AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014 Pp.343-353
Teaching English to Cadets in Police Colleges and Academies in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf: Theory and Practice
Mohammed Nasser Alhuqbani
Department of Languages and Translation
KingFahdSecurityCollege
Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Within the theory and practice of English for Specific Purposes, this study attempted to compare and contrast the teaching of English to police cadets in police colleges and academies in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. The participant police colleges wereKingFahdSecurityCollegeinSaudi Arabia,Kuwait Police College,QatarPolice College, and DubaiPoliceCollege. Data was collected through analyzing the policy of these colleges in teaching English to their police cadets as displayed on their websites and in their official documents. The analysis of the results indicated that these police institutions vary in the way they introduce English to their would-be-police officers. Overall, English courses and teachings are not in line with the theory and practice of English for Specific Purposes. These colleges did not base their English teaching on their police cadets’ needs and the situations in which they will possibly use English. The results also showed that teaching English is traditional in that English is still taught as a subject in the curriculum, which makes instructions and practice limited in terms of the hours taught. The study concludes with recommendations that can be used by these colleges to improve the teaching of English to their police cadets.
Key Words: English for Specific Purposes, Needs Analysis, Police Cadets,Police Colleges