Job Discussion Forums

[CALIBAN-KENT]

Hello Friends,
I was recently contacted by a university in KSA and was offered a job to teach English Literature (plus some language component/s) at college/university level. I haven't yet accepted the offer and do not wish to until I get some information about this matter from teachers already working there. Please can I get the low down (if any one has it) on teaching English literature in KSA. I would particularly appreciate inputs on syllabii, student discipline and teacher independence. What is the experience of teachers who aim to disseminate the "light and delight" of good (canonical [?]) literature? Can one hope to light up the empty quarters of the magic kingdom with the wit and wisdom of EngLit (and one would suppose some Am-Eng-Lit as well)?
Thanks in advance!
C-K

[Stephen Jones]

Where have you been offered the job? Male or female students?

[Mia Xanthi]

I have no experience in this area, but I would imagine that the pervasive censorship here would dim that light you wish to shine. Has your potential employer given you any idea what sort of text would be approved for your use? It's going to be hard to find something that would be acceptable to you and not offensive to the censors or the students. One of the biggest problems here is that everything seems to be haram (forbidden) in some context to someone.

It's certainly possible to have wonderful, lighthearted discussions with female students here, but most students are very intimidated by the concept of open discussion of important ideas. Reputation is everything here. Thus, they are very afraid of being criticized by others and not likely to be inclined to even intellectual argument in a public situation. If you discuss things with them privately, they have interesting and intelligent things to say, but they will clam up in front of their classmates.

Female students (and probably male as well, but I don't know) are very interested in poetry, however -- much more so than their western counterparts. There is a long tradition of poetry in this part of the world that makes it "cool" even for the young people to show interest in it.

[veiledsentiments]

Another issue is that their reading ability is very low... and very slow. It is rare to find a student that reads for pleasure. Consequently very little material gets covered in an English major. I recall an Egyptian teacher who had a Literature BA from Cairo University who bragged to me about how much English literature he had read. In his 4 year course it totaled: a couple Shakespearean plays, the novel Pamela, a couple of short stories, and some poetry. He was a bit put out when I asked if that was all. He was shocked when I pointed out that in a literature major in the US or the UK, he would have covered more than that every semester... for 6 semesters. To be honest there were semesters that I covered more than that in a week!! (poor scheduling on my part )

And I think it would be more difficult in KSA with the censorship issues mentioned by Mia.

VS

[CALIBAN-KENT]

Thank you MX and vs for your measured responses.
I did indeed anticipate the EngLit scenario that you both outline. I have some Arab students (from Yemen and Oman) working with me at my present place of work and I can very well appreciate the insights that you guys provide. They are intelligent as students and sometimes come up with brilliant readings of texts assigned to them (especially if you are patient enough to read/hear them through their broken English). Their language skills are really poor and this is what usually is the bane of their academic work.
But really can somebody give me an idea of the texts taught in KSA EngLit classes? As Mia suggests, I reckon I could ask the college to provide more details of the syllabii etc., but I thought I could get the information on this forum from people who have actually taught the texts. Maybe not many on this forum do. Perhaps, this is not right forum to raise this topic???
And as for your very valid questions StJones - I am really sorry that I cannot give more details at this (very nascent) stage because I don't want to jeopardise this deal. (I can pm you, as and when I have a concrete offer, for further advice, if you permit me). But, yes, I suppose I will be teaching only male classes given the cultural situation in KSA.
Thanx, again.
C-K

[Asda]

I have only been here in KSA for a year, but what these guys have said pretty much sums it all up. I hear in schools these kids are monkeys! However, in college/university, they calm down considerably. They will respect you as a teacher but their poor attitudes with be shown through lack of attendance/punctuality, not bringing/buying the books, chatting with their friends during lesson time...

Many of them are civilised louts! They are very loud in corridors and once they are in their cars, their boisterousness REALLY can come out! You'd be shocked at how many students roll in late having spent the previous night in jail for speeding/jumping signals!! Also, our canteen is just like a pub without booze! Meaning it has the noise, the smoke, the playing cards/dominoes etc - it really is a sight to see!!

There is a world of difference between classical/written and modern/spoken Arabic. Many members of the general public would make numerous grammatical errors, they have probably forgotten about it after their final high school exams!!

Now, as for enlightening their knowledge or appreciation of English lang/lit, expect it to NOT happen. Yes, poetry (of Arabic, mind you) is considered to be the height of eloquence. After all, Arabic is a language where you have to put the vowels in yourself as you read it. So there are many possibilities as to exactly what a word could be...it really is a fine art!

As for girls (we have a female section in our college and one of my colleagues has a partner who works there), they generally have better commitment but can be just as loud as the boys. Lest we not forget, these kids come from large families who have needed to find ways to make themselves heard!

I just think that the culture in schools is geared around memorising (boy can these kids memorise...and cheat!!!). From what I have seen, most of them don't know how to study! They write in their textbooks...IN PEN!! As a result, there is a high likelihood that most students will only care about passing the tests/quizzes/exams and what have you...

All things said and done, you will find some VERY keen students and those are the ones worth getting out of bed for. As for the poor students, so long as you are firm but fair and they see that, they generally don't bear a grudge...so long as you don't shout at them (even if they do deserve it!). I think it's worth coming to teach out here although your passion may only be passed onto a few students.

Just MHO...

[trapezius]

[veiledsentiments]

Yes... not huge numbers, of course. But, many of the young women at HCT wrote poetry in English for the college magazines. So, I presume that they also read a bit of it on their own time since there were no literature classes offered there.

VS

[Cleopatra]

I agree with Mia. My impression is that, in the Arab world, poetry is not considered an elite art form the way it often is in English speaking countries. The trendy young women I teach - most of whom would never dream of visiting the Louvre or Tate on their frequent visits to Paris or London - often express their love of poetry, and can name several contemporary Arabic poets, some of whom seem to have almost 'pop star' status.