Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book starts with a comprehensive review of Saudi-authored and co-authored English as a second/foreign language (EFL)-related literature covering around 25 years of academic research on issues of EFL teaching and learning in this country. It provides a historic overview of English and English teaching in Saudi Arabia including its early 'Golden Age', its virtual disappearance during the 'Wahhabi Period', and its reintroduction and expansion from the 'Unification' period to the present. The book is concerned with attitudes to English teaching and learning in Saudi Arabia. It considers issues relating to in-country EFL learning/learners in Saudi Arabia. The book further reviews common characteristics of the EFL learning environment, such as culture, religion, learning facilities and resources, learning conditions, and more generally aspects of the Saudi EFL educational system and the role these play in relation to EFL learning in the country.