Integrating technology in English language teaching through a community of practice in the Sultanate of Oman: implications for policy implementation

Educational Research for Policy and Practice - Much has been written, published, and presented about the important role and uses of technology in English language teaching (ELT) today and the...     

Beyond Textbook Instruction: Stories from ELT Teachers in Oman

ABSTRACT

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.     

English language teaching reform in Sultanate of Oman: The case of theory and practice disparity

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.     

Researching the uses of the english language in the law job market in the sultanate of oman: implications for policy-practice improvement

The Sultanate of Oman is a developing country that has accepted the English language as a significant tool for modernization. This was best interpreted in the opening of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in 1986, which has delivered its different academic programmes totally or partially through the English language. One of the colleges of SQU has been the College of Law. It was opened in 1997 to help contribute to effective implementation of nationalisation and national development in the Sultanate of Oman, which English language proficiency is a part and parcel of. However, graduates exiting the College so far have been unable to fulfil this strategic aim due to policy-practice drawbacks. Evident weaknesses in their English language and legal knowledge have provoked repeated complaints from the employers in both sectors. Accordingly, a decision was made to introduce a bilingual programme through which approximately 30 % of the subjects at the College of Law would be taught in English. This study, therefore, researches the uses of English language in the Law job market in the Sultanate of Oman and its implications for policy-practice improvement. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to 182 graduates of the College of Law, SQU. Findings have shown that while the new programme has the potential to serve national development and Omanisation, the College faculties have a pivotal role to play in influencing a positive implementation of the plan.