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This book investigates the learning and teaching of English as a foreign language with particular reference to developing reading skills in one government secondary school in Unaizah city, Al-Qassim Area, in order to understand the factors influencing school practice and contribute in informing policy with a view to improvement. This study reveals a range of interacting factors which are perceived to influence teaching practices in the case study school. These include centralized curriculum planning and a lack of school based curriculum development , administrative issues, teacher education, and the general absence of a culture of professional development, as well as social and cultural perceptions of English as a subject, and of students and teachers roles. Overall, the findings suggest that efforts to develop teaching and learning in EFL will need multifaceted and integrated solutions, encompassing teacher education, curriculum development and the supervisory system.

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Dr. Yousef H. Al-Maini has taught English at intermediate and secondary stages in Saudi Arabia. He currently lectures in the College of Languages & Translation, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University in Riyadh.

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