The weekly column

Article 81, November 2001

Issues in the Development of EFL Cost Recovery Courses in the Arab World

By Christine Canning, Abu Dhabi Men's College, Higher Colleges of Technology
Leah Bornstein, CERT, Higher Colleges of Technology

1.0 Introduction
Most of the adult learning and assessment literature has been written about western cultures. In the Arab world, political, demographic, economic, social, religious and cultural issues influence the concepts and instruction associated with adult learning and continuing education. Although western models may be adaptable to meet the needs of certain programs, there are many adult-learning concepts from the west, which are not applicable. Learners must be assessed not only on their subject and discipline, but on their ability to think creatively and critically; make decisions and solve problems; communicate orally and in writing; promote global awareness; as well as, develop leadership responsibilities; and increase their social responsibility.

2.0 Literature Review
The new challenge facing corporations is the productivity of knowledge workers. To improve the productivity of employees requires drastic changes in the design, development and implementation of training programs. Any organization that does not build learning into its structure is going to be in serious trouble. Knowledge and its applications is the determining factor in an organization's competitive position. Knowledge is an economic resource, explains corporate growth, and explains productivity improvement and innovation.

Learning in the 21st century is characterized by accessibility, flexibility, and speed. As information grows at an astronomical rate annually, we can no longer rely on our foundational education experiences. Lives run at cyber-speed and skills need to be acquired quickly. Adult learners are usually employed, have family obligations, and involved in a number of activities. Since most adult learners invest their own time, energy, and money in their continued education and training - often at a considerable personal sacrifice - they expect relevant content, exemplary instruction, and an environment conducive to learning. Due to the additional nature of the student population, which is represented primarily of UAE nationals as well as learners from the Middle East, Asia, North America, Europe, Africa and Australia, innovative and inclusive assessment strategies must be utilized.

Merriam & Brocket (1997) define the context of adult education in most third world countries as a "non-formal adult learning opportunity" because there is less structure, more flexibility, and more responsiveness to localized needs. At the surface, their explanation might define adult education in the Arabian Gulf; however, at a deeper level, it does not define learning in adult contexts for the United Arab Emirates.

Merriam & Brocket argue that community based learning or indigenous learning usually characterizes programs not found in the first world. Their definition again is not applicable to the United Arab Emirates because of the high commitment to education from the UAE government. Oil revenues and other economic sources help to purchase state of the art equipment for schools, top commercial materials, and highly qualified faculty. Additionally, the UAE government works to ensure learning opportunities are available to adult students both domestically and abroad through scholarship, grant and tuition free programs for nationals wishing to further their studies.

3.0 Designing Contract Training Courses for Adult Arab Learners
Unlike Western societies, Adult Arab students are not always encouraged to collaborate on course content and design. Culturally, the teacher is seen as the "all-knowing provider of information". Asking the client/student what and how he or she wants to learn can be viewed as weak, incompetent and unprepared. It is not readily accepted that it is the responsibility of the student to decide his or her learning. This is not to say that clients do not offer input into programs. Most contract training requires employers to identify the skills that they would like their employees to acquire. The course is then tailored to their needs. However, assessment strategies and instructional decisions are teacher-directed.

3.1 Quality Assurance of Programs
Quality assurance reporting is actively used for evaluating learner progress in an adult education context. A learner's ability to detect, demonstrate, describe and express the language through the construction of various applications of evaluation practices allows the adult learner to draw on work experience and life knowledge. Therefore, assessment in the Arab world is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving learning.

Angelo (1995) states, "When assessment is viewed as a continuing process for understanding and improving learning, when competencies required for advancement and exit are agreed upon and made visible to all, and when the learner is a respected partner in the definition and application of outcomes and assessments, the foundation for a learning organization begins to take shape".

In the Arab world the approach design is aimed to help teachers find out what students are learning/have learned. It involves making adult learning and contact course expectations explicit and public. Furthermore, it includes setting appropriate criteria and high level standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain and improve performance.

3.2 Research in the area of Adult Learning Contexts in the Arab World
Research reflecting educational assessment within other cultures, especially the Gulf region, has been scant. Arabic speakers in adult learning contexts are only recently being studied. Separating culture from language is often practiced in courses that use English as a medium of instruction. This practice sometimes spills over from the classroom into the assessment arena in the Middle East.

As Guefrachi & Troudi (2000) point out "There is an increasing awareness in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of the important role of English in the educational as well as economic sectors. This awareness has led to several attempts to look critically at English instruction at the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels in order to improve the overall proficiency level of all English learners in the country." Because much of adult education is new to the Arab world, the process to further develop new programs to enhance adult learning by assessing the needs of the community, employers, ministries, and students is still being studied.

4.0 A Case Study at the Center For Excellence in Applied Research and Training at the Higher Colleges of Technology - Abu Dhabi

Much of adult education is new to the Arab world and specifically to the UAE. Introducing this educational focus into a multicultural environment presents many challenges. The concept of lifelong learning is expanding at a rapid rate in order to ensure the success and future of the young country. One of the major changes has been the dedication to the expansion of education to all nationals on a multitude of levels. Today, over 10 modern universities with state-of-the-art equipment and highly qualified faculty from around the world serve and educate the national population. Thus, developmental issues in learning and assessment continually grow as education is seen as the key to the future.

Due to the many cultures, experiences, and needs required in the UAE, adult education must develop a vast array of learning opportunities based on client needs that are accessible, flexible, and quick. CERT's mission reflects these cultural needs via market-driven technology transfer and constant detection of emerging and future markets. Developing client-centered outcomes tied to assessment strategies is one of the most effective ways in which to ensure quality within this varying market-driven environment.

4.1 Background
The United Arab Emirates has been in existence as a recognized nation for the past 30 years. Before the discovery of oil and petroleum, the region was referred to as the Trucial States, an arid desert area occupied by Bedouin tribes. Because western educational practices and concepts are relatively new to the UAE, adaptations must be adhered to in order to maintain a cultural sensitivity both in learning and assessment practices.

4.2 Religious Influences on Adult Learning
Although many western countries separate church from state, this is not the case in the Arab world with the exception of the secularist government of Turkey. Islam is the recognized religion strictly practiced in the Arabian Gulf. It is important to note that Islamic beliefs and practices govern all aspects of life for the Emirati people, as well as other Gulf Arabs. Islamic traditions and laws have shaped the development and practices used in government, education and business systems.

The strength of Islam, the practices followed from the scripture of The Hadith, and The Holy Koran serve to guide the people, their lives and their decision-making processes. Still, everything is accepted as the will of God; thus, westerners and Arabs must come to a mutual understanding about what is accepted and what will not be tolerated. Because of the strong influences of Islam on the people, religious beliefs must be taken into consideration when determining course content and the assessment of adult learners.

4.3 Economic Factors
Since the exploration of petroleum and oil, the country has created an infrastructure, which can compete openly with western markets. The revenues from oil sales have aided greatly in the enormous changes faced by the last two generations of Emirati people. What was once a landscape of sea of sand now comprises itself of modern cities with top economic revenues. The UAE has received world recognition for its commitment to fostering business opportunities and a life style simply not matched by other industrialized countries for both its national and expatriate populations. Issues with the intensive growth of business and e-commerce in the region also play a key role in the development of educational programs.

4.4 The Forerunner of Programs in the Arabian Gulf
The Higher Colleges of Technology is a multi-campus college system serving the greater UAE region. The Center for Excellence in Applied Research and Training (CERT) is the entrepreneurial adult education arm of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT). Unlike many adult education programs which teach and assess English using the target culture, CERT's unique environment is many times directly affected by cultural influences, which encourage a certain percentage of its courses to be tested, evaluated and assessed using topics and questions appropriate for the Islamic learner in the Arab world.

CERT offers contract training courses, open-enrollment courses, and supports brokered on-line courses to learners. Since its inception, CERT has undergone a number of transitions to meet the changing needs of adult learners in the Arab world. For example, contract training began in 1994, the first on-line course was offered in spring 2000, and open enrollment evening courses were introduced in October 2000. At CERT, client-tailored content, instruction, and assessment strategies are evaluated and updated on a regular basis. For cultural and political reasons, previously introduced Western approaches have been replaced with more traditional Eastern approaches to help meet the needs of the adult learners.

Even with these on-going program changes, CERT continues to offer innovative professional education, technical and organizational solutions to business and industries via on-line and classroom based formats. Regardless of the delivery method, adult learners at CERT are evaluated using a series of assessment tools and procedures.

5.0 Adult Learning in the United Arab Emirates
Adult learning in the United Arab Emirates takes on more than just an academic environment. Social development and relationships, due to cultural traditions, are stronger than these found in Western societies. The Emirati national has mastered the concept of teamwork. Social relationships and connections with the group are greater than that of the part. Individualism, which dominates in the West, is simply replaced by community-oriented concepts by the Arab learner in the East. In Western adult learning contexts, a student not pulling his or her weight in a group assignment would be singled out. In the context of adult learning in the Arab world, learners involved with the project would pull the weight for the weaker participant without complaint. As Eident (2001) points out, "Arabs are indirect in their conversations and social interactions. Referred to as high context/low context, Arabs are a high context culture. Rather than embarrass someone in public with a negative answer they would rather you inferred their negative response from contextual clues". This belief has a strong influence on the range of assessment used and requires the teacher to utilize more traditional teaching practices.

5.1 External Expectations
External expectations are far greater in the United Arab Emirates than in many parts of the western world. It is the norm to comply with directives or authority in adult learning contexts. As Eident (2001) notes, "Since God chooses leaders, they should possess leadership in all aspects of life. A leader should have more style, grace, intelligence, and talent than any of his subordinates. A leader should receive greater compensation and be treated with deference...It is expected God will take care of his leaders as well as his faithful followers".

However, the western concepts of social welfare in adult learning and serving others in the community is almost nonexistent within the UAE educational environment. The need for further education for personal advancement is an important concept in the west; however, it is not as big a priority in the United Arab Emirates. Job security, regular raises and promotions, benefits are very secure for nationals. Most students, if not studying because of external expectations, do it simply out of intellectual interest. In other words, they engage in learning for the sake of learning.

5.2 Adults in the Workforce
The western practice of escapism or stimulation to get out of work is not applicable to most adult learners in the Emirates. Work environments are seen as very pleasant and it would be more than fair to say that the majority of nationals enjoy their jobs. Cook's (1997) study with adult learners at the Higher Colleges of Technology revealed that student's preferred and sought government jobs. As Eident (2001) discusses "Arab employees have been known to resign rather than get promoted and move into another organization". Loyalty and dedication to the Ministry or employer plays a large role in the life of an Emirati. Thus assessing personal needs beyond the current job is limited. The UAE adult learner does not always see the need for learning about other areas of employment or other skills. Therefore, in terms of cultural assessment, programs must be flexible to meet the expectations of the adult learner in this context.

5.3 Personal Experiences
Because of the number of cultures teaching in the United Arab Emirates and the strong influences of the Arab culture, heritage, tradition and Islamic values, action and reflection of integrating other beliefs, behaviors and values are not as accepted as in Western societies.

Personal experiences may not necessarily bare relevance to the adult learning context. This is evident in the materials development and assessment tools often constructed for use with Emirati nationals. Because of the greater development of hierarchal structures and the interdependent behavior of the group's needs overriding individual needs, decisions are often made through consultation. Emirati learners take on a more holistic and global approach to education as well as almost all aspects of their lives.

A western individual would interpret this as slow. As there is little tolerance for ambiguity, more respect for authority, more risk taking as one's fate lies in the hands of God. A cultural profile by default is clearly developed, that helps programs like those developed at CERT to adapt how we assess and create learning opportunities for adults.

5.4 Conceptualization of Time
The concept of time is an important factor when culturally assessing adult learning programs in the Arab world. Orienting oneself to time takes on a new meaning for the westerner teaching in the region. Germans are often teased for being strict with the concepts of punctuality especially with train travel. In comparison to the Germans, the Arabs often appear lax on issues regarding time. The issue of time is a controversial topic in Arab adult education because of its ambiguous nature and perception in this part of the world. The Ministry of Education states that attendance in class is mandatory. Almost all public and private institutions mandate a strict policy of attendance. However, in an attempt to find a midpoint on the issue of time, a late penalty for up to 10 minutes is incorporated into most adult education programs. Late policies and attendance can often be more difficult to enforce as adult students returning to school are often juggling serious commitments from families, private businesses, and at times their workplace. Because family obligations to relatives and businesses take precedence over all other obligations, it often is one of the biggest contentions faced in adult educational contexts. Therefore, adult learners see the concept of time, timelines, and time frames as being subjective references in comparison to the programs, which view them as objective policies to be adhered to. The concept of time affects the adult learner, who at times finds it difficult to understand the differences between missing 5 minutes versus 25 minutes of class instruction. Perhaps, it is because the UAE is considered a "present time" society, as the past is unchangeable and the future is the will of God.

Deadlines, appointments and punctuality take on new meanings. Times and dates do not have to be exact, but rather approximations. As Eident (2001) argues that Arabs appear to have ethereal concept of time as opposed to a sequential outlook of time. He further posits that the Arabic calendar is a good example of the Arab indifference to time, but is used more for tracking religious Islamic holidays. He states, "Their calendar is lunar with about 20.5 days per month and each month begins with a new moon. The European calendar had been adjusted many times to remain constant to seasonal changes and is based on the earth's rotation around the sun, which is approximately 365.2 days. The Arabic calendar moves approximately 11 days earlier each season and key holidays are held in various seasons." Thus, the cultural assessment of time with adult learners often leaves programs with schedules and deadlines that take on new and interesting dimensions

5.5 Education & Islamic Values
In the past, select students were taught by religious figures known as Mutawa. Mutawa sought to teach young Arabs mathematics and the scriptures from the Holy Koran. Because of the nature of study, memorization and rote learning took precedence over critical thinking and questioning methods implemented in the West. The teacher was the "all-knowing" and respected giver of knowledge. Thus, questioning authority or materials learned in either subject was, and in some ways still is, not practiced.

This traditional approach to education is still commonly practiced today. Student autonomy and utilizing the Socratic method of teaching is slowly being introduced, but is quasi-accepted within Arab education today. UAE school programs are delivered in a teacher-driven learning environment with a strong testing-driven and curriculum-driven approach towards learning. Assessments for adult learners are designed to follow the same patterns of practice, but in cultural context suitable for the local population.

In the United Arab Emirates prior schooling, age and economic status do not influence a national student's chances for furthering his or her education as an adult learner. Many students enrolled in adult learning courses, may not have a high school degree.

UAE Ministries are very generous to their employees enrolled in adult education classes. Quite often they offer them work release for study programs at full pay. When courses are finished or degrees are granted, adult learners are often offered financial incentives and internal promotions in the workplace. Moreover, school fees and costs are normally picked up by the employer as not to burden their adult learner with added financial responsibilities.

Although programs on a whole are marketed to a mass audience, individual student attention is a priority in the United Arab Emirates. Students are enrolled in small classes in order to offer individual attention to the adult learner. Class sizes are small with a minimum of five to a maximum of 20 students enrolled in a course. Thus assessing programs, cultural contexts, and materials is a much easier task than in the West, especially when the administration has a more homogeneous pattern of beliefs and thoughts towards achieving educational goals.

When assessing adult learners in this context, it is important to remember that education is promoted in Islam to help better the society. Many adult learners in CERT programs have taught themselves computers or multiple languages. At CERT's sister institution, United Arab Emirates University, it is not uncommon for a female student to complete a Bachelor degree not only for future employment but also for community development. Many female students openly express that they want to further their studies in order to help teach the next generation how to be better and more educated citizens.

5.6 Assessment
The mission statement of the Higher Colleges of Technology is dedicated to the delivery of technical and professional programs of the highest quality to the citizens of the United Arab Emirates. Learners are seen as more than students, but as clients. CERT expands the mission statement to include innovative learning and, technical and organizational solutions. CERT strives to ensure that adult learners, in this context, receive the highest quality of service and standards. CERT values include equity among students, maintaining integrity, delivering quality courses and assessments, maintaining individual and organizational professionalism, respecting all cultures, adapting internal and external responsiveness, working supportively as a team with adult learners, offering a sense of purpose, motivating learners to go beyond the classroom, opening better lines of communication between the adult learners and the faculty/administration, committing to success, upholding an adult learner's right to confidentiality and most importantly, respecting adult learners as adult learners by being sensitive to their needs.

As CERT programs are under the auspices of the HCT, they follow most of the same procedures; however, there are some differences. It is important to note that although both teach adults, students in the HCT program range in age from 18-24 years on average; whereas, CERT learners can be of any age to study and engage in programs. HCT adult learners do not pay tuition, in comparison to the fee-generated programs developed at CERT.

CERT follows HCT academic policies and procedures. However because of the nature of the client-centered programs, there is some flexibility. CERT is often able to adapt more to the individual and educational needs of the students enrolled in its courses due to its commitment to learning and assessing programs for adult learners.

While most organizations tend to measure satisfaction (facilitator performance, facilities, materials, schedules, attitudes) as their method of assessment, satisfaction does not have much to do with learning. If no learning occurs, then there is no change of behavior. If there is no change of behavior, then there are no long-term results.

Program assessment is linked to the learning as well as to relevant and authentic workplace requirements. This ensures that the assessment criteria are responsive to the challenges that develop as curriculum changes and technology grows. Assessment is couched in a continual quality improvement framework, emphasizing the cutting edge of technology and education. Programs are dedicated to equitable and consistent policies and procedures for assessment, which strictly adhere to and include a panel for student appeals. As well as client-centered assessment strategies that are flexible, CERT programs utilize standardized practices to help establish academic honesty and higher levels of assessment security.

CERT like the HCT degree granting programs offer key common assessments. HCT degree granting programs institute standardize tests such as IELTS, PET, and GAT. Because most of the adult learning context at CERT centers around people in the workplace the key common assessment of choice is the TOEIC exam. The TOEIC examination was chosen because it is not culturally bias. It is used by over 1.5 million adult learners in the workplace and by over 900 companies worldwide. It tests the reciprocal skills of reading and listening in a non-academic format that centers on general and business English for adult learners returning back to school.

Both the HCT and the CERT programs incorporate comprehensive assessments and instructor assessments throughout the period of study in the courses. Because the TOEIC is used as a pre-test and post-test for assessment purposes, CERT programs do not offer challenge assessments to waiver course credit like HCT degree granting programs.

6.0 Suggestions for Creating EFL Adult Learning Programs
The needs of the contemporary workforce require learning organizations to place learning first and provide educational experiences for learners anywhere, anytime, and anyplace. In order to provide this kind of flexibility at the highest standard of quality, curricular design and assessment must be synchronistic. In order to meet the ever-changing needs of the knowledge economy, we must ensure sound instructional design, clear outcome development, and rigorous instructional standards. Clients must be involved in course development. Outcomes must be mutually agreed upon and assessment strategies linked to the outcomes defined.

Because instructional goals affect assessment, feedback from the different areas of adult education have helped the program over the past six years identify choice learning materials, formulate outcomes, create business strategies, develop new course curricula and to identify appropriate institutional methodologies. Assessment is not limited to traditional paper/pencil exams in traditional classrooms, adult learners must be assessed not only on their subject and discipline, but on their ability to think creatively and critically, make decisions and solve problems, communicate orally and in writing, promote global awareness, as well as develop leadership responsibilities, and increase their social responsibility.

References

• Bornstein, L. L. (Speaker). (1999). Outcome development and assessment strategies. Denver, CO: University of Denver.
• Canning-Wilson, C (2001) "Elearning, E Teaching, E Assessment: Aspects of Course Design for On-Line Web Based Courses Used with EFL/ESL Learners. ERIC. Microfische: ED449788
• Cross, P. & Angelo, T. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Davis, J. & Davis, A. (1998). Effective training strategies: Maximize learning in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Eident, P (2000) Cross Cultural Effect on Multi National Companies in the Gulf. Lincoln School of Management, UK (Unpublished Dissertation)
• Formica, P. (1999). Knowledge, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. In P. Formica, T. Guefrachi, H & Troudi, S (2000) "Enhancing English Language Teaching in the UAE". In K.E. Johnson (ed.) Teacher Education: (Pp 189-204), TESOL Publication, Inc.: Virginia
• Kamali, T & J. Metzner (Eds.), Spin-offs from innovative learning environments: Doing business in the knowledge economy (pp. 9 - -50). Abu Dhabi: CERT Publishing Center.
• Senge, P. (1994). The 5th discipline. New York: Currency-Doubleday.

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