Saudi Parents and Teachers' Attitudes towards the New Implementation of English from Grade One in Primary Schools: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Abstract

This paper focuses on the new policy of introducing English alongside Arabic from grade one in Saudi primary schools. This qualitative descriptive study aims to understand the parents' attitudes and teachers' perspectives towards implementing English in grade one. The present study used two methods to collect data: A questionnaire to gather the data from parents, and semi-interviews to collect data from teachers. The samples of the study were 160 parents and 20 teachers. The results revealed that both parents and teachers have positive attitudes towards the new policy. They assured that English will not have a negative impact on Saudi pupils' performance in Arabic. However, the findings also indicated that designing a suitable curriculum, stimulating environment, and having more lessons per week are essential.