Asset-Based Language Teaching for Saudi EFL Learners: An Exploratory Study of Perceptions and Challenges

By and large, this paper focuses on tapping into the asset-based approach to language teaching for Saudi EFL learners. It deals with exploring the literature that supports the need for an asset-based strategy. The components of the asset-based approach are discussed, and literature on how the school environment can best be set up to utilize the asset-based approach is explored. On the other hand, possible threats to the asset-based approach are also discussed with the aim of establishing how they can be better addressed in the context of applying this approach to improving academic performance. As for the data collection methods, two surveys are carried out in this paper, one tailored to the teachers and the other for the students. The data is used to analyze the perceptions and challenges of asset-based teaching. The paper concludes by combining the discussion with the aim of demonstrating why the asset-based approach is relevant in this particular context.