AN INVESTIGATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SAUDI LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE IMPACT OF BRITISH/AMERICAN TV SERIES ON THEIR ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS
Abstract
The present study sought to examine the reasons of English language Saudi learners to
watch British/American TV series, and to explore their perceptions on the impact of
watching those series on their English language skills. Fifty mixed gender adult Saudis, who
have been or are currently English language learners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
participated in the study. Online questionnaire was sent to the study participants via emails
to get a broad representation of their perceptions towards watching British/American TV
series. following that, five participants were interviewed online via Skype to obtain a deeper
understanding of their perceptions on the impact of watching British/American TV series.
the findings of the study indicate that the main reasons for English language Saudi learners
to watch British/American TV series are either to entertain themselves as it provides them
with pictures and sounds, or to fulfil their desire to acquire a real-life English language. In
addition to that, it indicates that English language Saudi learners perceive the impact of
British/American TV series as an effective impact as it leads them to improve their listening
and speaking skills and to acquire a more informal English language.