The emergent situation brought about by COVID 19 has led to an unprecedented change in the educational sector worldwide, including the Sultanate of Oman. Most of the educational institutions here have responded swiftly to fulfill the requirements of academia by switching to an online emergency remote teaching mode overnight. To get adjusted to the ‘new normal,’ teachers across all academic disciplines, including the English language, have had to adapt to new teaching approaches and learn new skills and competencies to confront this challenge. This empirical cross-sectional research study explores the teacher technology self-efficacy, the challenges faced, and the innovative practices adopted by the EFL teachers during the crisis. A mixed-methods approach was used here, including an online survey and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with six teachers. The survey was administered to 100 EFL teachers from fourteen higher-education institutions, whereas the interviews were held with six survey participants. The study found that majority of the teachers had a strong sense of self-efficacy in using technology as well as considerably positive learning experiences and novel innovations, which all resulted in the various ways they faced pandemic-related challenges. The paper gives, in particular, an account of the innovative techniques adopted by the interviewed teachers during the Pandemic crisis. This investigation hopefully adds to the field of knowledge by sharing effective, innovative techniques that have relevance to EFL teaching in Oman and beyond.

Technology-enriched classrooms have been claimed to produce enhanced learning opportunities for foreign language students. These technologies can be integrated into language teaching and learning inside the classroom or used for independent learning by students outside it. This study involves the use of digital-videos in Middle Eastern English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. It attempts to explore if using technology creatively in language teaching has the potential to enhance communication skills and other sub-skills in EFL classes. Omani EFL students, working in small groups, created commercials for products they chose to design and promote using digital videos. These were then presented to the class while each group was responsible for collaboratively writing a report the presentation of a commercial product and wrote about their experiences. Using data collected mainly from student questionnaires, this article reports on this experience from the points of view of students.

Although placing students in the appropriate proficiency levels of post-secondary English programs is crucial for optimal learning, the evaluation of placement tests (PTs) in terms of establishing their reliability and validity is relatively under-researched. This study assesses the validity, reliability, and effectiveness of an in-house online PT. The content validity was established through the internal and external moderation of the question papers and answer keys while criterion-related concurrent validity was established via IELTS benchmarking. New Student Survey was used to investigate the face validity. The internal consistency and reliability of the reading test items were measured using Cronbach’s alpha while descriptive statistics were calculated for the listening test. Paired sample t-test (dependent t-test) was used to assess the inter-rater reliability of the speaking and writing tests which were double-marked. The data analysis revealed that the PT was effective in placing students at different levels of the foundation program (FP) and the statistical analyses conducted to test the reliability and validity showed positive results for most of the test versions. The study offers useful insights to test developers and policymakers regarding the authentication of in-house tests and the creation of guidelines for PT design and evaluation.

To prepare students to face the world of work, universities should ensure that engineers graduating from their campuses demonstrate entrepreneurial skills and the ability to understand market forces alongside domain knowledge. This exploratory study focused on the design, application, and evaluation of a research-based coursework assignment in a business communication course offered to undergraduate level engineering students at a university college in Oman. The assignment aimed at developing students’ entrepreneurship skills, basic business concepts, creativity, critical thinking, communication skills, and research skills. Student perceptions on the role of assignment in developing the above-mentioned skills and in influencing their affective domain were gathered using a survey questionnaire carrying closed and open-ended questions. The data were analyzed using SPSS and frequency tables were generated. The results of the survey revealed that the students enjoyed working on the assignment and showed strong agreement for most of the items on the role of assignment in developing their skills and knowledge. The assignment model used in this study can support teachers in designing assessments that target the development of entrepreneurial skills alongside other meta-skills and can help solve the problem of unemployment in due course.