A need or a luxury? Parents’ attitudes towards international schools from a linguistic perspective

English is the language of instruction at international schools in Saudi Arabia, which have traditionally been attended by the children of expatriate professionals living in the country. In recent years, Saudi parents have begun to enrol their children in international schools, which is a novel phenomenon in the Saudi context. This study assessed parents' attitudes towards international schools from a linguistic perspective as well as their attitudes towards the potential impact on their children's first language - Arabic. Using a mixed-methods research design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 76 parents using a 30-item questionnaire with a combination of open-ended and close-ended question. The findings indicate that Saudi parents choose international schools for a variety of reasons, including strong reputations in science education (72.4% of the sample), high quality curricula (80%), and the intensive English input required in various university specialisations and the labour market since Saudi Arabia (85%). Other reasons and concerns were also reported by some parents in the qualitative data. Saudi families returning from time spent in English-speaking countries choose international programmes for their monolingual children, either as a bridge before enrolment in public schools or as a long-term option. Despite the increasing popularity of international schools, Saudi parents nevertheless report concerns about the influence of international schools on children's first language acquisition.