Proposal for Preparatory Year Reform
As-salaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah, I pray you’re all well.
Firstly, I would like to thank Dr. Abdul Aziz and the University of Dammam for hosting such
a beneficial conference. Unfortunately I was unable to attend all of the lectures due to
teaching, however the lectures I attended were extremely insightful. I hope that we can take
some of the theories and ideas that were presented and implement them to truly gain the fruits
of such a beautiful initiative.
Suleman Hasan Rathor
English Language Teacher
University of Dammam
shrathor@uod.edu.sa
0541 790 166
www.eflplus.com
Introduction
As the end of the year approaches I have been thinking of ideas to improve the Preparatory
Year Program (PYP), and the conference has no doubt aided me. This document is purely for
ideas, and I will work towards a more comprehensive proposal over the coming weeks
inshaaAllah.
Organisational Structure
I propose a divisional structure where one person is responsible for each important task. Once
people have been chosen, they should be given some autonomy over their tasks. Those
chosen must be highly competent and held accountable for their tasks.
There should be mandatory meetings held periodically (e.g. every two weeks) where
problems and ideas can be discussed.
Please watch the following video:Youtube > Steve Jobs talks about managing people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f60dheI4ARg
Example
Dean
Head of English
Language Program
Testing
E-Learning and EAssessment
Science/Engineering/Medical
The Modular Approach
After the great presentation by Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Assaaf, I believe the PYP should move
towards a modular approach similar to that of King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals (KFUPM). I believe the academic year should be split into terms of 7 weeks, and
we should offer a pre-PYP solution. However, I believe this pre-PYP solution should be in
the form of an online course. The online training should cover all levels and students should
be able to study the materials in the university (supervised) or at home. The students should
then be given a placement test prior to the start of term and placed into the appropriate course
(Engl. 00, Engl. 01, Engl. 02, Engl. 03, Engl. 04).
I believe the goal should be to reach a certain standard by Engl. 04 (e.g. IELTS level 5 or an
equivalent level in TOEFL). This means the course must be graded appropriately. One of the
major benefits of such an approach is that each course can have its own set of goals and
objectives which are linked to the PYP’s overall objectives. This will make it much easier to
manage and control. In addition, teachers can focus on teaching certain courses or skills
within courses. Each module could then be individually scrutinised and evaluated for
efficiency, and as a result, tweaked.
Course breakdown
I believe we should work towards creating our own course materials which best suit the needs
of our students. This will also be more cost-effective for the Government in the long-run,
inshaaAllah.
Skill
Speaking
Writing
E Learning
Classroom Participation and
Attendance
Test
Notes
Individual conversation
Focus groups
Class Presentations
Portfolio/timed writing
Listening, reading,
grammar
Will not be as important
under this method.
Students need to attend to
pass to proceed.
Final test to include
reading, grammar,
vocabulary, listening,
writing
Percentages
25%
25%
20%
5%
25%
I propose that we have no formal classes on Thursdays. Thursdays should be used for timed
writing, speaking assessments and/or weak students. In the weeks that we focus on timed
writing and speaking assessments students would be able to leave early, and in the weeks that
we dedicate to weak students, the stronger students would be given time off to focus on
whatever they deem to be most important- giving them autonomy over their own learning.
This will allow teachers to really focus on their students’ individual needs.
This will also create an incentive for students to work hard and prove their ability.
E-Learning
After listening to Dr. Abdul Majeed Al-Juraiwi, it seems like King Saud University are really
taking the lead on E-Learning, maashaaAllah, so I believe we can all benefit from their
experiences. It would be nice for the universities to organise an e-learning workshop to
discuss some of these ideas further.
For now, I propose using elearning as a supplementary tool. Via blackboard, students could
be given reading passages +questions, listening + questions, or grammar presentations +
questions. Each activity would be worth almost 1% of the overall grade of a course, 3
activities a week for 7 weeks.
In the longer-term, I think we should take into consideration the advice, I believe of Dr.
Moneerah, of working towards a single platform for all PYP programs. This platform should
be flexible and give institutions the ability to create their own resources and programs. These
resources can then be shared amongst institutions. Once established, we could also create
online courses and reduce class time, moving towards a higher level of elearning.
We need to move towards efficiency and collaboration, so that we are not wasting the
Government’s resources on the same ideas.
Standardised PYP
I believe this is a noble goal, but it will take some time to achieve. In line with Dr.
Moneerah’s recommendation, if we establish standardised national tests we will be one step
closer. This will help us overcome some problems, such as students not being able to transfer
from one University to another.
Additional points





We should create a national health week as part of our PYP program. This week
should comprise of English classes about health, nutrition and fitness, competitions in
football, basketball, etc. and inviting external speakers to discuss topics such as, “The
Importance of Health in Islam”, “How to live a healthy life”, etc.
We should create a week to address social issues in Saudi Arabia, such as driving
awareness.
We should promote community outreach projects.
We should establish links with local primary and secondary schools where students
can volunteer to help in speaking/reading programs.
We should promote the use of technology in primary and secondary schools,
particularly programming.
This is a very brief proposal, I hope to write a more detailed version after discussing some of
these ideas with my colleagues in the coming weeks inshaaAllah.