The Arab world is a gateway between the West and the East and a land of ancient cultures and conflicts. Arabs are living in confusing times while attempting to build modern civilizations based on ancient traditions. Presently, Arabs stand at crossroads regarding the medium of instruction in medical education(English-versus-Arabic). Federal policy pursues proficiency in English and accredits English authored text-books while native beneficiary population still faces considerable linguistic inertia and prefers Arabic. In countries like Saudi Arabia, where tutor population is majorly fractioned into Arabic and non-Arabic speakers, the perception of students is pivotal in assessing the role of language in achievement of learning objectives. This study explores Saudi-undergraduate-students linguistic preferences and attitudes in health education.

A semi structured questionnaire ascertained female student's opinions regarding language used during class-room instruction.[N=90; Applied Health sciences Department -Al Maarefa colleges-KSA-AcademicYear-2016-17]

n=40(41%)Majority preferred the use of Arabic during didactic lectures. (Rationale:-English was an unfamiliar 'alien' language that obstructed understanding of important concepts.)

n=33(40%)Preferred Bi-lingual approach.(It promoted understanding of scientific concepts as well language enrichment)

n=17(19%)Preferred Exclusive use of English (Language is learned with application rather than evasion)

Descriptive stastical comparisons showed 

Arabic vs Bilingual (p = .1 not significant)

Arabic vs English   (p = .01 significant)

GRAPH(1):  REPRESENTATION OF STUDENT LINGUISTIC PREFERENCES

Saudi health-science-students still prefer Arabic as the predominant medium of classroom instruction.The key underlining factor for such attitudes is the harmony between 'thinking and speaking' that is created with the use of 'familiar 'language.

But the gap between linguistic preferences of Arabic vs English is closing as evident from current  p values . 

English is not a "superior", but a "more common" language of the world. Language handicap often bars brilliant students from satisfactory performance during assessments. Proficiency in English can facilitate effective clinical communication at indigenous and international platforms.

•Federal policy pursues proficiency in English and accredits English authored text-books while native beneficiary population of students still faces considerable ‘linguistic inertia’ and prefers Arabic.

•In countries like Saudi Arabia, where tutor population is majorly fractioned into Arabic and non-Arabic speakers, the perception of students is pivotal in assessing the role of language in achieving learning objectives. 

•Societal attitudes and home environments should be developed as resources to contribute towards better learner acceptance and motivation. While the pedagogic implications of 'language' of instruction need further exploration; collaboration with teachers/peers and informative media development can reduce the distance between expectations and performance for Non-English-speaking nations like Saudi Arabia.

Students of Al Maarefa college of science and technology

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