The Influence of The Autonomous Characteristics of Hebrew Learners in Saudi Arabia on the Acquisition of The Language and Its Culture

This study aims to analyze the role of using the Hebrew language outside of the classroom among male undergraduate students at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. Saudi students using the Hebrew language as a foreign language autonomously outside the formal classroom framework is a remarkable phenomenon that needs to be further investigated to understand the motives behind it and the attitude of the Saudi students regarding Israeli culture. This study includes 13 male Hebrew language learners of different proficiency levels and ages at King Saud University (KSU). A qualitative approach is used in this study to enable the researcher to understand the participants’ motives and attitudes for using the Hebrew language outside of the classroom and to assist the researcher in learning profoundly about the perspectives and thoughts of the learners regarding the Israeli culture. The researcher utilized an open semi-structured questionnaire and interviews to gain an in-depth understanding of the students’ motivations towards using the Hebrew language outside of the classroom and to understand their attitudes about Israeli culture. Moreover, this study seeks to examine the effect that using the Hebrew language by choice outside of the classroom has on the students’ language proficiency.