Dr. Abdul Wahid Al-Zumor
Abstract—This review study is intended to examine the Applied Linguistics research output of the faculty members at King Khalid University during the last four years (2011 through 2014). Thirty studies were reviewed and found to fall into seven research areas, namely Technology and language learning, Non-linguistic factors influencing EFL learning, ELT methodology, Vocabulary acquisition, Language learning strategies, Language and culture, and Error analysis. The findings revealed more focus of researchers on technology and language learning issues and comparatively little focus on other important aspects of EFL teaching and learning such as testing, learners’ difficulties in speaking, listening, reading and writing, material selection and suitability, translation difficulties, etc. The study has also suggested a model for the utilization of research findings in informing professional practice of EFL teaching. A research gap that requires more attention has also been identified with a view to setting a research agenda that is likely to assist KKU in assuming a research producer position rather than a mere research consumer in the field of foreign language pedagogy and instruction.
