Fostering the Learning of the English Language in KSA ESL High Schools through Digital Technologies: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The present study investigates the efficiency of digital technologies for language learning among high school students, approaches that have been empirically proven to be effective, barriers to its use (learner factors, teacher factors, government/ministry factors), and implications for English curriculum development in the KSA. The methodology is a systematic literature review of at least 24 studies conducted between 2018 and 2021 to ensure that they are current and that the study does not replicate what others have done. The review reveals that digital technologies for English language learning have been extensively used in countries where English is not the native language, but barriers categorised as cultural, institutional, learner, and teacher factors impede their use. The study’s limitations are the lack of current literature on digital technology for language learning in the KSA context. However, the empirical evidence in the studies and the author’s background as an educator in the KSA help to delimit this aspect considerably as both types of knowledge foster an understanding of the results’ application in the local context. Further, the findings are critical for future research in the region since they lay a framework for more rigorous methodologies to investigate the key gaps for the incorporation of digital technologies in the English curriculum.