Competencias Especificas

Teaching of English Language in Oman has been growing rapidly over the recent years. The language has been introduced in the country’s education system to furnish the learners with one of the international languages that is used widely in various parts of the world. The rationale is in addition to the learners’ first language and under which knowledge can be acquired and humanity served. Ever since, English language has been growing rapidly at relatively faster pace in the educational institutions and has subsequently become one of the compulsory subjects at the school level. Teachers of EFL can be classified basing on their teaching limitations and approaches. Studies have proved that even though some teachers from English speaking countries are being deployed in Oman to teach English, very few of them can

use bilingual strategies in their teaching practices. Hence, the non-native EFL teachers have become the special focus of the contemporary present studies. These teachers have been working in Oman since the introduction of English into the educational system.

There are glaring research gaps on the students’ and teachers’ perceptions about the use of Arabic language (L1) in EFL classrooms. Despite the significance of the subject, very few researchers have gone to engage in such research. Even though some studies have tried to investigate the beliefs that students and teachers have about the use of Arabic, no comprehensive is yet to be made available regarding the use of Arabic language in the Oman EFL context, involving both students and teachers. Therefore, part of the main purposes of this study is to address and fill that gap by investigating the phenomenon holistically. It tries to investigate the various perceptions regarding the use of Arabic language (L1) in the Oman EFL classroom context.

Although there is a wealth of research on the use of the first language (L1) in EFL classrooms, only very few studies have been conducted that explore the role of Arabic language in an Omani EFL context (Alawi, 2008; Al-Buraiki, 2008; Al-Hadhrami, 2008; AI-Hinai, 2006; Al-Jadidi, 2009; AI-Shidhani, 2009). Moreover, these studies have either adopted quantitative or qualitative research methods data collection tools. Additionally, they have focused on either teachers or students as participants in elementary schools or tertiary education. To the researcher’s best knowledge, there is no study that explores teachers’ and students’ perceptions towards the use of Arabic in grades 11-12 EFL classrooms in Oman. Moreover, these studies focused on either teachers or students as research participants. For instance, AI-Hinai (2006) investigated EFL elementary schools teachers’ perceptions on Arabic language practice in their classrooms through a quantitative study. He concluded that the Arabic language was frequently used in all EFL classrooms. He also reported that teachers attribute this widespread use to the learners' low proficiency in English.

Alawi (2008) conducted another quantitative study and used a questionnaire to explore five EFL teachers' use of Arabic during their L2 elementary classrooms in Oman. He found that while some teachers used Arabic extensively, others avoided it completely. Nevertheless, the majority of teachers in this study agreed that the use of Arabic had some benefits in the EFL classrooms. In another study, Al-Hadhrami (2008) surveyed grade 5 elementary schools EFL teachers in Oman aiming to examine how Arabic might affected English learning. He collected his data through interviews and found that teachers primarily utilised Arabic language

to translate new terms, concepts, and ideas. The EFL teachers also used Arabic to give commands and for classroom management.

Al-Buraiki (2008) conducted a similar study on six elementary EFL teachers’ perspectives towards Arabic language usage in EFL classrooms. The data was collected through observation, interviews, and a questionnaire. The outcomes showed that teachers often used the Arabic language to give advices and clarify new ideas and vocabulary. Similarly, AI- Shidhani (2009) carried out another quantitative study to establish the EFL teachers' views concerning Arabic usage in EFL classrooms. He reported that while the teachers felt that the use of Arabic in communicative classes went in contradiction of the principles of the communicative approach, their students still expected them to make use of some Arabic language, which created a central misunderstanding for the students.

Al-Jadidi (2009) conducted another study on teaching English as an EFL in tertiary level in Oman. The study mainly aimed to find out what the benefits and disadvantages were of using Arabic in English classrooms and about the ‘only English' approach practices in Omani tertiary levels. The findings showed that using Arabic language in the EFL classroom has many benefits in relation to competence, clarifying difficult meanings, supporting classroom management and producing a sense of community. Both teachers and learners believed that Arabic was essential at the foundation stages and that the capability to speak both Arabic and English was helpful for teachers.

This gap in the literature in the context of Oman has motivated the researcher to explore the reasons behind using Arabic (L1) in grades 11-12 EFL classrooms from the perspectives of both teachers and their learners in both male and female schools in four different governorates in Oman. This study attempts to fill a gap in the existing literature by exploring EFL teachers’ and students’ perceptions of using Arabic in grades 11-12 EFL classooms. This includes why and for what purposes EFL teachers in particular and their students in Oman tend to use the Arabic language in their EFL classrooms. Moreover, in what pedagogical contexts do they tend to use the Arabic language, how do learners understand the underlying relationship between the motivation to learn the English language and their practices in the classrooms, and also, are there any contradictions between teachers’ and students’ perceptions and practices in the classrooms? This research aims to explore this phenomenon in depth and fill this gap adopting a mixed methods research approach composed of questionnaires, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews as data collection instruments.