The Impact of Teaching Soft Skills Awareness and Practice for Saudi EFL Students: Bridging the Classroom and Workplace
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1610.30Keywords:
soft skills, EFL students, workplace, employers, teaching practiceAbstract
Soft skills are distinctive traits that reflect individual differences among people when they are equal in qualifications but vary in personal abilities. Accordingly, organizations and employers set their terms of employment to include different soft skill parameters. The current study aims to investigate the impact of teaching soft skills to Saudi EFL students. The focus is on two variables: students’ awareness of soft skills and instructional practices of soft skills implemented in the classroom. The study was conducted in the English Language Department at Jouf University in Saudi Arabia. To collect the data, 106 male and female students participated by completing a questionnaire to assess awareness and practice of soft skills and their correlation with the workplace. The results revealed a significant level of student awareness of soft skills, although the female students were more conscious of the concept than the male students. The findings also revealed that the most common instructional practices of soft skills implemented in the classes related to communication, leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, and flexibility. In contrast, issues of time management, creativity, problem-solving, and values orientation generated less interaction and engagement through instructional practices, despite these skills being significant for students’ readiness for professional life.
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