An investigation into the linguistic landscape in tertiary education spaces as a pedagogical tool in teaching and learning English in Oman

Acknowledging the fact that traditional research landscape in English language education and applied linguistics have been dramatically changed by recent moves towards cross disciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, this study is aimed at explicit examination of the linguistic landscape in tertiary education spaces of Oman's academia as a pedagogical tool for English language acquisition and linguistic issues' exploration in bilingual English/Arabic context of Oman's higher education. The study will address the need recognized in teaching and academic communities to optimize English language teaching and learning and to enhance students' language awareness through real world examples and data. Textual signage will be collected and analyzed as elements of the linguistic landscape of Oman. These will be studied to consider whether they can provide awareness, and improve students' English language skills. The study will thus examine whether the notion that exposing students to the linguistic landscape provides awareness of the languages used in public signs and can be effectively applied in the context of Oman's academia. While contributing to deeper understanding of the importance of linguistic landscape for teaching and learning, the study will also offer new insights on how classroom activities can be extended to the education spaces of Oman's academia.