Language Education in Saudi Arabia: Integrating Technology in the Classroom

This volume addresses the pressing need for integrating technology into language learning and teaching practices. In an age where technology shapes every aspect of our lives, educators face the challenge of harnessing its power to enhance language education. This book provides a nuanced exploration of this complex issue, offering practical insights and innovative solutions. It discusses various perspectives on technology’s role in language education, from artificial intelligence technology to hybrid learning approaches. It also examines the impact of tools such as the "Reading Progress" tool on students’ reading skills and explores how exposure to language through media influences speaking proficiency. Additionally, the book deals with corpus-based studies and provides a comprehensive systematic review of research on technology and language learning in Saudi Arabia. It also addresses the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and offers insights into adapting language teaching pedagogy to online environments, ensuring continuity and effectiveness in language education. This book is essential for researchers, policymakers, educators, students, and anyone interested in leveraging technology to revolutionize language education in Saudi Arabia and beyond.

Ali H. Al-Hoorie is an associate professor at the Jubail English Language and Preparatory Year Institute, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. He completed his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics at the University of Nottingham under the supervision of Professors Zoltán Dörnyei and Norbert Schmitt. He also holds an MA in Social Science Data Analysis from Essex University. His research interests include motivation theory, research methodology, and complexity. His publications have appeared in various journals, including Language Learning, Modern Language Journal, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, ELT Journal, Language Teaching Research, and Learning and Individual Differences. His books include Research Methods for Complexity in Applied Linguistics (Multilingual Matters, 2020, with Phil Hiver) and Student Engagement in the Language Classroom (Multilingual Matters, 2021, coedited with Phil Hiver and Sarah Mercer), and Contemporary Language Motivation Theory: 60 Years Since Gardner and Lambert (1959) (Multilingual Matters, 2020, coedited with Peter MacIntyre). The latter book is the winner of the Jake Harwood Outstanding Book Award.

Connie Mitchell has 27 years of teaching experience and won Education First's Teaching Excellence Award 2020 for Saudi Arabia. She is a Higher Education Academy Principal Fellow and a TESOL-CAEP and NCAAA accreditation reviewer. At Prince Sultan University, she is the Vice Dean of the Deanship of Quality Assurance and Development and Director of the Teaching and Learning Center. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Arab Consortium of Teaching Learning Centers (ACTLC), founded in April 2024, where PSU is the first institution to host the consortium. She is also a member of the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission's Board of Directors for the Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia, since April 2024. Dr. Mitchell has predominantly taught English as a Second or Foreign Language courses, TEFL courses, and Linguistic courses. She is involved in her field of specialization via different associations such as TESOL International, TESOL Arabia, TESOL Greece, and AAAL, and in the past, she was the Riyadh Chapter Representative for KSAALT-TESOL. She is also a member of the American Evaluation Association. Her research interests lie in professional development, QA in higher education, TESOL/TEFL, and assessment. Her philosophy on the teaching and learning process emphasizes that learning is a life-long process. She supports students and colleagues in their life-long learning endeavors. It is an underlying principle that guides how she teaches and leads within the institution in which she is currently employed. She received a Sustainability Champion Award in 2023. She has also achieved Carbon Literacy Certification.

Tariq Elyas is a full professor of applied linguistics at King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. He holds an MA in English literature (USA) and a PhD in applied linguistics (Australia). Prof. Elyas was awarded the British Chevening Fellowship in international law & human rights (UK) as well as a post-doctorate in applied linguistics from the British Commonwealth Council (UK). Prof. Elyas’s areas of interest include Global English, teacher identity, policy reform, media studies, and women studies in the Middle East. His research papers have appeared in top-tier research journals such as British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Digest of Middle East Studies, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, Semiotica, World Englishes, Asian Englishes, Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Journal of Neurolinguistics, Sexuality, and Culture, as well as ELT Journal. Prof. Elyas has been awarded the Bundey Prize for English Verse (Australia); Travel Writing Fellowship (USA); Cambridge Gulf Research Award (UK); Reviewer of the Year-Emerald Publisher (UK); EU-GCC Relations Project Award (Belgium); and the Best Supervisor Award in the Humanities & Social Sciences Track-KAU in 2018 and 2020 (Saudi Arabia). Prof. Elyas has guest-edited three special issues: 1) ‘World Englishes in MENA’ (with Ahmar Mahboob) in World Englishes; 2) ‘gender in language education’ (with Handoyo Puji Widodo) in Sexuality & Culture; and 3) ‘English language education: A critical Global Englishes perspective’ (with Fan Fang and Handoyo Puji Widodo) in Asian Englishes. His latest book was an edited volume (co-edited with Dr. Ahmar Mahboob) entitled Educational Challenges During the GCC in the 21st Century (Cambridge Scholars Publisher). Prof. Elyas has been the most highly cited author in Saudi Arabia in the fields of education and applied linguistics ( 2014-2024). Prof. Elyas has served as an external examiner for 24 PhD students from Australia, Malaysia, UAS, UK, and Saudi Arabia. Also, Prof. Elyas has worked in numerous educational posts in Australia, UK, USA and Saudi Arabia. Currently, Prof. Elyas has been assigned as the associate editor for Wiley Encyclopedia of World Englishes - MEAN Region.