The Impact of Students’ Proficiency in English on Science Courses in a Foundation Year Program

Abstract

English plays a crucial role in determining a student’s academic success and career path in Saudi Arabia. This is one of the reasons why Saudi universities offer mandatory foundation year programs to university entrants. The assumption is that if a student has high proficiency levels in the English language, the student will be able to meet the challenges and demands of other science courses that are taught in the English language in the first-year program as well as the subsequent bachelor's programs. In order to prepare students for academic success, the tendency at most Saudi universities is to use international, mostly US or UK, publishers to provide the resources for its curriculum which is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) as a standard for designating language ability. This study investigates the relationship between university students’ English language levels and their performance in science courses in a foundation year program at a Saudi university. Using Oxford University’s Q: Skills Placement Test, quantitative data is used to establish the students’ language levels according to the internationally accepted CEFR scales. The scores were then correlated with students’ overall averages in the science courses. Data was gathered over a period of five academic years and statistical analyses were conducted using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient formula and scatter plots. The findings and conclusions have fundamental implications for curriculum designers at universities in Saudi Arabia as well as institutions of higher education in the Middle East and the Arab world.

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