BOUZID Dhikra Amel, Bejaia
SMAILI Souad, Northampton
الملخص
يعالج هذا البحث اشكالية مواجهة المخاوف والضغوطات النفسية لدى طلبة اللغة الانجليزية المشاركين في برنامج صوت الشباب العربي في الجزائر. هذه البرنامج تتيح الفرصة للشباب من اجل تطوير قدراتهم العقلية مثل الابداع والتفكير النقدي وإيجاد حلول لمخاوفهم ضمن معطيات وطنية ودولية. وتجدر الاشارة الى حقيقة سائدة لدى جيل الشباب الجزائري وهي الحاجة الماسة لتعزيز تلك المهارات والقدرات في مختلف المجالات ، خاصة التواصلية منها والمتعلقة بإيصال صوتهم لدى المجتمعات الاخرى . ان برنامج صوت الشباب العربي تعمل على ايجاد فضاء تفاعلي حيوي من اجل اكتشاف مثل هذه المواهب والطاقات وصقلها و عصرنتها ضمن اطر ثقافية حضارية. هذا البرنامج يوفر لدى المشاركين الامن والحافز النفسي الذي يساعدهم على الخروج من دائرة الخوف والإحساس بالضعف في التعبير عن انفسهم لدى المجتمعات الاخرى .ولكن بعض الشباب يعتبرون مثل هذه المحاولات هو مجازفة مئالها الفشل امام الثقافات الاخرى.وهكذا فان اهداف برنامج صوت الشباب العربي اثارت في اذهاننا ضرورة البحث حول مدى مواجهة مثل هذه المخاوف لدى الشباب الجزائري الذي يعتبر جزء مهم من هذا العالم دون أي ضغوطات . ومن اجل الوصول الى هذا الهدف اعتمدنا على دراسة استكشافية معتمدين على منهج كمي ونوعي و قمنا بإعداد استبيان عن طريق الانترنت موجه لفائدة الطلبة المنخرطين في البرنامج .علاوة على ذالك قمنا بعمل مقابلات شفوية مع مختلف الطلبة المنخرطين من اجل التعمق جيدا في الظاهرة.
نتائج الدراسة افادتنا بأن مبادرة البرنامج وأنشطتها مكنت الطلبة من تجاوز هذه المخاوف خاصة اذا تعلق الامر بالخطاب في الاماكن العامة كما ان هذه المبادرة طورت رغبة الطلبة لتجاوز هذه الصعوبات والمشاركة في مختلف الملتقيات الثقافية.وعليه فإننا نوصي بدمج مبادرة برنامج صوت الشباب العربي وأنشطتها في اصلاحات منظومة التعليم العالي لفائدة طلاب اللغة الانجليزية من اجل تعزيز الثقة في ذاتهم وتجاوز هذه المخاوف .اذا يعتبر هذا الاخير مهم جدا نحو عالم التوظيف والحياة المهنية .
الكلمات المفتاحية :
برنامج صوت الشباب العربي ,مواجهة المخاوف , التوظيف
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Introduction
English became one of the most important subjects in the Algerian teaching and learning reforms. Many Algerian high school students choose English in their University degree. However, the opportunity of studying English as a foreign language (EFL) at University level goes for the good students only, who achieved a suitable score in English in their baccalaureate examination. If we come to discuss the status of EFL learners in Algeria, we can argue that the majority of them take part in various English associations to enhance their language skills mainly speaking. In other words, we have noticed that students of today become active in language learning compared to the previous generations of Algerian EFL learners. This is because EFL students usually find that their skills are much sought after in the employment platforms following their graduation, whether they remain within the domain of teaching and translation of English as their subject discipline, or they move towards other related fields of work where English is also required. However, as the awareness of global reality on English reveals, the number of EFL students, who graduated increases each year. This makes the job market more competitive. Thus, EFL students will need to be aware of taking actions that their future career may hold such as joining different social clubs where English is used to familiarize themselves with the external world and be ready for any job or activity in the future. Their choice of career may prospect on their education, and on the extent to which they are able to take risks in order to achieve their objectives. This might be the reason why recent EFL students take part in social activities where English is used.
Talking about social events and English programs where EFL students, we can mention one of the most interesting programs, in this context, where some Algerian EFL students participated. This latter is known as ‘YAV’, or the Young Arabs Voice program. A program which was established by the British Council and became a great opportunity for youth in Arabic countries, such as Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and Algeria, to impose their standpoints tackling distinctive social and political issues. YAV’s members organize roundtable meetings which often take place in London to debate the above subjects and raise their young voice in public to be heard in the world using English as a means to convey their talks.
This interesting activity attracted our attention in terms of the risk-taking feature that our young Algerian EFL students, who are members and debaters in YAV, possess each time they stand up in front of the public debating many ideas in English. Thus, our interest and aim behind conducting this project falls upon the ways in which risk-taking can help EFL students that are members in YAV to be prepared for a future employment. In other words, we pursued an alternative form of taking actions towards EFL learners’ risk-taking as a manifesto to employability work plan.
Adopting mixed methods, we designed a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview to come up with objective and valuable data in relation to the issue investigated in this study and to find answers for the research questions presented below.
EFL students in Algeria join various jobs after graduation. However, the workplace can be identified as a setting where individuals need to be risk-takers to be able to deal with any situation that may face them. Being a member of a public program where debates are held in English might be helpful in increasing risk-taking among its members. Being an Algerian EFL representative and public debater in YAV also can be a good start towards self-preparation for future tasks in the world of employment. Thereby, we are interested in exploring the extent to which YAV augments the degree of risk-taking among its members of Algerian nationalities.
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Aims of the Study
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The purpose of undertaking this study is to explore the ways YAV increases risk-taking features in EFL students and whether this can be enough to enter the field of work without fears.
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Review of Literature
2.1. Risk-taking in EFL research
Risk-taking is an important research aspect tackled almost by many researchers in various realms mainly education (Weber, et al 2002). Previous research studies in relation to EFL risk-taking underpin our understanding that individual’s behaviour, their cognitive activities, and their psychological state are overlapping concepts that are worth mentioning within this context (see Zuckerman & Kuhlman, 2000). Generally, risk-taking refers to the stage where the individual takes decisions regarding his/her engagement in particular tasks depending on their interests or needs he/she is willing to satisfy (Koh, 1996). Thus, the more individuals set up challenging needs or desires, the more they reveal high risk-taking features to reach goal satisfaction. Furthermore, many researchers dealt with the issue of risk-taking in the work-place. Dachner et al (2017) conducted a research project on intellectual risk-taking within job settings to find out which variables promote high risk-taking in such realm. However, examining risk-taking within a youth programme such as YAV has been searched. Thus, our study contributes to EFL research in terms of how YAV prepares EFL students to enter the world of employment with high risk-taking features.
2.2. Risk-taking, decision-making: link to Employment
One outstanding feature that relates to risk-taking is decision making. Taking part in any job involves risky-decisions. In other words, the individual takes part in various activities based on whether he/she is able to decide and take a risk in performing the task or not. Metcalfe & Mischel (1999 cited in Weber et all, 2002) stated that decision making can be either affective or deliberative which are both important in risk-taking settings. The effective factors can influence decision-making in various ways that are predominantly emotional such as fear or anger. Thus, risk-taking can vary according to which effective factor occupies one’s psychological situation, and the context where the risk needs to occur, which refers to the six paths of risk-taking that are mentioned below (Weber et al, 2002).
Risk-taking is a crucial factor in any workplace. Nowadays jobs require creativity and innovation within the working atmosphere. Investing ones’ cognitive and creative capacities in such environments demands the ability of the person to take risk in every situation he/she faces at work such as asking questions, dealing with others, treating employability issues without fear, but with a creative and innovative mind (Dachner et al, 2017). Weber et al (2002) assessed risk-taking as it occurs in six areas: gambling, investing, ethical choices, and behaviours relating to health/safety, social interaction, and recreation. Both investing and social interaction connect to this study in terms of how EFL students participating in YAV invest in the public debates held in the programme using English, and in terms of the social interaction occurring between the members who take risk to negotiate in front of the public. This social interaction is the start towards revealing the YAVER’s cognitive skills and allows in measuring the risk-taking feature of the debater.
2.3. Risk-taking and fear
Investing ones’ transferable skill in public talks as is the case in YAV may increase risk-taking among in the person undertaking this activity. Piscione (2015) carried out an experimental study on some of the worlds’ ‘leading innovators’, and identified seven key features of these leaders. Among these features, the factor of anxiety. In this Piscione (2015) notes that leaders, unlike other people process less feelings of fear, and get excited in every new challenge they undertake. However, their emotional stress is obvious when they have less chances of risk-taking. She also added that risk-takers are curious at any new situation they observe. In our study, the context differs as we are dealing with EFL students members in YAV. Debating in YAV might decrease anxiety in the debater. In turn, this is can be helpful in workplaces.
2.4. EFL YAV’ers and Critical Thinkers
Healey (2012) states that involving students in classroom debates promotes various mental skills such as critical thinking. Additionally, Bennett (2000) believes that getting learners engaged in a discussion or debate, especially in University settings is a fruitful method and a helpful technique for future careers in workplaces. Debates attract students’ minds through letting them think opposite to what others argue, and it allows them to logically defend their thoughts in front of an audience (Green & Klug, 1990). Healey (2012) also added that debating in the classroom gives students with the chance to assess, reflect and come up with strong arguments to underpin a specific phenomenon under debate. Thereby, arguing against the topic increases the degree of critical thinking ability in the individual, and allows him to learn the subject effectively (Healey, 2012).
This is the case with Algerian EFL YAV’ers who stand up in front of a public to discuss different subjects, or sit in a roundtable with debaters and defend their own views. These YAV debates may highly augment critical thinking skill in the members, and develop other useful skills mainly problem solving that are all important aspects required in employability platforms.
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Materials and Methods
3.1. Participants
A questionnaire and an interview were both introduced to the students of English who previously enrolled as debaters in the Arab Young Voices Program. Due to the existence of two divisions, we showed interest in those who participated in the English division only. The participants in the current study were aware of the provided detailed information regarding the questions and the aim of this study. Participants are also enrolling as students of English at various Universities in Algeria. They have more insight concerning the language and its use. Twenty-six participants (YAV’ers) 13 female and 13 males -due to the gender equality policy- corresponding to 50% and 50% of the whole population. Each team has gone through at least two debates and they either qualify for the next round or they disqualified, however, the latter are required to attend all the debates until the final round.
3.2. Measures
Fostering EFL University Students’ Risk Taking as a Step towards Employability through the Young Arab Voice Program questionnaire is divided into five parts that assess the participants’ risk-taking in addition to the perception of their Employability skills. The questionnaire contains 22 items that are segregated according to the division. The first part includes gathered general information of the sample’s different clusters of age, gender and status of Education. The second part contains explicit details about the participants’ experience with the Arab Young Voices program such as: how long have they been part of the YAV, why did they join, the activities they conducted and the skills they developed afterwards. The third part surrounds two scales of risk taking by which the participants express to which extent the program helped them to be more of risk-takers. The elements of the scale were extracted out of an article by the author of characteristics of risk takers N.P.Deborah (n.d.). The fourth part consists of a frame to introduce employability to the participants as push forward their participation in the YAV program, it includes: lack of success in various fields, skills and qualifications achieved after the participation and the ability to manage career and work skills. An interview is also an additional tool to explore the participants’ ability to indulge in an interview that could be similar to some extent to job interview; it was a means to investigate their risk-taking willingness when it requires such act. The semi-structured interview consists of six questions in addition to other questions that occurred during the interview. Each question is designed to investigate the employability phenomenon within the sample.
3.3. Statistical analysis
Data were analyzed using the Google Forms for windows as a means to design the questionnaire and calculate the responses.
3.4. Results
Descriptive information on the participants’ age was a way limiting the risk-taking in the framework of employability in terms of youth capacities. The majority of the participants (79%) are between the ages of 18 to 25. We also inquired about the gender of the sample before us to distinguish the importance of the gender equality policy required by the program and to explore which gender is a more risk-taker than the other. Therefore; we have 50% male and 50% female of the total sample. In addition, the research probed the status of education to spot the readiness of those who are still enrolling to preface the practical world. Most of our sample (88%) are university students.
The Young Arab Voices has been defined by defined by the majority (11%) who shared the same answered; as a program of youth debates and exchange across targeted countries. Other participants’ responses varied between a program to enable youth to speak their minds and get involved in various social issues and encounter the world around them. They also pointed out to the designation that the YAV is the place where they discover new points of views and shared perspectives about various situations and experiences in reality. Another answer shed light on the aims set by YAV to strengthen the culture of debate and advocacy.
In this research, we have also sought to distinguish the various reasons behind the participants enrolment in the Young Arab Voice, the majority of the participants (73%) stated that they needed to work on their communicative skills and therefore they joined the YAV program to be able to put their thoughts into appropriate conversational utterances. As a follow, we asked the participants (53%) about the skills they succeeded to go beyond what they expected. Thus, we could extract the results of the participation in the YAV program, which not only revealed that they were able to put themselves in the speaker/listener position, but they also became flexible against external factors such as the job market and sudden personal circumstances. Moreover, 50% pointed out to their ability to self-presentation (on applications and interviews).
In order to shed light on the main aspect of our research, we proposed a direct question to the participants asking if they believe that YAV is part of the worldwide plan to push Arab world to be manage their Employability skills. 92% which represent the majority of the participants agrees that the YAV program might as well be actually and partially it is because the program can boost up employability skills. They also believe that It is a brilliant idea that works on forcing the Arab mind to work, think, analyses, question, ask, answer, accept and respect diversity, it’s a pull from the west to fellow humans in the east that cannot seem to move or develop. According to the participants (85%) YAV helped them overcome lack of success in various chosen occupations and life choices. The same majority also considered their participation as a way to form a recognized qualifications and skills which reflect positively on their personal and interpersonal characteristics. Among the outstanding statements the participants declared we mention the following: Participant 1: “during the debate: breathing, A belief not a thought, use Logic, embracing the character and state the opinion without any touch of personal experiences but Respectfully state with intonation and confidence”. Participant 2: “confidence, presentation skills, communication skills, critical thinking, data gathering and searching.” Participant 3: “less afraid of getting out of my comfort zone, being able to accept rejection and turn it into motivation, and more aware of our social problems.”
Figure 1: YAVers’ perception on their program.
Participants were asked whether the Algerian context reflects a manageable career and work skills, the majority (58%) believe that in a recent event, the youth showed a lot of potentials and opportunities of which similar programs such as the YAV program replicate straight up priorities and career goals. Hence, 42% of the participants disagreed, they pointed out to the issue lying within the Algerian context as cultural and religious more than scientific and objective. They also affirmed that Algerians do not seek truth behind their discussion, but rather proving themselves right.
In the same flow of thought, we needed to comprise the personal factor of the participant, therefore, we asked them if they could confirm the necessity of skills, values, interests and personality as an important element in making final decisions of their career, we received a 73% YES to the question.
Figure 2: Skills being developed in the YAV program.
Among the skills that are part of achieving employability, we chose to cooperate with others, planning & organizing, and verbal communication so that we raise the question to the participants and acquire its importance in relation to the YAV program. 93% of the participants agreed that YAV helped them encompasses a number of other skills among of which the skills proposed. Participants were asked to explain their answers, and we chose the most valuable responses to our research amid them in the table below.
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Participant 1 |
To be accepted by individuals of the society is hard, YAV taught me to accept and be accepted |
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Participant 2 |
I learnt not to limit to my ideas or opinions. |
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Participant 7 |
I established new ideas and more intellectual freedom |
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Participant 8 |
I had the chance to meet people who have different perspective, through debates and motions also. |
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Participant 9 |
Debate’s rules provided me with a solid strategy to speak to be heard. |
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Participant 17 |
It helped me act outside my comfort zone and try new things |
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Participant 18 |
Having an understandable speech is a skill which I was lucky enough to develop communication during my participation as both a trainer and debater. |
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Participant 22 |
I learned teamwork and how to accept the ideas of others which might not be similar to my own. |
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Participant 25 |
To increase young people’s skills for public debate to provide platforms for youth from diverse backgrounds to meet and exchange views to provide targeted support for young bloggers in terms of outreach work at the grass-root level, enabling them to bridging the gap between virtual and public space |
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Participant 26 |
I could manage time and developed new communication skills |
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Discussion
This study showed a significant interrelation between the participants’ risk-taking, their participation in the program and their future plan in the job market. In the same way, the analysis and the description of the data gathered and the interpretation of the results provided by the questionnaire, we deduce that YAV participation by various EFL students in Algeria plays a significant role in framing their risk-taking as a step towards Employability skills. In addition, participants are now more aware of the opportunities lying ahead in order to set successful management of their work plans.
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Conclusion
This study was conducted with the aim of investigating risk-taking among Algerian EFL YAVERs, and the ways in which it allows them to be prepared for their future career. Both quantitative and qualitative data analyses procedures were adopted to analyses and interpret our findings.
Reference
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