Students' selection of the English Language Courses at Hebron University / Mahmood K. M. Eshreteh, Mohammed A. A. Farrah and Blansh Zaitoon

Decision-making process is one of the most difficult steps during academic life. Sometimes,
students find it difficult to decide on choosing the appropriate course. This paper investigates the
different factors that students take into account when selecting certain language courses during
the academic terms. These factors may include instructor's subject matter and pedagogical
knowledge, instructor's personal traits, timing of the course, nature of the course, student
personal interests and recommendations from academic advisors, peers, friends, and parents. To
assess this issue a questionnaire was distributed to 150 English-major students at Hebron
University to explore students’ main considerable factors for their course selection decisions.
The results showed that the most considerable factors are timing, the instructor as well as course
type, respectively. This study revealed a lot about students reasoning when it comes to choosing
a certain course. It will also benefit teachers and decision-makers at the Department of English
at Hebron University and other Palestinian institutions of higher learning to understand
students’ views and to make some changes accordingly