Search

Much has been written, published, and presented about the important role and uses of technology in English language teaching (ELT) today and the effect it can have on students' learning. The present qualitative study is an intervention, which attempted to explore the integration of technology among 11 public school English language teachers in the Sultanate of Oman through the use of community of practice (CoP). As the first in the region, this qualitative study triangulated data using a focus group interview and reflective journals. Three themes emerged from the data analysis. Despite certain challenges, the findings were generally positive and encouraging, and revealed that if a CoP is effectively utilized to the fullest to integrate technology in ELT, it can facilitate policy implementation and Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) in the Sultanate of Oman, the neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council countries, some Asian and Far Eastern countries, and beyond.

Language learning games combine a number of linguistic, psychological and social elements that have been found to have considerable advantages and powerfully impact language learning and teaching. They are incorporated into language curricula to promote interactive engaging learning. This study investigates the role of games in the Omani ELT syllabus through conducting a thorough content analysis of Basic Education System English language textbooks across all grades as well as seeking the attitudes of teachers and students of three public schools representing the three teaching cycles in the educational system. A content analysis form and a questionnaire were used to collect data. Results showed that the Omani ELT syllabi endorsed a modest number of communicative games across grades, the majority of which focus on teaching vocabulary with a very timid focus on the language skills. Moreover, students hold highly positive attitudes about the role of games in improving their language whereas teachers have moderately positive attitudes about their role. Implications of these results on the language learning and teaching context are outlined.

Historically and as a developing country, the Sultanate of Oman has always been culturally dependent on Britain to plan and implement its English Language Teaching (ELT) and in-service teacher education. This dependency has negatively affected preparing English language teachers with a new global professional identity capable of introducing change to the Omani ELT system. This argument is at the heart of my response to Wyatt and Sargeant's article in this issue of "Changing English." I argue for professionalism as a political ideology capable of resisting and challenging the ELT cultural imperialism. [For Wyatt and Sargeant's article, "As an Insider, Researching English Language Teaching in Oman, You Need to Be Reflexive: A Response to Al-Issa (2019)," see EJ1302936.]

This paper examines the language planning situation in the Sultanate of Oman with emphasis on the planning of Arabic, English, French and German, and their choice and spread in serving different interests and purposes. The paper explores the historical, social, political, and ideological processes and complexities of the language policy and planning (LPP) situation in the Sultanate. The discussion attempts to show that language planning, as carried out by the elites, is top-down and ideologically oriented and motivated, as it favors certain knowledge and traditions, while marginalizing and oppressing others. A brief introductory history of Oman is followed by an account of the language profile of the country. The paper then examines the role of Language in Education Planning (LEP) in the spread of Arabic, English, French, and German in schools and higher education. It concludes that there is an ideological struggle, contest, and conflict at the LEP level resulting in a lack of strategic planning and organized effort affecting language choice, language spread, language contact, language preservation, language maintenance, and language shift. Finally, the paper recommends avenues for further research and ways forward for LPP and LEP in Oman.

The government of the Sultanate of Oman actively promotes the value of English as a global "lingua franca" to support modernization and national economic growth. This policy, however, creates difficulties for many teachers, who find themselves implementing certain practices that conflict with a vision of English language teaching (ELT) that accords with humanist values. They find themselves adopting forms of instruction that reduce English to a matter of drills and skills. This essay draws on an inquiry that I facilitated with the help of four Student Teachers during their practicum. The inquiry involved asking them to keep reflective journals in an effort to place their teaching in a critical perspective exposing the contradictory nature of their professional situation. The journals show their struggle with the ELT "status quo" at their cooperating schools, while revealing their commitment to opening up educational opportunities for their students beyond what the curriculum prescribes.

Reflective teaching practice has become a central theme in professional growth at the pre-service teacher education level almost everywhere. English language teaching (ELT) teacher trainers, like any other teacher trainers, have a powerful role to play in fostering reflection in their student teachers through the approaches and strategies they incorporate in their training, which can have implications related to the perceived worth of reflective practice. This quantitative study describes the responses of 90 final-year ELT student teachers and eight of their trainers at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman, to a survey about the roles, approaches and strategies used to help the student teachers to reflect on their teaching. The results show that while the trainers have helped their student teachers to develop as reflective teachers, there are certain practices and aspects adopted by the trainers that need to be reconsidered, as they can have negative implications for teacher preparation. (Contains 10 figures.)

There is a growing body of literature about the qualities of professional teacher educators (TEs) and their impact on preparing professional teachers. However, English Language Teaching (ELT) research has fallen behind in this regard, despite the fact that different programs worldwide suffer from different limitations, due to certain aspects related to TEs' qualities. This qualitative study investigates the qualities of the professional ELT TE and what implications such qualities have for achieving accountable and quality Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE). A form comprising a set of closed and open ended questions was distributed to 63 participants representing 23 countries. Findings and discussion have revealed that the professional ELT TEs are empowering educators and holders of strong disciplinary knowledge who pursue achieving social justice ELT education. The findings can be considered a milestone and have important implications for preparing professional English language teachers and achieving quality and accountability in SLTE.

This study asks questions and elicits answers about the importance of English language teaching (ELT) instruction time on the national curriculum in the Sultanate of Oman from an ideological perspective. It triangulates data from semi-structured interviews made with different agents involved in the Omani ELT system and representing different social, cultural, and academic backgrounds, the pertinent literature, the National English Language Policy/Plan, and other locally produced policy texts. The critical discussion, which aims at revealing and examining the degree of conflict and harmony, differences and similarities, and agreements and disagreements embodied in the various statements, has revealed variable ideologies and paradigms about the instruction time given to ELT on the national curriculum. The findings in this article have their direct implications for ELT policy in the Sultanate of Oman and other similar contexts where English and other equally important languages are taught as a foreign/second language.

Sultanate of Oman is one out of many developing countries around the world which have valued English as a very important international language and a tool for achieving multiple purposes. When His Majesty the Sultan came to power in 1970, the government accepted English as the only official foreign language and allocated huge budgets and resources for its implementation through education. However, almost three decades after this, it was found that students exiting the ELT system in Oman suffer from various inadequacies in their English language proficiency, which has had negative implications for Oman's national development. This has driven the government to attempt to revolutionize English language teaching (ELT) through pursuing a reform plan--Basic Education System (BES). This paper attempts to examine the attitudes of 141 freshmen, who have exited the BES and joined Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in September 2009, about their teachers and the curriculum. The results have shown that there have hardly been any significant changes in the BES reform project, as compared to the previously implemented system--General Education System (GES) mainly due to implementation shortcomings.

The education system in general and ELT in particular are rigidly controlled in the Sultanate of Oman, which gives teachers little room to supplement the mandated textbook. This article, hence, discusses ideologies about the "flexible" ELT syllabus and the role of the teacher's professionalism in the syllabus implementation process. One of the powerful "ideologies" that govern ELT in the Sultanate of Oman is thus the "neocolonial/communicative". Another powerful ideology is the "professional", which is exclusively concerned with the teacher's professionalism. These two ideologies complement each other and are present in the various statements made by different agents involved in the Omani ELT system, the pertinent literature and the "Philosophy and Guidelines for the Omani English Language School Curriculum" (Nunan et al. 1987), herewith referred to as the National English Language Policy/ Plan (NELP). However, these seem to conflict with the "colonialist/culturalist" ideologies incorporated in the content of the materials produced locally by the Ministry of Education--"Our World through English" (OWTE) and its suggested means of implementation. This is considered to negatively impact "Omanization". This research paper, therefore, critically examines and discusses this state of ideological conflict via triangulating data from semi-structured interviews conducted with different agents involved in the implementation of ELT in Oman, pertinent literature and policy texts and NELP. Such examination and discussion have their implications for second language policy implementation.

One of the powerful ideologies that govern English language learning and teaching in the Sultanate of Oman is the "colonialist/culturalist" ideology and the various paradigms embodied within it. This ideology is present in the various statements made by the different agents involved in ELT in Oman, in particular "The Philosophy and Guidelines for the Omani English Language School Curriculum" (Nunan et al., 1987), referred to in the paper as the National English Language Plan/Policy (NELP). However, many of these statements seem to conflict with the content of the materials produced locally ("Our World Through English" (OWTE), Ministry of Education, 1997-8a, b) and with the suggested means of implementing the programme. The paper critically examines and discusses this state of ideological conflict using data from semi-structured interviews conducted with various key agents in ELT in Oman, pertinent literature and policy texts, and considers the implications for second language material design.

Proposes a number of games for promoting second language learners' linguistic skills. Theses include spot the errors, order and match, match, out of the bag, the panel, and terminology square. (Author/VWL)

Provides six successful techniques for summary writing that have been used with students in a preservice English-as-a-Foreign-Language teacher-training college. (Author/VWL)