The perception-practice paradox: A post-method analysis of communicative language teaching in Saudi Arabian secondary education

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore the persistence of the disjunction between institutional pedagogical expectations and the realities of practice in English language education in Saudi Arabia, using a post-method pedagogy lens. Despite forty years of government-supported Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in Saudi Arabia, learners' English proficiency remains significantly deficient in the context of the global economy. The continued existence of substantial disjunctions suggests fundamental incompatibilities between imported methodologies and local educational ecologies. Using a cross-sectional survey, this research examined the interrelationships between teachers' perceptions, their teaching practices, and the obstacles they encountered as part of their institutionally mandated pedagogic practices. Thirty secondary school English teachers (50% Saudis, 50% expatriates) participated in the study. The data revealed an interesting paradox. Teachers exhibited substantially high levels of CLT perceptions (M=3.95, SD=0.70), indicating a strong correlation with their self-reported practices (r=.810, p<.001), but encountered substantial structural barriers: High levels of pedagogic labor (M=4.03), assessment practices that emphasized grammatical over communicative competence (M=3.87), and student resistance to learner-centered approaches (M=3.77). Based on Kumaravadivelu's post-method framework, the study concluded that teacher professional capacity in English language teaching cannot entail adherence to a single methodology. Instead, principled eclecticism that accommodates the 'messy' nature of pedagogic practice is an acceptable pedagogic adaptation. The implications extend beyond the borders of Saudi Arabia, challenging the assumed universality of Western-originated pedagogical approaches and enabling pedagogies that allow for new, local knowledge production while promoting learners' communicative competence on the global landscape.