Arab World English Journal
AWEJ Volume.3 Number.3, 2012 pp. 270 – 276
Exploring the Viability of Aptitude Tests in the EFL Placement Test: In Omani Context
Fauzia Hasan Siddiqui
College of Banking and Financial Studies
Oman
Abstract:
Despite having the best language teachers, curriculum and infrastructure, the progress of the adult ESL/EFL learners in the Arab World, especially in Oman is often daunting. The fixed assumption of language teachers towards the learners about the way the learners should respond to the curriculum or the teaching approach that should be adapted might be astonishingly adverse. In spite of the fact that educational psychology has for ages recognized, and emphasized the concept of individual differences, language teaching methods and the approaches have minimum consideration for the individual differences in language acquisition. Taking the review of the literature as the starting point and relying on the intensive researches and studies done on the significance of aptitude in a foreign language acquisition, the paper will briefly discuss: (1) Aptitude as the major factor in language learning (2) Background and various components of Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) (3) Viability of MLAT in the Entrance Test of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) training courses or in Oman’s Pre-University English General Foundation program (GFP).
Keywords: Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), language learning disability (LLD), General Foundation Program (GFP)