The CEFR in a Saudi Classroom: Implications for Academic Labor in Language Teaching

Abstract

This research explores the interplay of the CEFR and academic labor in English as a foreign language classroom, an area that has been widely neglected in the contemporary English language teaching. The main aim of the research was to investigate the forms of academic work that Saudi labor experience in their language classroom and whether they negotiate and justify their experiences with academic work in ELT. The data of the research were gathered via the following instruments: (i) individual interviews, (ii) classroom observations, and (iii) group interviews. The participants of this research were two Saudi English language lecturers working in one of the public universities in Saudi Arabia. The findings revealed that the CEFR and its associated products, goods and services (e.g., PowerPoint Presentations, textbooks, DVDs, and teacher’s guidebook) have enormously shaped the intellectual and emotional labor of the participants. It was also found that both teachers experienced intellectual and emotional struggles in classrooms due to the power differential between their institution that supports the CEFR and their own beliefs in language education. This research closes with a call for serious scholarly engagement with the interplay of the CEFR and academic labor in our contemporary EFL classrooms.