Interview Form
Teachers of English at public primary schools in Riyadh face two fundamental challenges – limited teaching hours and a controversial attitude to the English language among the Saudi Arabians. Scientists offer various solutions to both problems, which include autonomous learning, time-management techniques, and more in-depth preparation for lessons. These methods are assumed to increase students’ involvement and active learning.
Besides, to reduce parents’ concerns about the English language’s influence on children’s personalities, teachers should bring the following important message. It is that learning English not only brings elements of English culture to the emerging picture of the child’s world but also allows them to communicate with children from other countries. Based on these two concepts, an interview form is prepared for English educators teaching in Riyadh public primary schools.
It is proposed to include open-ended questions in the form to ensure the relevance of the study. The first question will be: “Please describe the main difficulties that you encounter when having classes with children?” A detailed answer from practicing teachers will expand the scholars’ understanding of the nature of the problems that teachers face. The second question will regard the methods that teachers use to solve the mentioned problems. The second question will be: “What teaching methods do you use in your classes, including those aimed at coping with the problems and challenges described in the first question?” Answers will help scholars to form a general idea of the lesson processes and methods applied in the classwork.
The third question will differ in meaning from the first two, as it will focus on the ways of cultural interchange that usually occur when people from different cultures – teachers and students – communicate. Through this question, teachers will be prompted to be more open in their following classes not only to the dissemination of knowledge but also to the acquisition of knowledge about the Arabic culture.
So, the third question will be: “Please describe the processes of cultural exchange that take place in the classroom, focusing on what new things you learned about Arabic culture from your students?” If teachers will notice this advice and shift their focus from speaking to listening, more common for Eastern cultures, this could change teachers’ relations with students and their parents. It will also reduce the level of anxiety of parents who are trying to instill traditional Arab values in their children to preserve and spread Arabic culture.
The fourth question will allow educators to participate in the formation of new teaching methods. The fourth question will be: “Do you have any ideas on what methods can be developed to improve the quality of classes in the framework of cultural exchange?” Also, answering this question, teachers will have an opportunity to think carefully about what new methods based on the cultural exchange they can implement in their classes and what steps they will have to take.
Methodology
In the framework of this study, a common technique of qualitative research is used – the in-depth interview. The in-depth interview consists of four open questions regarding the difficulties of teaching English, methods of working with schoolchildren, cultural exchange processes, and ways to incorporate cultural exchange processes into teaching methods. Researchers will conduct oral and written interviews with four educators who are teaching English in Riyadh public primary schools.
Ethical Consideration
To avoid problems with the dissemination of confidential information, investigators will get permission in the relevant structures of Riyadh, as well as approval from their research organization. Ethical agreements will be signed with the research participants, in which they will be informed about the goals and methods of this study. Participants will be proposed to permit the public use of the information provided.
According to the choices of the study participants, the information could be published on conditions of anonymity. Also, sensitive information, like personal details about the study participants or the third parties, could be used by the research group, but will not be published in its original form, or not published at all. Study participants will have full access to the information they provide, but will not have access to the information provided by other study participants.
Limitations of Research
Despite the apparent simplicity of the methods and the certainty of the objectives, the study may have specific limitations. Firstly, teachers can understand the questions in their way and answer them differently than intended. Thus, oral interviews will be held ahead of the written ones to mitigate this risk. Fortunately, a limited number of study participants makes it possible to communicate with everyone personally. Secondly, limitations associated with a small number of interviewed participants may emerge. It may happen, that the nature of the problems teachers face will differ significantly from each other, which will make it difficult to draw any general conclusions based on the results of the study.
Expected Results
Presumably, the teachers will give complete and comprehensive answers to the proposed questions, which will expand the understanding of the processes of teaching the English language in the public primary schools of Riyadh. There is also hope to use the information collected to develop universal methods of work with students with non-English cultural backgrounds. These methods will be based on the cultural exchange models and will be designed to increase the involvement of students and their parents in the educational process.