This study explored the language ideologies of Saudi cosmopolitan parents living in Western countries, their family language policies, and their children's reintegration into Saudi society. I used a qualitative research design to investigate the process of family language policies and practices and the underlying social, cultural, and religious…

The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between academic performance self-reported GPA, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety FLCA, and The International English Language Testing System IELTS scores among Saudi international students attending college in the United States, and to discover how this relationship…

The problem addressed in this study was that second language learners have difficulties pronouncing some English consonants that are not part of their language. Such errors occur because of first-language interference. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceived effectiveness of using minimal pair training to…

The purpose of this multiple-case study was to explore how four US-born Muslim college students spatialized their linguistic and cultural identities within and across their social, academic, and religious spaces. The data were collected through detailed and in-depth data collection methods involving multiple sources of information: observations in…

This dissertation study examines the acculturation experiences of Saudi Arabian students pursuing higher education in the United States. It investigates the relationships among students' acculturation strategies, self-assertion, and academic self-efficacy, while exploring the moderating effects of English proficiency and length of stay. The study…

The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of non-Arab preschool teachers' experiences in assessing Arabic-English dual language learners (DLLs) in classrooms using a well-established, teacher scored authentic assessment of early childhood holistic development. Moreover, this study explored parents' experiences by discussing these…

This study investigates the politeness strategies employed by Saudi EFL teachers when expressing their disagreements on Twitter. It examines the factors affecting Saudi EFL teachers' choice of politeness and disagreement strategies. It compares Saudi EFL teachers' disagreement expressions with those of American ESL teachers on Twitter. Four…

Arab Americans are a growing population in the United States. According to the Arab American Institute (2012), their number has reached 3.6 million. In spite of this, there is a scarcity of research exploring this population and the issues related to the area of speech-language pathology. This study explored Arabic-speaking SLPs' perceptions of…

This dissertation builds on existing heritage language research (e.g., Albirini 2014, 2018; Benmamoun & Albirini 2018) and examines the complex and challenging practices of an understudied, marginalized, and stigmatized group of Muslim Arabic heritage-speaking children (MAHSC) and their immigrant families in the US. It argues that the…

Writing proper English sentences poses a significant challenge for Arabic-speaking postsecondary students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) due to substantial differences between Arabic and English syntactic structures. This basic qualitative study explored the perceptions of Arabic-speaking EFL learners at an Arabian university…

Since the 1940's, the United States has opened its doors for international students to study and gain knowledge and skills within its borders. However, there are considerable concerns about the integration of these international students and their participation in the classroom. Most international students hail from different cultural and social…

Middle Eastern students represent the fastest-growing international student population in the United States, with the majority coming from Saudi Arabia. While some studies have examined the academic challenges faced by international students, few have examined the academic writing difficulties encountered by Saudi international graduate students.…

Navigating the special education system can be especially difficult for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families, given the boundaries that persist in educational settings. It is thought, therefore, that identifying these challenges and addressing them will improve special education services for CLD students through effective…

Although there are a significant number of Saudi females pursuing graduate degrees in Saudi Arabia and abroad, few studies have examined their educational experiences. This qualitative multi-case study examines the educational experiences of ten Saudi females who graduated with a master's degree in an English language related field in two…

The term 'voice' has been a pivotal metaphor in the fields of composition studies and applied linguistics, and it still has a strong implicit and/or explicit presence in the U.S. classroom. This critical case study examines 6 Saudi graduate student writers' voices in various U.S. universities. Data were collected by analyzing texts of students'…