The mixed curriculum approach (MCA): A reflection from the learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at Majmaah University

Abstract

How best to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has been a complicated issue that has bedeviled curricula designing. Starting from the argument that today’s EFL curricula do need a complete overhaul to reflect the recurrent debate about culture clash and culture cooperation. This study offers an alternative to those who advocate either “blending” or “incorporating” culture studies into EFL curricula; it seeks to fill the gap between these two approaches, as it argues for the viability and relevance of a Mixed Curriculum Approach (MCA). It applies this new MCA method to the case study of a Majmaah English department by administering an open-ended questionnaire, and the findings show that the overall majority of the students surveyed are interested in learning about the corresponding culture of the very foreign language they are learning. The findings also demonstrate the EFL learners’ wish to see their curriculum revised into an MCA one, corroborating the major argument that EFL curricula ought not to be fixated to outdated theories, and therefore need to adapt to today’s EFL teaching requirements, which is itself a recommendation for future curricula designers.