Investigating the Low English Proficiency of Saudi EFL Learners

Saudi students studying English as a foreign language often do poorly in their English courses, and despite a growing number of studies on this issue the root causes have remained a mystery. To gain a more comprehensive perspective, this study investigated the underlying reasons for Saudi EFL learners performing poorly in English by including all major stakeholders. This study attempts to find out the potential underlying reasons for the low performance of Saudi EFL learners. The researcher conducted qualitative interviews with two educational consultants, six university teachers, six graduate students, and six high school teachers. In addition, quantitative data came from high school students via a questionnaire addressed to 100 participants. The data revealed a shared chain of factors related to objectives, learners, teachers, curricula, assessment, and practicality. The findings suggested a gap between the theories consultants used to set class objectives and actual practice. This gap stemmed from consultants not consulting with or directly evaluating people in the field, such as educators, students, or university staff. The study recommends researchers get an overview of Saudi English learners at the macro level rather than focusing solely on their performance in one language skill. That should produce more valid, reliable, and practical suggestions to improve Saudi EFL learners’ performance.