Male Students’ Perceptions of Being Taught by Female Teachers under the Backdrop of Saudi Cultures and Traditions in ESL Classrooms

The study aims to investigate the perceptions of male students of being taught by female English Second Language (ESL) teachers and examine the efficiency of instructors in teaching English to male students under the restrictions of Saudi customs. Teaching male students of the opposite gender to whom they have not been exposed to prepared before in Saudi Arabia might have an impact on their feelings which may deter them from learning ESL successfully. Therefore, the study aims to answer the main research question; what are the male students’ perceptions of being taught by female ESL teachers in Saudi Arabia? The researcher employed a mixed-method design: A quantitative method, which consists of an ESL test and a 20-item questionnaire, which were distributed among ninety male students in Saudi Arabia to determine their language competence and feelings towards the opposite gender, and a qualitative method, which consists of semi-structured interviews with six ESL teachers and six learners. The study highlights the fact; although teaching male students to females in Saudi Arabia has slightly an impact on their feelings, such as feeling shy and not accepting of them, it does not negatively affect the learning of a second language. However, the efficiency of teaching ESL is the most considerable from the student’s perspective. The outcome of the study can essentially contribute to the development of learning ESL in the Saudi context; it demonstrates some barriers that female ESL teachers face in male classes and highlights some strategies to help female teachers easily interact with male students.