LA INDEMNIZACIONo- SU EVOLUCION Y CONCEPTO ACTUAL.-

The GELLs who participated in the focus group sessions raised the issue of speaking English during the learning process. When GELLs were asked to imagine what they would change if they were EFL teachers themselves, the GELLs mentioned that above all they would respect learners’ errors:

I would respect my students’ mistakes in the English language class, and there will be no laughing from the rest of the class when anyone makes a mistake so that no one will be shy. (GELL11/002)

I will allow the students to talk to each other in English to make them feel free and not shy. (GELL4/002)

I will help every student with their problems in the English language. Maybe one needs help in writing, another in speaking. (GELL17/002)

These GELLs stated that they are not allowed to speak and express their minds in English in the EFL classroom. Perhaps they found the optimal way of learning English is to facilitate communication between them and their EFL teachers without worrying and the stress of making mistakes. These GELLs felt less free in EFL classrooms than they consider ideal.

Here, their EFL teachers could be placing too great an emphasis on grammatical correctness.

In this approach, errors are regarded negatively rather than being a necessary aspect of the language learning process. This reality is also asserted by urRahman and Alhaisoni (2013), who argue that EFL teachers in the KSA schools have always placed a great deal of emphasis on grammatical correctness, which could result in negative attitudes among English learners.

In another group, the issue regarding the reluctance to learn English came up. Some of the participants presented a negative picture of EFL classrooms in general, in which routine activities and teaching are conducted only for school purposes:

I think English is boring as a subject. There’s nothing we can do about that. I think that the best things to do are work hard and pass the exam. That’s it. (GELL6/007)

Nobody will speak to me in English in the street or at home. I think that the best solution is to make the English language an optional subject. (GELL7/007)

I hope they change our boring lesson and bring some modern lessons—about technology, for example. (GELL4/007)

There is no benefit in learning another language just for school purposes; it is not logical, so we do not use it in our lives. (GELL7/001)

There is nothing we can do about it. It is a very boring subject, and the teachers can do nothing about that. (GELL6/001)

These GELLs indicated that they are unwilling to learn English. Here, a detailed examination of KSA GELLs’ world needs to be carried out and insight into their lives needs to be gained in order to understand their stance on learning English. In the KSA, English is taught as a foreign language, and great emphasis is placed on correctness beginning with the lower stages of schooling. In this case, learners would tend to be not confident, shy and worry to express their thoughts to avoid making mistakes. This caused many of them to develop

negative attitudes towards EFL. In Islam, shyness (hayaa in Arabic language) is a key part of the faith and, taken in its appropriate context, may refer to self-respect, modesty or bashfulness. As narrated by Abu Hurairah (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu), the Prophet Muhammad said, “Faith consists of more than 60 parts; and hayaa (shyness) covers a large number of concepts which are to be taken together; among them are self-respect, modesty, bashfulness and scruple, etc.” (Bukhari). Thus, anyone who is a believer builds into their personalities and their character with a good dimension of shyness (for there are bad dimensions also).

The good dimensions include avoiding doing anything displeasing to God because they will have to answer for all their deeds. The shyness illustrated by the learners in this study had more of a social nature with regard to their relationships with peers, friends and colleagues.

Basically, this shyness involves avoiding doing something displeasing or embarrassing to others. Here, this shyness translates to learners becoming careful about saying something incorrect in front of their EFL teachers and peers. They were consciously or unconsciously practising their faith.

GELLs would tend to be shy and worry about making mistakes in EFL classes. It has been documented that GELLs learn better if they would be allowed to express their thoughts and enabling them to feel free in EFL classes. Less emphasis on grammatical correctness could help GELLs for finding the means by which they learn and also how they will improve their abilities.

6.5 Synthesis of the Chapter

This chapter presented the themes that emerged from the interviews and focus groups with the three categories of participants: head teachers, EFL teachers and GELLs. The data that emerged from the head teachers suggest that in the Saudi education system, the process of identifying GELLs had variations between and within schools but mainly relied on EFL teachers. While many of the head teachers agreed with their EFL teachers’ evaluation to identify GELLs, some of the head teachers considered their EFL teachers’ identification strategies may be invalid and training may be required. The data presented evidence to show that the KSA policies regarding GELLs have several limitations, such as a lack of attention to GELLs compared to gifted applied science learners. High performance on examinations is regarded an important factor of giftedness by many head teachers. That means that head teachers trust English test results to demonstrate whether a learner is gifted or not.

The influence of globalisation in many countries (including Saudi Arabia) has led to an increase in the use of English. However, resistance to the use of English and its value in the KSA was never hidden during the interviews with EFL teachers. People who felt that their religion was being threatened by this Western language nurtured negative stereotypes regarding its use. There may also be limitations in the government’s English curriculum, which EFL teachers have to follow rigidly. In particular, the KSA’s EFL curriculum may not motivate learners and may not encourage learners’ abilities.

Finally, the data gathered from GELLs suggest that EFL teachers have a great influence on EFL classroom decisions and are responsible for increasing the interest levels of GELLs.

The GELLs wanted their EFL teachers to create interesting and relevant topics for their EFL classes. The data also suggest that GELLs have some barriers preventing them from speaking English fluently, such as shyness, a lack of confidence and the need for more freedom to speak in EFL classroom and in other contexts. In the current approach to teaching EFL in the KSA, errors are regarded negatively rather than as a necessary part of the language- learning process.

Chapter Seven: Discussion of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations

7.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the relationship between the key research questions and existing knowledge is presented and interpreted. The discussion will also highlight how this study supports, reflects and extends the current knowledge concerning GELLs in the KSA. The discussion is guided by four key research questions, namely:

1. What are the attitudes of English as foreign language teachers towards gifted English language learners in Saudi school and classroom settings?

2. How do English as foreign language teachers’ differentiate instructional practices to meet the needs of gifted English language learners in their classrooms?

3. How do head teachers and English as foreign language teachers identify gifted English language learners in regular Saudi classrooms and schools?

4. What are the views of English as foreign language teachers and gifted English language learners on what support gifted English language learners need in school generally and in English as foreign language classroom specifically?

7.2 What are the Attitudes of English as Foreign Language