- Title
- The relationship between foreign language aptitude and English language proficiency among Saudi learners of English as a foreign language in Saudi universities
- Creator
- Alshahrani, Merzin Awdah
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2011
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- The present study aims to explore whether or not there is a relationship between two multifaceted variables: foreign language aptitude and second language proficiency. 56 male students at King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia participated in the current study. The researcher examined how well the participants’ score in a foreign language aptitude test predicted their success in a foreign language proficiency test (TOEFL) before and after a seven-month English course. In contrast to traditional studies in the field, this study uses not only the cross-sectional design, but also the longitudinal one to answer its questions. This combined design provides more opportunities to triangulate not only the findings of the past studies, but also to examine various hypotheses which were set by previous studies without empirical testing. The innovative design of this study allows the researcher to explore the relationship between foreign language aptitude and second language proficiency in greater depth than has been possible in previous research. The study addresses a range of issues in FL research concerning the concept of FL aptitude which have been the subject of ongoing debate, such as the nature of FL aptitude, the role of FL aptitude in predicting L2 proficiency, the relationship between FL aptitude and English progress. The current study involved piloting the study’s measures and the initial adaptation of the foreign language aptitude test for Arab native speakers, followed by two phases of data collection (Time 1 and Time 2). The data gathered during the experimental phase of the project have been subjected to a range of different statistical procedures yielding the following main findings: (1) Foreign language aptitude as measured in the study’s population sample manifested itself as a stable trait. (2) There was a positive significant relationship between foreign language aptitude and English proficiency cross-sectionally and longitudinally. (3) There was a statistically significant change in the levels of English proficiency among the participants, but this change was relatively small. (4) There was no significant relationship between the foreign language aptitude test and English progress. The current study can be credited as contributing to the field of applied linguistics in general and to the FL aptitude research in Saudi Arabia in particular. Among its most significant contributions are the development of a foreign language aptitude test for Arab native speakers, as well as the use of the cross-sectional and its longitudinal design which has enabled to examine the extent to which foreign language aptitude is correlated with the progress in the attainment of the target language. What is also unique to this study is the ability to examine the interactions between all of the subcategories of the foreign language aptitude test and all the subcategories of the English proficiency test in a cross-sectional and longitudinal design. Such an examination built a detailed picture of how, and to what degree foreign language aptitude can predict English proficiency among Saudi students in the target sample. The findings have significant implications for language teaching and learning practices, as well as for theories of Second Language Acquisition.
- Subject
- language aptitude; language proficiency; second language acquisition; aptitude tests
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/917315
- Identifier
- uon:8267
- Rights
- Copyright 2011 Merzin Awdah Alshahrani
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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