Linguistic Landscapes in Omani EFL Contexts: Linguistic Patterns, Vocabulary Recall, Spelling Accuracy, and Learner Perceptions

This exploratory study described the linguistic patterns characterizing public signs in selected Omani communities and examined EFL students’ vocabulary recall, spelling accuracy, and perceptions of public signage as a potential language-learning resource. Using a multi-source exploratory descriptive design, the study analyzed 105 photographs of public signs, written responses from 43 students, and interviews with seven of these students. The linguistic landscape was predominantly bilingual, with Arabic consistently occupying the more prominent position, reflecting Oman’s language-policy context. Other patterns included domain-specific terminology, combinations of local and global linguistic resources, and non-standard English forms, including spelling and grammatical deviations. The written activity yielded 190 recalled lexical items, of which 40 were excluded because they did not meet the established criteria, leaving 150 items for analysis. Among the recalled items analyzed, 129 (86%) were correctly defined or described, while 142 (94.67%) were spelled accurately. These results represent accuracy within the recalled-item dataset and do not establish that the words were acquired through exposure to public signs. Interview findings indicated that participants generally perceived public signs as helpful for noticing English words and becoming more familiar with their meanings and spellings. Overall, the findings provide preliminary descriptive evidence that public signage may serve as a potentially useful supplementary source of authentic English input in Omani EFL contexts.