WORLD ENGLISHES: THE ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS AT A SAUDI UNIVERSITY WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY

Abstract

This study investigates the attitudes and perceptions of English department students at a Saudi university towards varieties of World Englishes (WEs) based on Kachru’s (1985, 1992) three concentric circles model. The study is guided by four central research questions; it investigates Saudi university students’ awareness of WEs varieties. It also explores their attitudes towards several varieties of WEs, specifically American English (AE), Indian English (IE), and Saudi English (SE). Furthermore, it investigates their attitudes and perceptions towards learning WEs varieties. Lastly, it explores their perceptions of key dimensions of WEs, including legitimacy and ownership as they pertain to SE. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study employs a verbal guise task (VGT), a semantic differential scale (SDS), a Likert-scale questionnaire (LSQ), and semi-structured interviews. The research design consists of a pilot study and a main study. Findings seem to indicate a preference for Inner Circle varieties (e.g., AE), perceiving them as more competent and legitimate. Notably, there appears to be a growing recognition of SE by Saudi learners within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as a legitimate English variety. This may highlight an emerging endonormative orientation in the Saudi context. However, perceptions of ownership of English appear to remain contested within the KSA due to the continued influence of exonormative orientations in educational curricula and the limited institutional recognition or exposure to SE. This study contributes to applied linguistics by expanding attitudinal research within the Expanding Circle, specifically in the Saudi context. It highlights the pedagogical relevance of incorporating locally recognized English varieties, such as SE, into language curricula in the KSA. This study calls for a more pluralistic approach to English language pedagogy in the KSA, which reflects the sociolinguistic realities of English use and empowers learners to claim ownership of their local variety (SE). At the same time, it underscores the need to reflect on the reliance on Inner Circle norms within the context of the KSA.