THE PEDAGOGIC NEXUS OF SAUDI ARABIAN' SCHOOLS AND COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

This paper explores the challenges that come with the implementation of communicative language teaching (CLT) in Saudi Arabia. Studies conducted on CLT in this context from 2010 to 2019 are reviewed using the pedagogic nexus theory of Hufton and Elliott (2000), defined as "a set of linked, interactive and mutually reinforcing influences on pupils' motivation to learn with and because of the schooling process" (p. 115). Their focus is on determining best practice in accordance with the schooling process in each unique setting. The pedagogic nexus involves the schooling routine, how the teacher and students interact, when schooling starts, how the students are assessed and the type of relations between students' homes and the school. CLT is typically associated with a pedagogic nexus based on principles that value all aspects of communicative competence: fluency and accuracy are endowed with the same importance and the language used in the CLT classroom has to be meaningful and authentic. Therefore, the typical CLT classroom has a particular pedagogic practice. This practice involves the students learning productively rather than predictably, and the relations between teachers and students are egalitarian, so there is relaxed interaction between them. CLT classroom practice also aims to assess how the students use their communicative competence and how the students use the language productively. The traditional Saudi Arabian context has its own pedagogical nexus which shapes the schooling process. This also involves what is considered as best practice, the way the students are assessed, the way the students learn, the relations between the students and teachers and the school routine.