The unprecedented time of COVID-19 has called schools and educators worldwide to think of transferring education from face-to-face based to become more digital oriented. This transformation has pros and cons. Scholars in the field are questioning investigating the challenges that online learning entails; however, one of the issues still not fully…

This research explores the impact of ChatGPT, an AI tool, on ESL students' writing proficiency at a Saudi Arabian university. Using a mixed-methods approach, data from 130 students showed a significant positive effect on their writing. A focus group interview with six students highlighted opportunities such as personalized feedback, language skill…

Background: Language learners are taking advantage of the increased accuracy afforded by machine translation (MT) tools like Google Translate. There is a growing debate as to whether these tools support or hinder English as a foreign language (EFL) education. Some EFL students are drawn to MT tools to save time and energy when communicating, but…

In an era where the English language has become dominant in all fields and is the prevailing language worldwide, many Arab parents and intellectuals are wondering about the optimal age to start teaching their children English. Should they speak to their children in English at an early age? Should they enrol their children in a pre-school that…

Various studies have been carried out in order to find out the suitable age for foreign language acquisition. Every research study has had a different Critical Period (CP) and most of them have not been really close together in terms of years. Critical Period refers to the actual time frame during which foreign language acquisition should take…

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) technology and pedagogy have gained recognition globally for their success in supporting second language acquisition (SLA). In Saudi Arabia, the government aims to provide most educational institutions with computers and networking for integrating CALL into classrooms. However, the recognition of CALL's…

One of the concerns foreign language teachers may have about using small group (and pair) work is that students will use their shared first language (L1) instead of the target language. This study investigated the effect of learner proficiency pairing and task type on the amount of L1 used by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in pair…

A study with 80 Saudi English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students found that EFL learners performed better on temporal clauses that occurred initially in the sentence than those that occurred finally. The EFL learners faced problems similar to those of first-language learners. (29 references) (Author/LB)