fifth wheel replace). Student-translators could translate fewer than 25% of the test items correctly and left many blank. Numeral-based formulaic expressions similar in both languages were easy to translate, whereas opaque ones (at sixes and sevens, double Dutch, strap); culture-specific ones (Pentateuch, Millennialism, ثوبٌ سُبَاعِيّ، الثنائي الشيعي، ألف صحة، صحتين وعافية، مرحبتين، رباعيات الخيام، ستين داهية،, and those that require a specialized background knowledge (five C's, the big five, five pillars of the UN, three-name paper) were difficult. Literal translation was the most common translation strategy. Detailed results and recommendations are given.

King Saud University (KSU) created an online Short Message Service (SMS) called “Tawasul”, developed in house, to connect administrators, faculty, and students. The KSU rector, deans, department heads and program coordinators send group season’s greetings and notifications to the mobile phones of faculty members, staff, and students. Instructors can send course notifications to their students regarding exams and other issues. There are currently 380 SMS groups for department staff, T.A.’s, workshop participants, course enrollees and others. Students and faculty surveyed indicated that the KSU online SMS Service is easy to use. It is faster and more efficient than paper memos and e-mails, especially in emergency situations. It helps conserve paper. Students and faculty can be reached anytime, anywhere and 7 days a week. Unused SMS in the user’s account can be added to his/her balance. SMSs are archived. Those interested to join a group can send a message to the group’s mobile number. Students’ mobile phone numbers are entered manually once and saved as a group. However, some faculty indicated that the allocated 200 free SMSs per month are not enough when class enrollees are more than 50. They also indicated that it is not possible to send a reply, a comment, or a query to the sender of the SMS. Sometimes the service cannot be used when it is under maintenance or when there is a technical problem. It is time-consuming to enter students’ mobile phone numbers manually particularly in large classes. Further results and recommendations are given.

Many Arab students are currently pursuing their education at Malaysian institutions, and they have to study Bahasa Malaysia as a university requirement to be able to communicate with people in the local community. Therefore, this study aims to help Arab students learn Bahasa easily as Bahasa contains many loan words from Arabic and English. This article gives Arab students examples of Arabic and English loan words with which they are familiar and shows them the different phonological adaptations of Arabic and English loan words in Bahasa as the Arabic, English and Bahasa sound systems are different. A corpus of non-technical Malay words that are commonly encountered in public places in Malaysia was collected and analyzed. A contrastive analysis of Arabic and Malay, and English and Malay phonological systems was performed. Different homogenization processes are applied to Arabic and English loan words depending on the differences between Arabic and Malay, and English and Malay. Examples of Arabic loan words in Malay are: menara, Sabtu, Ahad, Akhir, tahniya. Examples of English loan words in Bahasa are: stesen, kelab, tren, kompleks, imigresen, destinasi. Further implications for learning Bahasa Malaysia by Arab students are given.

The current study aimed to analyze and compare hotel names (HNs) in Makkah, Madinah and Riyadh to find out if they differ in their linguistic and cultural features. Results of the data analysis showed that linguistically, most HNs in the three cities consist of two-word compounds. Culturally, HNs in Makkah and Madinah are loaded with meaning and reflect the country's rich past and present Islamic cultures and heritage. Most HNs in the two holy cities contain words and phrases from the Quran (Elaf, AlFurqan); notable events in Islamic history (Al-Hijra, Al-Fath); ancient Islamic place names (AlSakifa, Ohod); use of other names of Makkah and Madinah (Bakka, Umm AlQura, Taiba); and words with spiritual connotations (Alhuda, AlEman, AlEhsan). Islamic and spiritual words are even combined with names of international hotels as in Dar Al-Eman/Dar AlTaqwa/Dar AlHijra Intercontinental. The word 'Dar' which means 'house' is added to HNs to make hotel residents feel at home in the company of other Muslim visitors. In Riyadh, HNs mostly consist of single- and two-word compounds, but none of them has an Islamic or religious denotative or connotative meaning. Rather, they reflect the local mundane Saudi culture. They utilize typical Saudi eponyms (AlMutlaq, AlGhanem); toponyms (AlYamamah, AlJanaderia). Diyafa (hospitality) and Raha (Rest) impart a sense of generosity and comfort; and AlMokhmalia, Amjad, Asala, Qasr and Royal give a sense of grandeur and prestige. Global culture is reflected in retaining the names of international hotel chains such as “Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton”; or combining a local designation with the English and French descriptors such as "Plaza, Palace Tower, Royale, Crowne, Coral” as in (AlFanar Palace, AlFahd Crown; Coral AlHamra. Results of the analysis are reported in detail.

The College of Languages and Translation (COLT) prepares translators and interpreters. Some of the courses that the students take are language courses such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and 4 types of interpreting courses (simultaneous, consecutive, liaison and sight). COLT has installed 4 multimedia language labs (MLLs) currently used for teaching listening courses, in addition to interpreting courses. Each MLL consists of a teacher's station and 40 student stations each with a computer, headsets, and an audio box. The MLL software consist of XClass, a multimedia classroom management software, a Digital Language Lab Software (DLL) software for improving the students’ oral listening skills, and WaveLab Mastering and Audio Editing Software. The presentation aims to find out whether the MLL is feasible for interpreting instruction and factors that affect lack of utilization of MLLs in interpreting instruction at COLT based on the instructors' views. A sample of 10 interpreting instructors and an IT specialist was interviewed. It was found that only 20% use the MLL in interpreting instruction (simultaneous and sight interpreting). By contrast, 80% use the MLLs as a classroom, use the speakers, text on a flash drive and MP3 players. They believe that MLLs are not suitable for teaching consecutive and liaison interpreting. They reported hardware and software problems, instructor-related, student-related, and technical support issues. The study concluded that normalization and attitude change towards new technology, hands-on practice, and availability of technical support on site are crucial in adapting the MLLs to interpreting instruction. The study reports results and some recommendations.

Introduction: At the College of Languages and Translation (COLT), the students take four speaking courses in the first four semesters of college. In each course, they take two interm tests and a final exam. Aims: The study aims to find out which speaking assessment method EFL students and instructors at COLT prefer: Face to face, or lab testing, and reasons for their preferences. Procedures: Face-to-face assessment is the most common method at COLT. The students are tested individually. Each student randomly draws one topic from a basket and engages in a conversation or interview with the teacher who asks 3-5 questions about it. The test session for all the students lasts from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. non-stop. The second method is language lab testing used by few instructors where all the students take the test at the same time and they all answer the same set of questions in about 60 minutes. The lab test consists of several questions. The students read the printed questions, take short notes, then record their answers on an MP3 player. Results: Most students prefer lab assessment, whereas most instructors prefer face-to-face assessment. Students reported that lab test questions are comprehensive and help them improve their speaking skills better than face-to-face assessment. Testing conditions are the same. They are less anxious. They lose few marks if they miss a question. On the other hand, instructors reported that face-to-face test questions are easy and only cover part of the material. All students pass. Students are more anxious. Comparisons of students’ test score showed that lab tests are more reliable, valid and have a better discriminating power between students who have mastered and those who have not mastered the speaking skills than face-to-face tests. Recommendations for effective speaking assessment methods are given.

Introduction: Many ESL college students have reading comprehension problems in English, such as difficulty understanding ideas explicitly or implicitly stated in a text, making inferences, and inferring meanings of difficult words from context. Aims: The article proposes the integration of inspirational quotes in the teaching of English to EFL college students as a supplement to in-class instruction and the textbook, and shows the advantages of integrating inspirational quotes in reading instruction. Materials, Tasks, and Instructional Phases: The article shows the sources of inspirational quotes; criteria for selecting inspirational quotes; reading skills that can be developed with inspirational quotes (literal, inferential, critical comprehension and appreciation; decoding, using phonic, morphological, semantic, and syntactic clues; deriving word meaning from context; understanding certain grammatical structures such as idioms, ellipsis and participial phrases; locating anaphoric relationships and making inferences). The instructor can use a Facebook page, an online course, or an online discussion forum to post the inspirational quotes and tasks. Reading instruction with inspirational quotes goes through three phases: (i) Before reading an inspirational quote, the instructor introduces the inspirational quote, gives a vocabulary overview and pre-questions, and sets goals for the tasks. (ii) While reading an inspirational quote, the students read for the general topic, pay attention to specific vocabulary, imagery and figures of speech, and use contextual clues to infer the meaning of difficult words. (iii) After reading an inspirational quote, the students discuss answers, summarize or retell the topic orally, comment on it, give their impression and the moral or lesson learnt. The instructor serves as a facilitator. She guides the students, encourages them, and gives feedback on weaknesses and areas of improvement. Reflections and Recommendation: Students’ responses to a questionnaire-survey revealed positive attitudes towards practicing reading with inspirational quotes. They found them beneficial in promoting their reading skills. Recommendations for creating an inspirational quote repository are given.