Saudi EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of the Communicative Approach

Abstract

In order to promote language learners’ literacy, teachers need to adopt a learner-centered approach, such as CLT. Thus, the current study aims at investigating the Saudi EFL teachers’ perceptions of the communicative approach (CA, henceforth). It also scrutinizes to what extent this approach assists teachers in their teaching practices and enables students to achieve better academic results. The study adopted a quantitative research design. For the sake of data collection, a 30-item questionnaire was utilized. The items were distributed on three dimensions: (1) principles of the CA, (2) teacher’s role in implementing the CA and (3) secondary school EFL students’ motivation when CA is implemented. The study included 33 Saudi secondary school teachers. The findings of the study revealed that teachers have a high understanding of the communicative approach. However, it indicated a lower degree of teachers implementing the approach while teaching. The study found that the students get high motivated when they are taught through the CA. The study recommends special training programs for teachers on CA in order to enable them to teach language skills effectively.