Business English in Saudi Universities: A Study on Linguistic Skills of the College Undergraduates in Line with the Demand of Future Labour Market of NEOM-Vision 2030

Abstract

The Saudi Vision 2030 incorporated the $500 billion Project NEOM, that is being built in the Tabuk area. According to estimation 380,000 new employment will likely be created as a result of this initiative. As English language proficiency is considered one of the most crucial abilities needed by this enormous workforce, the researcher undertook this study to investigate the current status of business English (English for Specific Purposes) in the business colleges under Saudi universities and evaluated the curriculum with a view to measure its acceptability according to the demand and need of the job market of NEOM in future. It also investigated whether the undergraduates were equipped with all the four skills of language – reading, writing, listening and speaking. The study employed quantitative methodologies, and a questionnaire was created to gather data from the business students regarding the course goals and content, course materials, teaching strategies, evaluations, etc. Data were collected from 191 business undergraduates of Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University and SPSS software was used to analyse the data. The results demonstrated that most of the undergraduates were satisfied with the curriculum of business English (ESP) and they were equipped with the required linguistic skills after completing their graduation.