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World Englishes, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 128–142, 2014. 0883-2919
English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
AHMAR MAHBOOB*AND TARIQ ELYAS**
ABSTRACT: This paper examines the history, politics and discourses around the (teaching of) English
language in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In addition to discussing the issues and debates around
English language, this paper also looks at whether and how English has been localised to suit the local
needs and practices. Based on an analysis of English language textbooks used in KSA, the paper shows
that Saudi English mostly follows and ascribes to the grammatical norms of standard Englishes. The paper
does identify some deviations in the grammar of English in these textbooks; however, these are within the
range of features of varieties of Englishes found in other Inner, Outer and Expanding circle varieties of
Englishes. The paper then identifies a number of discursive and multimodal features of Saudi English that
are much more locally oriented and reflect local cultural norms and practices. The findings of this paper
suggest that English in Saudi Arabia is in the process of being nativised and that this Saudi English reflects
recognisably local cultural, religious and social values and beliefs.
INTRODUCTION
English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is not a ‘neutral’ language. It is loaded
with political, religious, social, and economic overtones and is a topic of heated debate.
While the influence of globalisation and modernisation policies adopted in KSA has led
to an increase in the use of English in the country; there are processes of resistance to
English that question its validity and contribute to a shift in the language to suit local
beliefs and practices. In this paper, we will study some of the tensions between forces for
reform and traditional practices in KSA. This tension is reflected in policy and curriculum
reforms and reactions to these reforms from competing discourses and ideologies within
and outside of KSA. This paper examines these discourses and looks at the historical
background and influences on the KSA education system that have shaped the English
language teaching and learning practices in the country. In addition to discussing the issues
and debates around English language education, this paper also looks at whether and how
English has been localised to suit the local needs and practices. The paper shows that
Saudi English texts analysed here mostly follow and ascribe to the grammatical norms of
standard Englishes. And while there are a few deviations in the grammar of English in
these textbooks, they are within the range of features of varieties of Englishes found in
other Inner, Outer and Expanding circle varieties of Englishes. The paper then identifies a
number of discursive and multimodal features of Saudi English that are much more locally
oriented and reflect local cultural norms and practices.
*Department of Linguistics (F-12), University of Sydney, Sydney NSW, 2006, Australia.
E-mail: ahmar.mahboob@sydney.edu.au
**Faculty of Arts and Humanities, European Languages Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi
Arabia. E-mail: telyas@kau.edu.sa
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SOCIO-HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The first foreign language (FL) to be ever taught in KSA was Turkish. It was taught
at Ottoman owned and operated schools. The locals of the Arabian Peninsula (currently
called Saudis), however, boycotted these schools because the medium of teaching was the
Turkish language, which they regarded as the language of the oppressor – the language
of the invaders (Al-Ghamdi and Al-Saadat 2002). With the fall of the Ottoman Empire in
1914, the Turkish language fell into disuse in the KSA.
This negative attitude to foreign language teaching changed, however, as KSA rapidly
developed in the twentieth century. In order to keep up-to-date with the needs of the
twentieth century, a need for a school to prepare Saudis to travel abroad and obtain a
Western education was identified. To meet this identified need, the Scholarship Preparation
School (SPS) was established in 1936 in Makkah. This one school was only open to Saudis
going abroad, and not to the other citizens (Al-Ghamdi and Al-Saadat 2002). This school
is considered to be the beginning of modern day high school education in the KSA. The
teaching of English in KSA was first introduced in this school.
English was an important foreign language in SPS as it was established in order to prepare
students to travel abroad, primarily to the USA and Britain. Qualified teachers from the
Middle East, especially from Egypt, were invited and recruited to teach English in this
school (Al-Ghamdi and Al-Saadat 2002). Hence, the educational model and curriculum
for all subjects other than Islamic education was modelled on the Egyptian system, which,
in turn, was heavily influenced by the French system. The Islamic subjects were regulated
by the KSA government.
During the Saudi Era, English and French were introduced to the KSA secondary
education system as foreign languages (Al-Abdulkader 1978). In 1958, teaching of English
and French began in the newly established intermediate level education system (grades
7–9). French, however, was removed from this level by the Ministry of Education (MoE)
in 1969, and only remained in the curriculum at the secondary level (grades 10–12) (Al-
Abdulkader 1978). Since then English has enjoyed a higher status. English is taught as a
core subject in public and private schools across the country. In addition, English is used
as the medium of training in many organisations and companies such as Saudi Airlines,
Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Telecommunication Company, etc.
Today, English is explicitly promulgated in the KSA education system. This objective
is made explicit in the following statements taken from the official guidelines of the KSA
Ministry of Education manual for teaching ESL:
The aim of teaching English in the secondary schools is to have the public attain a standard which will
permit him [sic.] to make ready use of desired materials in English and which will enable him [sic.]to
communicate satisfactorily, according to his [sic.] needs, in both spoken and written forms (MoE 2002).
One of the reasons why English is considered so important in the KSA education
system is its perceived economic value. KSA relies heavily on the large number of foreign
companies that critically contribute to the economic development of the country. Even as
early as 1978, almost 90 per cent of workers in crucial establishments such as hospitals,
restaurants, and shopping malls were expatriates with only 10 per cent of the workers being
Arab nationals with a good command of English (Al-Braik 2007). At that time one of the
main objectives of teaching EFL in KSA was to produce students who could communicate
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satisfactorily in English with these expatriates. With the introduction of Saudisation policies
(a term used in KSA to refer to the process of affirmative action for Saudis) in the 1990s, it
became even more necessary for Saudi nationals to achieve communicative competence in
English so that they could take over service industry positions as well as positions within
the core industries (Looney 2004). This economic demand driven by a social imperative
propelled the demand for improved English instruction.
The foreign-run company that has had the greatest impact on the KSA economy, and
on the framing of EFL instruction, is The Arabian American Oil Company, also known
as Aramco (founded in 1933). This company was owned by US interests until 1988,
and was initially operated mostly by American citizens. It is now solely owned by the
KSA government, but still has a large proportion of foreign workers. Since this company
dominates the economy, the need for its foreign workers and managers to communicate
with Saudi locals is a priority. One result of this need has been the promotion of English
language instruction locally. Even though this company is now mainly Saudi owned,
technical expertise is still sourced from the USA either in the form of expatriate labour
or American trained Saudis. English has become intrinsically linked with the discourse of
petroleum. Oil has proven to be so vital to the development of English that people like
Karmani (2005c) have labelled the study of dynamics of oil with the spread of English in
the Arabian Gulf region as ‘petro-linguistics’.
English is also closely linked with the development of KSA military power with Amer-
ican military advisors, as well as trainers and technicians, working within KSA from as
early as 1948 (Cordesman 2003). Large quantities of American military equipment is still
bought on a regular basis, especially since 9/11 (Cordesman 2003), and thus the imperative
remains for English to be taught to KSA military as well as civilian personnel. Many other
Saudis have acquired English ‘unsystematically’ through their work, or through English
TV and Radio stations. However, it has been argued that, for Saudisation to effectively
occur, systematic English instruction is required (Abir 1988). In order to serve these prag-
matic goals, legislation to introduce English was passed in 1958, and the subject was
introduced to all Saudi Government schools in 1959 (Al Ghamdi and Al-Sadat 2002). This
was during the expansion period of education in KSA driven by the discovery of oil and
the teachers providing the English instruction were mainly expatriates from Arab countries
such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordon (Zaid 1994).
During the period from 1970–2001, English was introduced to KSA students at grade
7. They studied English for six years until grade 12. They met four times per week for
a period of 45 minutes per class at every grade level. Like the whole of the educational
system in KSA, the system was (and remains) centralised and controlled by the Ministry of
Education. As a result, English teachers at each grade level are given an identical syllabus
with guidelines and deadlines that they are expected to follow.
In response to the post 9/11 political and social pressures in 2003, the KSA government
decided to introduce English into all primary schools (Elyas 2008). This step was made
under the direction of the Director of the Curriculum Department at the Central Office
(CDCO) of the Ministry of Education (MoE), Dr. Abdul IIah Al-Mushrif. In an article
by Azuri (2006) entitled ‘Debate on reform in KSA’, it was speculated that the Higher
Committee on Education Policy in KSA was under pressure from the US government to
introduce English language studies at primary schools in the Kingdom in order to expose its
youth to the idea of acceptance and tolerance of others (USA and the West) and introducing
the concept of living in harmony with the ‘others’ or the ‘West’ (Azuri 200: 6). This can
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be evidenced by looking at a shift in the English language curriculum in KSA. While early
English curriculum in Saudi Arabia were focused on local cultures and deleted references
to Western cultures, habits, or customs such as dating, drinking alcohol, and co-education;
the new policy reform revised this stance. Western culture(s) and different paradigms of
thinking and behaving have now been carefully introduced and show differences between
sociocultural practices, but not as a clash of civilisations (Elyas 2008).
There has been pressure, both externally and internally, for change in the KSA curriculum
in general, and in the English curriculum in particular (Elyas 2008). Not only the allocation
of time to English instruction, but also the way in which English is taught, has come under
scrutiny. The Western media has called for a ‘broader, more secular based curriculum
in the Muslim world’ (Elyas 2008: 35), and this has been followed up with reports and
recommendations by the US Congress (H. Con. Res 432; cited in Karmani 2005a); other
international organisations such as the Institute for American Values (IAV), Freedom House
(FH), The Institute for Gulf Affairs (IGA), and The Institute for Monitoring Peace and
Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE); as well as other scholars (Brown
2001; Bar 2006; Sharp 2004; Azuri 2006).
Internal voices have also recommend change (Al-Faisal 2006; Elyas 2008; Al-Essa
2009). For example, oil and gas companies have started setting strict requirements for
communicative competence in English for their workers, describing in detail the tasks and
levels of attainment KSA workers need to achieve in order to reach the levels expected of
particular positions. Business leaders and academics have also expressed concerns about
the ability of KSA graduates to compete in the global economy and have recommended a
focus on modernisation, to include ‘critical and creative thinking’ (Abu-Dahesh 2001; Abu
Kadir 2007; Al-Degether 2009; Al-Essa 2009; Al-Miziny 2010), and more and ‘better’
quality English instruction (Al-Hajailan 2003; Al-Seghayer 2005).
Change, however, has not been universally welcomed. Although the director of the
CDCO emphasised that English would not be taught at the expense of other subjects such
as Arabic and Islamic sciences, the actual truth is far from that as ‘Islamic classes have
been cut since 2003 to one class per day instead of four classes per day’ (Glasser 2003: 3).
There are also concerns that the introduction of different teaching methodologies, and
even the introduction of English itself, will be accompanied by ‘alien’ ideologies (Al-
Brashi 2003). In his article Al-Abrashi reported on a Wahhabi Sheikh who issued a fatwa
warning young people not to speak or to study English, calling English the ‘language of
the infidels’.
These concerns are not unique to KSA, but form part of an increasing global con-
cern about the dominance of English as an ‘imperialistic tool’ (Phillipson 1992), and
a ‘missionary language’ (Pennycook 2003; Pennycook and Makoni 2005; Wong and
Canagarajah 2009). Some see the EFL classroom as a means for promulgating Judaeo-
Christian tradition and Western values (Karmani 2005a; b; c). Scholars in the Muslim
world have echoed these concerns and worry about the effects that learning English
may have on young Muslims (Argungu 1996: 412; Islamia 2003: 396). The two key
concerns are related to Western, especially American, colonisation, and the spread of
Western secular thought (Argungu 1996), which they believe may undermine Islamic
values and consequently damage Islamic youth (Islamia 2003). These scholars view En-
glish and English teaching methodologies as a ‘catalyst in the [‘de-Islamisation] process
since it cuts across almost all disciplines acting as a conveyor of knowledge and culture’
(Argungu 1996: 331).
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The trend towards ‘more English and less Islam’ has provoked an anger and resentment
among many Arabic and Muslim scholars, most notably Karmani. For example, in a paper
entitled ‘English, ‘terror’ and Islam’, he denounces ‘the resounding call these days to
promote ‘more English and less Islam’, in the belief that such a position will somehow
serve in eradicating the seeds of Islamic terrorist activity’ (Karmani 2005a: 263).
Karmani’s and Argungu’s view of English as spreading Western ideologies, which may
reshape ideas in the Muslim world, falls within the ‘conduit’ conceptualisation of language
where ideas are viewed as objects and language is seen as a container for communication
(e.g. Kabel 2007). However, the response by some of KSA’s neighbours such as the United
Arab Emirates and Qatar to call for reform also reflects this view of language and appears to
condone it. They have focused on hiring Western (mainly North American) consultants and
implemented pedagogies such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Problem-
Based Learning (PBL) in their university foundation English language programmes. They
have also expanded these pedagogies across the curriculum, and begun to introduce them
into high school curricula (Picard 2007). These pedagogies use ‘authentic texts’ from
Western cultural contexts and attempt to link language learning with activities outside the
classroom. The emphasis is on the learner’s personal experiences within an ‘authentic’
native-speaker environment (Nunan 1991). This ‘centring’ of English/Western culture is
viewed as problematic to many educationalists, particularly in KSA, and has resulted in
a robust debate on the TESOL Islamia website (e.g. Argungu 1996, Karmani 2005a; b;
Ratnawati 2005). Instead, Ratnawati (2005) suggests that other foreign languages such as
Chinese (Mandarin) and Hindi/Urdu should be considered for the curriculum of Muslim
countries.
In response to fears about ‘more English, less Islam’ (e.g. Glasser 2003; Karmani 2005a;
b; c; Charise 2007; Kabel 2007; Elyas 2008; Mirhosseini 2008; Elyas and Picard 2010),
some scholars have suggested that an Islamic approach to English teaching should be
followed (Argungu 1996). Karmani (2006) finds support in the TESOL Islamia discussion
forum, where Arab English teachers argue that:
The current designed English syllabus in the Arab world doesn’t reflect the true aspiration of the Muslim
Nation. It does not contribute to the right upbringing of a true Muslim generation. The English syllabus
that we have in our educational institutions is completely based on the western culture which is totally
different and far away from the Islamic teachings.
This debate goes on to call for ‘syllabus designers in the Arab world to be inspired’ in
designing syllabi by ‘the wealthy and glorious Islamic Heritage of this ‘NATION’ [capital-
isation emphasised in the original] and provide an outstanding syllabus that contributes to
Islamic propagation to reflect the ‘GREAT Message of ISLAM’ [capitalisation emphasised
in the original].’
Such an approach and curriculum would, according to Zughoul (2003: 145), ‘stress
the consolidation of mother-tongue teaching and a localised and learner-relevant content’.
It would focus on facilitating the learning of, and access to, ‘modern-day knowledge’
(science and technology) for Muslim learners and ‘censor content’ that could be viewed
as ‘anti-Islamic’ (Picard 2007: 27).
This position is reflected in local KSA attitudes towards learning English. Although the
need for the subject is accepted, speakers of English are ‘othered’. The famous Hadith
which promotes the learning of a foreign language, yet views the speakers of that language
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with suspicion is used to support this view:
’
He whoever learns other people’s language will be secured from their cunning.
The above Hadith is presented and used as a motto by many English language centres
around KSA to promote the study of English or other languages, for that matter.
In contrast to the ‘strong Islamisation’ argument presented by Karmani and others, a
number of Islamic scholars have argued that some elements of English culture(s) need
to be taught as a component of any EFL curriculum. Hare (2005: 6), for instance, notes
that ‘tolerating different cultures or different points of view, does not mean accepting or
practising them’ and he suggests that EFL teaching should involve teaching students to
‘disentangle the various threads of context and meaning which exist in any given text’.
Other scholars charge that Islamic culture(s) are intrinsically linked to English culture(s)
through the large number of English-speaking Muslims (TESOL Islamia 2005). They cite
Sura Al Hujuraat to argue that even in the Holy Qur’an differences in culture and language
and noted and welcomed:
Oh mankind, We have created you all out of male and female and made you into tribes and
nations, so that you may come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the
one who is most deeply conscious of Him (Sura Al Hujuraat (49) Ayah (13)).
and
And among His signs is the creation of the heavens, and the earth, and variation in your languages and
your colours, verily in that are signs for those who know (Sura l-Rum (The Romans)Ayah (190)).
Others note that a number of Arabic words have been incorporated into English and thus
English can be seen as an Islamic language as much as a Judeo-Christian one (Mahboob
2009; Weber 2011). Also, Kabel (2007) situates this argument for a ‘weaker Islamisation’
(Picard 2007) position within the world Englishes debate and argues that, although English
can be considered as ‘putative hegemonic discourse [and an] inhibitive and imposed en-
cumbrance, we need to take into account how the language is constantly and unpredictably
appropriated and creatively reshaped and expropriated to give voice to emerging agencies
and subjectivities’ (Kabel 2007: 136). From this position, although the emphasis is on
Islamic discourse, English culture(s) and the changing nature of both Western and Islamic
culture(s) are acknowledged. The teachers are given a primary role to unpack Western
discourses in texts and to compare them with local discourses. Hadley (2004: 13) asserts
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134 Ahmar Mahboob and Tariq Elyas
that teachers should ‘think globally and teach locally’. This trend is illustrated in the cre-
ation of the KSA local editions of English textbooks which are used in KSA primary and
middle schools, and the emphasis on local culture in the English curricula rather than the
dominant culture of the English ‘Inner Circle’ (Kachru 1992).
So far in this paper, we have provided an overview of how English was introduced in
KSA and how it has become an important part of the education curriculum in the country.
However, as noted, the use and teaching of English in KSA is not without controversy. There
are strong arguments in favour of and against the teaching of English in the country. As was
also pointed out earlier, studies looking at similar issues have shown that this debate can be
informed by studying the language as it is used in the local context using a world Englishes
lens. For example, Mahboob (2009; in press) provides substantial evidence of cultural and
religious localisation in the use of the English language in Pakistan, including evidence
from textbooks. The references to local Islamic traditions, practices and personalities in the
Pakistani English textbooks reflects how one world Englishes variety has adapted English
to reflect local identities. We could ask a similar set of questions of Saudi English – has it
also been localised? If so, what is the evidence of this localisation? And how can it inform
the debate on the teaching/learning/use of English in KSA.
SAUDI ENGLISH
As we start our research on exploring the features of Saudi English, one of the first
things that strike us is a dearth of research on this topic. While there are a number of
papers (as cited in the previous section) on the politics of English in KSA education, there
is almost nothing published that explores the nature of the English language as used in
KSA. To date, there are only two studies published in World Englishes on Saudi Arabia: Al-
Haq and Ahmed (1994) and Al-Haq and Smadi (1996). Al-Haq and Ahmed’s (1994) study
explores the problems in student texts. Their paper takes on a deficit approach in that it lists
‘problems’ with Saudi students’ writing of argumentative essays. It does not provide any
detailed textual analyses of the student writing; nor does it posit any descriptions of what
might be considered features of Saudi English. The other paper published on Saudi Arabia
in World Englishes looks at the perceived relationship between English and Westernisation.
In their paper, Al Haq and Smadi (1996: 307) argue, based on the results of a large student
survey, that while some people think that learning English leads to Westernisation, there
is a larger group of the participants who state that ‘the use of English does not make the
participants Westernised, neither their national identity gets weakened, nor their religious
commitment becomes corrupted’.
These two papers published in World Englishes, while limited in their approach, do raise
two important questions:
1. Is there a Saudi English? If so, what are some of its linguistic features?
2. What, if any, is the relationship between Islam and English in the context of Saudi
Arabia?
The rest of this paper explores these two questions. An analysis of published Saudi texts
suggests that it is possible to identify a ‘Saudi English’. This section of the paper will
provide some initial evidence to support this position.
As pointed out above, there are no current descriptions available of Saudi English. As
a country in the expanding circle, it is largely assumed that the models of English used
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in the country are based on inner circle varieties (i.e. American and British Englishes);
or, in the words of Kachru (1992), English in Saudi Arabia is norm dependent. This
leads to researchers such as Al-Haq and Ahmed (1994) to label textual features in local
writings as ‘problems’ or ‘mistakes’ rather than trying to identify patterns of language use
that are emerging locally. While a full description of what may be considered linguistic
features of Saudi English is beyond the scope of this paper, we will attempt to outline
some features that are observed in published texts in Saudi Arabia. To give more credence
to this description and to relate this work to the issues of English language and education,
we will share examples from a current high school textbook. Given that textbooks provide
instruction in and serve as models that the students are expected to learn from, it can be
argued that the linguistic features included in them may be considered ‘acceptable’ uses
in the local context.
The education sector in Saudi Arabia is highly regulated and all the textbooks are
endorsed and/or developed by the Ministry of Education. In the case of English, Al-
Seghayer (2005) notes that the main textbook used in KSA from 1960s to early 1980s was
Living English for the Arab world. This book was broadly targeted to all Arab countries and
used in many countries in the region. In KSA, this book was replaced by a new series called
‘Saudi Arabian School English’ developed by the Ministry of Education in collaboration
with Macmillan to meet local needs. This series was later replaced by another series called
‘English for Saudi Arabia’ in mid-1990s. The ‘English for Saudi Arabia’ is regularly
revised and is still being used in KSA. In this paper, we will examine one of the textbooks
in the current series closely to identify patterns of language use that might be considered as
features of Saudi English. However, it needs to be noted that while the features identified
in this paper can serve as indicators of features of Saudi English, we cannot make any
conclusive claims about Saudi English or its features by analysing only one textbook. To
develop a broader description of the features of Saudi English, we do need to collect and
analyse additional data from a variety of published and recognised sources.
The textbook analysed in this paper is the 2007–8 edition of English language for Saudi
Arabia: 1st year secondary term 1: Student’s book. This book was first published in 1999
and is revised regularly. In this paper it is assumed that given the regular revisions and
updates, it is unlikely that the repeated variations observed in this book are due to typing
or other editorial mistakes. However, as stated earlier, the features identified here need to
be taken as indicators of Saudisation of English, and not as definitive features of Saudi
English. Given that only one textbook has been analysed for the purposes of this paper, we
have taken a number of steps to minimise any possible misinterpretation or misanalysis of
the data. Two steps taken to enhance the validity of this analysis were:
1. Consultation with other linguists on the analysis and interpretation of the data
2. Consultation with six Saudi experts (these were Saudi ESL teachers who are cur-
rently working on their MAs or PhDs in TESOL and/or Applied Linguistics)
regarding the analysis and interpretation of the data
The feedback from the linguists has been assimilated into the discussion below. The
feedback from the Saudi experts is quoted below to strengthen the analysis.
The textbook analysis shows that there are a number of grammatical features used in
the book that are different from ‘standard’ Englishes. Four of these include: variation in
use of tense markers; variation in the use of articles; variation in marking subject-verb
agreement; and number (singular/plural ‘–s’). Each of these features is described below
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136 Ahmar Mahboob and Tariq Elyas
Do you remember this tense? has/have + past participle
Example: I have saved up for a long time.
This tense is called present perfect.
It connects the past with the present.
Remember *do not use an exact time (e.g., yesterday, a week ago) with this tense;
*do not ask when ...? questions with this tense;
*
y
ou can sometimes add words like before, u
p
to now, so far or alread
y
;
Figure 1. Instructions on how to use the present perfect tense from Unit 6 – Lesson 2, page 70
with examples from the textbook. Before we look at these examples, we need to note that
there were inconsistencies in how these features were used in the text, that is, these features
were not always present in the texts; they did, however, appear several times in the text.
Variation in use of tense makers in Saudi English
In one lesson, the textbook focused on the ‘Present Perfect Tense’ and provided instruc-
tions on how to use this tense. Figure 1 below shows the description of the present perfect
tense as given in the textbook. These rules on how to use the present perfect tense are
based on Standard English. However, the authors of the textbook do not always follow
these rules themselves, as can be seen in example (1) below (numbers in parentheses refer
to page number).
(1) He has had two or three jobs since he returned to the Kingdom. He has worked for
Saudi Radio for two years. Then he has interviewed people for various programmes
on TV for six months. He is soon going to have his own programme ‘In Focus’.
(11)
Contrary to the rule stated in Figure 1 that the present perfect tense ‘connects the past
with the present’, the authors of the textbook used the present perfect tense twice (bold) to
describe events that happened in the past. These events started and completed in the past
and do not connect to the present. As such, the use of the simple past tense would have
been appropriate in both these instances.
In responding to this example, one of the Saudi researchers noted, ‘present perfect does
not exist in Arabic, therefore we do mix present perfect tense with the past tense as your
example (1) showed’. Similarly, another Saudi expert pointed out that, in general, Saudis
avoid the use of the perfect aspect because Arabic does not have a present perfect tense.
In addition to exemplifying variation in the marking of past tense, this example illustrates
a problem with using rules based on Standard English to teach English in contexts where
local varieties have emerged (or are emerging). In this case, we note a contrast between
the ‘correct’ use as prescribed by the authors and the actual ‘usage’ of the form as used
by the same authors. This leads to a number of issues. For example, it could lead to
marking students down for inappropriate use of the present perfect tense (as measured by
the students’ ability to follow the prescribed rules) when the variations that they use may
be features of a local variety of English.
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English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 137
Variation in the use of articles in Saudi English
Another noticeable feature in the textbook was the variable use of articles. In some
cases, such as in examples (2) and (3) below, the authors of the textbook used a null article
instead of an indefinite article.
(2) Hamza got off and porter carried his luggage into the building. (71)
(3) Look at this box. Make sentence from it. (35)
One of the Saudi experts invited to comment on the analysis noted, ‘one of the linguistic
features of “Saudi English” is the use of article. We Saudis overuse the definite article
(the), and misuse the indefinite articles (a/ an)’ [emphasis added]. Another Saudi expert
stated, ‘Most Saudi English users tend to omit “a” or “an” in their writing but they use “the”
correctly’ (emphasis added). While agreeing with the analysis presented in this paper, the
researchers used the terms overuse,misuse,andcorrectly. These terms suggest that the
Saudi experts, in evaluating the analysis, took a deficit approach, that is, marking things
that are not acceptable in ‘Standard English’ as being mistakes. This approach reflects the
viewpoint that resists the recognition of emerging local norms of English in the expanding
circle countries (see, for example the discussion on Al-Haq and Ahmed 1994, above),
where the dominant model is exonormative (Kachru 1992). However, as the statements of
the Saudi experts show, there is some (growing?) recognition that these are not random
‘mistakes’ but (rule-governed?) variations in Saudi English that may be features of (an
emerging) Saudi English.
Variation in subject verb agreement
There were a number of examples where the authors of the textbook did not follow
the prescribed rules for subject-verb agreement. In example (4) below, the authors of the
textbook do not mark the verb ‘like’ with third person singular marker ‘-s’.
(4) He is a keen tennis player and he also like swimming. (11)
The Saudi researchers noted that ‘omitting the third person singular markers is a common
feature in Saudi English’.
Number (singular/plural –s)
There were a number of instances where the authors of the textbook did not mark plural
nouns with the plural marker ‘-s’. In other instances, the authors of the textbook marked
singular nouns with the plural marker ‘-s’, as in example (5) below:
(5) But that’s another subjects. (46)
The Saudi experts were not confident about this feature. One of them said that this ‘is
not common in Saudi English’ while another said that these might be ‘authors’ personal
mistakes’. However, given that the book has undergone several revisions since it was first
published in 1999 and because there were several examples of this in the textbook, we do
want to consider this feature here. The concern of the Saudi experts does, however, stress
the importance of collecting and analysing additional data.
In addition to variation in the use of the four syntactic features described above, there
were a number of other noticeable variations in the textbook as well. However, given that
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there were only single tokens of these variations, they may or may not represent patterns of
local usage and have not been included here. More data collected from a variety of sources
needs to be considered to describe additional patterns of language use in Saudi English.
As illustrated above, a linguistic analysis of the textbooks used in Saudi Arabia indicates
that there is a range of linguistic features that are used in these books that are different
from standard American and British Englishes. If we agree that textbooks project a locally
accepted variety of a language (as it is an instrument of corpus planning), then the variations
and features described above may be considered features of English found in Saudi English.
However, and has been pointed out previously, we do need to collect and analyse additional
data from a variety of published and recognised sources to make any conclusive claims
about Saudi English and its features. In addition, we need to review the features identified
here in relation to the broader world Englishes literature. The features described above are
found in a number of other Inner, Outer and Expanding Circle varieties of Englishes –
and thus are not uniquely Saudi. Furthermore, while the features above suggest that there
may be some regularised variations in the grammatical structures of English as it is used
in KSA, one may ask if and how these relate to the local cultural practices and ideologies.
The syntactic variations, as described above, do not easily lend themselves to such an
analysis. To explore these aspects, we will need to look at other aspects of language use in
the textbook.
LOCAL CULTURE, LOCAL ENGLISH
In addition to having particular linguistic characteristics, Saudi English can also be seen
as construing and projecting a local sociocultural worldview. The relationship between
Saudi English, education, Islam, and Saudi cultural values can be examined in at least two
ways. One way of doing this would be to conduct a content analysis of textbooks used in
Saudi Arabia. A second way of examining the complexities of how language and ideology
work together would be to carry out a linguistic analysis of texts in Saudi English that
project Islamic and/or Saudi perspectives. In this paper, we will do both, albeit briefly. To
be consistent, we will primarily draw data from the same textbook that we used for an
exploration of features of Saudi English, ‘English for Saudi Arabia’ (first year secondary
textbook for term 1; 2007–8 edition); however, we will make references to other textbooks,
where relevant.
All textbooks in the series ‘English for Saudi Arabia’ have units that focus on Islamic
issues. Each of the three textbooks reviewed for this paper included six units of study.
Of these, at least one is on Islam. For example, the sixth unit of the first year secondary
textbook is called ‘Before Al-Hajj’. This unit, as the title indicates, focuses on the Haj.
Performing a Haj, pilgrimage, is one of the ‘five pillars’ of Islam, and this unit shares
the adventures of a Sudanese pilgrim who is planning to perform Haj. Similarly, the other
textbooks in the series also include units on Islam. For example, unit 3 of the second year
secondary term 1 book is on ‘The early spread of Islam’, and unit 4 of third year secondary
term 1 book is on ‘Ramadan’.
In addition to having at least one unit on Islam, some of the textbooks include focused
units on Saudi Arabia. While the first year secondary textbook does not have a dedicated
unit on Saudi Arabia, all the units provide detailed information about the Saudi context.
For example, in unit 3, ‘School in Britain’, the text and activities lead to comparisons
between Saudi schools and schools in Britain. Similarly, unit 5, ‘Money’, includes lessons
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on describing Saudi currency notes, etc. The other textbooks in the series include specific
and detailed discussion of life, culture, and practices in Saudi Arabia. For example, unit
5 of the second year secondary term 1 book is titled ‘Saudi Arabia yesterday and today’,
and unit 6 of the third year secondary term 1 is on ‘Arab aid’.
In addition to some dedicated units on Islam and/or Saudi Arabia, the textbooks include
regular textual references to Islam and Saudi Arabia. In the first year secondary textbook,
this is apparent from the very beginning of the textbook. After the opening credits, the
textbook includes a full page with Arabic text ‘ ’, which translates to: ‘I begin
in the name of Allah who is the most gracious and the most merciful’. The inclusion of
this phrase in the beginning of the textbook represents the Islamic tradition of starting all
things in the name of Allah. The use of Arabic – and not its English translation – shows
the iconic power of this Arabic text and its relationship to Islamic values and systems. This
is a feature that is found in other Muslim countries as well (e.g. Mahboob 2009).
Additional examples of references to Islamic and Saudi cultural and social practices can
also be found throughout the textbook. For example, unit 1 of the textbook, ‘Let’s meet
the team’, starts with a cartoon strip introducing one of the main characters in the book
to the readers. The text starts with Assalamu Alaikum, I’m Ahmad Al-Ali’ (7). Assalamu
Alaikum is the Arabic/Muslim greeting and literally means ‘May the blessings of Allah
be upon you’. Assalamu Alaikum is used as the primary greeting by Saudis as well as
other Muslims from around the world regardless of the language in which they interact and
forms a feature of the discursive practice of the Muslims worldwide. It is similar to ‘hello’
or ‘hi’ in English; however, it carries a specific religious reference. Assalamu Alaikum is
used consistently throughout this unit and is part of several activities. The choice of using
Assalamu Alaikum instead of its English equivalent in the textbook as well as in everyday
life reflects the value given to local practices and customs; and, it can perhaps also be taken
as an indicator that English in KSA is being nativised to reflect local cultural practices.
In addition to textual references, the textbook also projects the local Saudi cultural beliefs
and practices through the images used. The textbook has numerous pictures; however, most
of these are men. In the first year secondary textbook there are only three pictures of women,
two on page 9 and one on page 10. In the first picture, there is a man pointing towards
a woman clad in a black burkah from head to toe and the man in the picture is saying
‘She’s Saudi’. It is worth noting that while the man is pointing towards the woman in the
background with his thumb, he is not looking at or towards her. The second picture is that
of an Indian woman. This woman is holding a flag of India, is wearing traditional Indian
clothes, and has her head covered with a dupatta (long scarf). In this picture, the man is
again pointing towards (but not looking at) the woman in the background and saying ‘She
isn’t a Saudi’. The third picture, on page 10, is smaller in size and is black and white. In
this picture a man is pointing towards a woman (again with his thumb and without looking
at her) and saying ‘She’s Syrian’. This woman is also fully clad and wearing a hijab,which
identifies her as a Muslim woman. These visual texts reinforce the Saudi social practice of
requiring women to fully cover themselves in public and to wear burkah. Foreign women,
on the other hand, can be identified because they do not wear a burkah. There are no other
images of women in the textbook. There are numerous pictures of Saudi and other men. In
these pictures, the Saudi men wear a local costume while the foreigners wear other clothes:
suits and jeans for Westerners, shalwar kameez for South Asians, etc. Furthermore, all
Western men are shown to have blond hair, while the locals have black hair. The visual
traits portrayed in the textbook consistently project the locally ‘approved’ and ‘accepted’
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ways of being and looking at the world. In addition to these images, the use of ‘he’ as the
generic pronoun also reinforces the male-dominant culture of Saudi Arabia.
One consistent feature that reflects the patriarchal nature of the Saudi society is the use
of the masculine pronouns ‘he’ and ‘his’ as generic pronouns. The use of the masculine
pronouns as generic pronouns was a common feature in English until around the 1980s.
Since then, there has been a move to use gender-neutral and gender-inclusive pronouns in
contexts where the referents include both men and women. While this change has been
quite widely accepted and incorporated in many parts of the world (specially in academic
and educational contexts), it appears not to have made any inroads into Saudi textbooks.
Examples (6) and (7) below illustrate this. In both these examples, the pronoun ‘he’ is used
to refer to both males and females.
(6) For example, a student may need 120 credits to graduate. If he takes an English
course, he will get 10 credits. (37)
(7) Who uses physics in his work. (38)
The Saudi experts consulted also noted that the generic use of the masculine pronoun
was common in KSA. One of them stated, ‘using masculine pronouns (he) is a common
feature in Saudi English’. They further said that it reflects the position of privilege that
men typically hold in a Saudi context. This use of the masculine pronoun in Saudi English
can also be noted in the quotation from the Ministry of Education (2002) cited in an earlier
part of this paper.
The textual features of Saudi English together with the images used in the textbook
described here appear to construe and represent a Saudi understanding of the role of
gender in society. They also seem to conform to the Saudi interpretation of Islamic codes
as well as to Saudi cultural practices. Thus, an analysis of the content and the text (both
verbal and graphic) indicates that the textbooks in KSA project an Islamic and a Saudi
worldview. This is similar to findings in Mahboob (2009) that document how English in
Pakistan is also used to project a Pakistani Muslim perspective. A study of these textbooks
also provides support for Al-Haq and Smadi’s (1996) survey results in which they note that
students in Saudi Arabia do not find a tension between English, Islam, and Saudi cultural
values. With texts that are infused with Islamic and Saudi references, the links between
English and Islam are highlighted and the reading of English as an Islamic language
normalised. This suggests that English as it is taught and used in KSA does not necessarily
impose a Western perspective (although it does tend to stereotype others), but rather allows
students to learn English by engaging and discussing issues that are relevant to the local
context and represent local perspectives.
CONCLUSION
One of the purposes of this paper was to look at the socio-historical use of English
in education in KSA. In doing this, we noted that there is (and has been) considerable
discussions in KSA and abroad about the relationship between teaching/learning of English
and a perceived threat to local cultures and values. Our review of the issue showed that
while there are a number of voices that promote the use of English for industrial and
economic reasons, there are also a substantial number of voices that argue against English.
These voices that question English see it as a colonising language and worry that the
use of English in KSA may undermine local values and beliefs. In order to explore this
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further, this paper examined the nature and use of English as it is used in secondary
school textbooks. This study of English in Saudi textbooks revealed that there are some
grammatical variations in the syntactic structures of Saudi English. However, more relevant
to the key issues involved, we noted that the textbooks reviewed drew significantly on the
local context, local culture, and local religion in developing their content and material. This
localisation of the English language teaching material suggests that the English language
taught in the classrooms does not uncritically push Western cultural practices, but rather
invites students (and teachers) to consider diverse practices and believes in relation to
local practices. This work suggests that English in KSA does not simply recreate outside
norms, but rather carries a local flavour – one that can perhaps be called Saudi English.
As such, this paper is a call for additional research on Saudi and other Expanding Circle
Englishes and to focus on not just the syntactic features of these varieties, but also explore
the sociocultural norms being construed and represented in these varieties.
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