Assessing the Professional Preparedness of English Studies Graduates in Morocco: An Alumni Perspective on the Applied Linguistics Track

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the sixth semester of applied linguistics in the English studies track in preparing students for the job market in Morocco. A questionnaire survey was conducted with alumni of the program to assess the extent to which the program facilitated their employment, career advancement, and fulfillment of professional expectations. The results revealed that involving alumni in the development and renewal of the track is crucial. However, a significant number of participants expressed dissatisfaction with the current curriculum, citing difficulties in professional integration. The findings suggest that incorporating practical training and offering more elective courses could better equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the job market. Based on these findings, the paper concludes with recommendations for enhancing the English studies track, including the routine evaluation of academic programs to align with market needs and promote curriculum changes and innovations. It is believed that these recommendations will ultimately improve students' professional integration in the job market.


Introduction
The professional integration of students is a crucial aspect of educational policy in any nation, and it is influenced by various circumstances, including the academic courses offered by universities (Perin, 2001;Missingham, 2006;Lueck, 2018;Bouziane, 2020). In Morocco, academic programs often undergo reaccreditation to align with market demands, leading to curriculum adjustments and improvements (Schulz, 2008;Majid et al., 2012;Aziz & Zaidoune, 2022;Aziz et al., 2023). One such curriculum is the English studies track, specifically the sixth semester of applied linguistics, which aims to prepare students for the labor market. However, an important issue that requires consideration is how effectively this program achieves its objectives and ensures the professional integration of its graduates.
English is the most widely used language in the world, with over 1.35 billion people speaking it either as a native language or a second language in 2021, according to Statista (2021), a reputable source for market research and economic data. Research has shown that proficiency in English can facilitate participation in the global economy and the industrial revolution (Tulung, 2020). However, there are concerns about the English language competency of university students and its impact on their ability to access information and perform in the workplace.
For example, Tulung (2020) conducted a study in Manado, Indonesia, which assessed university students' English competence and its impact on their ability to obtain health information. The findings revealed that the overall English competence level of the students was low, with an average score of 415.78, indicating limitations in accessing health information due to limited English skills. Furthermore, Chauvin et al. (2020) examined the role of self-efficacy beliefs in the workplace, specifically related to English as a Foreign Language. Their study highlighted that English self-efficacy could positively influence employees' professional demands, learning motivation, transfer motivation, and overall perceived capacity to perform at work.
In addition, Chan (2018) conducted research on recent English language graduates in Hong Kong who lacked specialized instruction and faced challenges in acquiring professional procedures in their new field of work due to poor English language skills and limited expertise in their sector. This study suggested recommendations for universities to address language-related issues and improve graduates' professional communication abilities.
These studies emphasize the value of English language competency in a global environment and how it affects students' access to information and professional success. To better educate students for the needs of the modern workforce, institutions should improve students' English language proficiency. This will require further research to provide techniques and recommendations. By assessing the efficacy of present English language programs and offering improvement suggestions in light of the findings, this research seeks to fill this gap.
The primary goal of this paper is to assess the efficacy of the sixth semester of applied linguistics in the English studies track in preparing students for the Moroccan labor market. The study aims to evaluate how well the program helps graduates obtain employment, advance in their professions, and meet their professional objectives. This assessment will be conducted through a questionnaire survey with program alumni, providing insights into the current curriculum's advantages and disadvantages and offering suggestions for enhancing its efficacy.
The rationale for this study is based on the significance of aligning academic programs with market demands and improving graduates' professional integration (Sotiriadou et al., 2020). This research intends to support ongoing efforts to enhance the quality and effectiveness of higher education in Morocco by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the English studies track and providing recommendations for improvement. The results of this research may also have implications for programs with a similar focus in other countries or regions that have comparable difficulties in preparing students for the workforce.
The significance of this research lies in its potential to offer valuable information about the effectiveness of Morocco's sixth semester of applied linguistics in the English studies track. The results of this study could inform curriculum development, policy decisions, and implementation measures aimed at enhancing graduates' integration into the workforce (Fallows & Steven, 2000;Tevdovska, 2015;Ait Tejan & Sabil, 2019). Moreover, the findings of this study may contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the fields of higher education, applied linguistics, and language policy.
In conclusion, this study aims to address the research problem of assessing the effectiveness of the sixth semester of applied linguistics in the Moroccan English studies track. The purpose of this article is to assess how well the curriculum prepares students for the workforce, to point out its benefits and drawbacks, and to offer recommendations for improvement. The relevance of matching academic programs to market demands underlies the significance of this study, and its findings may have repercussions for the creation of curricula, the formulation of public policy, and the conduct of scholarly research in related areas.

English in Higher Education
There is no denying the fact that the business world is becoming more and more globalized. At the very least, learning English and being bilingual provide you access to more chances, more outlets, and new global employment opportunities (Roshid & Chowdhury, 2013;Pandey & Pandey, 2014;Chaibate et al., 2020). In fact, English has recently taken on a significant role in Moroccan educational initiatives that have included foreign languages in the curriculum, starting from primary school (Loutfi, 2020;Bouziane, 2020;R'boul, 2022). Indeed, a nation's strength in politics, economy, science, and education can influence how dominant a language becomes. The majority of pertinent literature, modern technologies, and historical records are written in English. In order to get better results in fields like computer science, management, finance, programming, neuro-linguistics, and engineering, students from a variety of disciplines are now required to conduct their research in English. As a result, there is interest in training the next generation of teachers and people who can work in the fields of communication, culture, the media, and tertiary sectors. In conclusion, learning English in Morocco (See Loutfi & Noamane, 2014, 2019 and Loutfi (2020) will enable you to, inter alia: 1. Increased likelihood of success: English-speaking professionals are more likely to be successful in any sector or field. The learner will be significantly more competitive in the job market thanks to their language (Roshid & Chowdhury, 2013). 2. Access to better education: Learning this language provides a variety of job prospects that will only increase after it is mastered. 3. Motivation and self-improvement: The learner gains confidence by overcoming his or her worries and insecurities.
To contribute to this worldwide trend, it is crucial and crucial to prepare teachers. Therefore, programs must typically cover the following topics in order to train future educators: 4. Study of literature strives to acquaint students with a generally defined picture of English literary culture, including its history, main trends, literary theory, schools of literary criticism, and schools of literary criticism, as well as, of course, its most prominent works and authors. 5. Expose the learner to professional interpreting and translation. 6. Media literacy is the ability to read information and comprehend how, by whom, and for what purpose media messages are created. 7. Expertise in English writing and communication techniques The majority of Moroccan universities offering humanities programs also provide English studies programs. However, the field of human sciences is also making significant advancements in theoretical linguistics, including recent developments in morphological, semantic, and pragmatic theories, as well as applied linguistics, which encompasses various aspects of English language teaching methodology and translation complexities.
In light of these evolving trends, there is a need to update, enhance, or introduce new tracks within English studies programs to meet the demands of the current era. It is the responsibility of the Minister of Education to convene expert commissions to assess the proposed tracks before their approval. These experts should be well-informed about the nation's challenges, as well as regional and global economic trends (Lazrak & Yechouti, 2017). However, it is noted that some tracks may be suggested without adequate consideration of their alignment with job opportunities or the qualifications of available teachers.
To address this issue in an impartial manner, standards and approaches have been developed, including educational engineering. Educational engineering is a systematic and progressive approach that draws upon scientific and engineering principles to study, analyze, implement, and adapt training systems, courses, or teaching methods in accordance with various factors such as available resources, learner profiles, and instructor characteristics.

Moroccan Reform for Higher Education
Morocco has undergone a revolution in the area of education over the past 50 years. According to a participative perspective, the four higher education system reforms and revisions that occurred between 1997 and 2014 allowed for the development of a true endogenous national ability to drive change. The reform report N°5/2019, which was released in June 2019, states that: • The gross enrolment rate in higher education 1 increased by more than 23 points, from 10.3% in 1990 to 33.7% in 2017. • Universities have expanded in number from 43 in 1990 to 126 in 2017; the higher education budget has increased by 178% from around 3.6 billion dirhams in 2000 to more than 10 billion dirhams in 2017; • The vocational programs were created to meet the needs of today's college students, who make up 2.6% of the total open-access students and 5.4% of the total regulated-access students. (2017).
In light of these accomplishments, the report offered a number of suggestions for enhancing the worth and effectiveness of higher education in various contexts. Strengthening the university's openness to international collaboration is covered in recommendation 11 of the first lever of the study already stated the lever of transformation. The inclusion of international experience in the design of specific tracks and the participation of foreign visiting professors in specific courses are two examples that are brought up. By first establishing the necessary framework for the equivalence of credits and academic credentials, the lever also aims to encourage the national and international mobility of Moroccan students as well as the acceptance of foreign students in Moroccan institutions. To increase the likelihood of luring in more international students, English language courses are also offered. The research made clear that an advanced level of English was needed for doctoral studies and a master's degree, respectively.

General guidelines for English Departments
In line with the paper's goals of evaluating the effectiveness of the sixth semester of applied linguistics in the English studies track, the focus of this section is on describing the English departments of the universities whose students and professors participated in the research. The "filières" or tracks for the English department in the Kingdom, as outlined by the Ministry of Education, are briefly mentioned for context.

Description of the 'Filières'/ Tracks
This section focuses on providing a brief overview of the accredited "American Studies" track at Ben M'sik and the "English Studies" tracks at Mohamed V, Chouaib Doukkali, and Cadi Ayad, which are recognized as fundamental studies according to the National Charter of Education and Training.

Track Objectives
In English Studies departments, programs offered in various institutions such as Ben M'sik, El Jadida, Rabat, and Marrakesh are designed to arm graduates with the skills required to, among other things, serve as effective intermediaries between Moroccan decision-makers and their American counterparts. These programs emphasize training in areas such as tourism, linguistics, English language teaching, translation, interpreting, international trade, diplomacy, media studies, international organizations, communication professions, and cultural studies. Generally, graduates are expected to be prepared for careers in these fields, including international trade and diplomacy in Ben M'sik, Marrakesh, and Rabat, media studies in Marrakesh and Rabat, international organizations in El Jadida, communication professions and the tertiary sector in Marrakesh, and cultural studies in Ben M'sik, Marrakesh, and Rabat, among others. For a more detailed discussion on this topic, readers can refer to Harrizi (2015) and Harrizi & Loutfi (2021).

Pre-requisites
For admission into the filière/track of Modern Letters, Economics, and Sciences in institutions such as Ben M'sik, El Jadida, and Rabat, prospective students are required to have achieved a minimum score of 14/20 in English and 12/20 in French, Arabic, History, and Geography (Ben M'sik) in their baccalaureate examinations. Additionally, students must demonstrate English proficiency through a placement test and an interview (El Jadida) or an admission exam assessing grammar, writing, and reading skills (Rabat). English language proficiency is a mandatory requirement for enrollment in the English Studies programs in all the universities under consideration. Notably, Ben M'sik has pioneered the use of interviews as a method to assess and evaluate applicants' English proficiency for reorientation and admission purposes, which has been subsequently adopted by other universities as well.

English studies of faculty of letters and humanities of Ben M'sick
The goal of "English Studies" is to produce graduates who are fluent in the language and can communicate clearly both orally and in writing. In addition to having a cultural awareness of the field, including the English language, society, and literature, as well as its historical context, they must have developed the ability to analyze and synthesize information. The following is a list of the prerequisite knowledge, abilities, and skills for graduates of the English Studies track: • Master the English language (oral and written). • Be proficient in reading, comprehending, analyzing, commenting, and interpreting of both literary and non-literary materials.

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Write properly and grammatically sound essays, compositions, and speeches.

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Learn about the approaches used to teach English as a foreign language.
Students may opt to pursue general culture studies or the applied linguistics track in their third year of English studies. In this paper, the focus is on the applied linguistics stream, the details of which are provided in the sub-sections that follow.

Semester five modules
The Semester Five program for Applied Linguistics studies is made up of five major modules: General Linguistics, Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics, Applied Linguistics, Educational Technology, and Advanced Research Techniques. The Cultural Study class is a supplemental module. The teaching load of each module is approximately 48 hours.
General Linguistics: A more thorough understanding of linguistics is provided by the General Linguistics module, which builds on the Introduction to Linguistics course taught in Semester Four. Semantics, pragmatics, textuality, stages of linguistic analysis, and language as a semiotic system are all covered. The goal of the module is to increase students' understanding of how language works. It includes themes including the concept of language, its history, and its purposes, as well as phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax.
Advanced Research Techniques: Students herein explore the essential theories underlying the study of language learning and teaching in this course. It focuses on how to gather and analyze data based on empirical research, especially in language classes, and it emphasizes on the practical components of empirical research. Research in language teaching and learning, data collecting and analysis techniques, and research projects are all included in the course material.
Applied Linguistics: The theoretical and practical aspects of applied linguistics and the use of technology in teaching English are introduced to students in this subject. It seeks to introduce students to applied linguistics and provide them with a comprehension of various language-related issues. The four competencies, lesson planning, effective teaching and learning, language evaluation and testing, and language planning, are additional topics covered in the course.
Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics: The social and psychological facets of language and their significance in both language learning and society are the subjects of this two-part course. It focuses primarily on linguistic diversity in Morocco and strives to give students the necessary knowledge to comprehend and evaluate the country's linguistic landscape.
Cultural Studies: This course serves as a supplemental module that increases students' awareness of culture and topics that are related to it. It makes use of the material from Introduction to Cultural Studies and discusses issues including the definitions of culture, its expressions, cultural variety, identity and culture, language and culture, and the impact of globalization on culture.

Semester six modules
The Semester Six program for Applied Linguistics studies consists of five modules: Language and Culture in Language Teaching, Language Teaching, Language Learning, Citizenship in Language Education, and End-of-Studies project.
Language and Culture in Language Teaching: This course seeks to educate students on the significance of literature and culture in language instruction. Students' understanding of the nuanced meanings of metaphors and nuances in a language is deepened, and it enables them to include literary and cultural elements into their teaching techniques. The course discusses the cultural aspects of a language, the benefits of incorporating culture and literature into language instruction, the best ways to introduce literary genres to language learners, and the place of culture in language instruction. Language Learning: This module's major goal is to familiarize students with topics that will help them better grasp learning a foreign language. With a focus on learning styles and tactics, it discusses language acquisition and learning as well as learner traits and how they may affect language learning.
Language Teaching: Students in the sixth semester are introduced to the various language teaching techniques in this subject. It focuses on teaching ways and methods that are chronologically introduced and allows students to apply the principles underlying each approach or method. Introduction to teaching, instructional strategies, grammar translation, the direct technique, the audiolingual method, the communicative approach, and neurolinguistics programming are all topics covered in the course material.
Citizenship in Language Education: This module aims to help students become digital citizens and develop the capacity to use digital media efficiently, with a special focus on the role citizenship plays in language education and guides students to go beyond teaching Research Projects: The purpose of this module is to help students write their research papers. It covers subjects including formulating research questions or hypotheses, performing a literature review, gathering and processing data, and summarizing and interpreting results. It covers both qualitative and quantitative research approaches with an emphasis on empirical research.
All things being equal, the track in Applied Linguistics offers a wide range of courses that give students access to a plethora of information. When it comes to the English language, some courses are designed to help students become more analytical and critical thinkers, while others put more emphasis on improving their writing skills. Additionally, some classes train students to become skilled teachers. The program also emphasizes the value of digitization, emphasizing the need to teach students how to be good digital citizens as well as providing teachers with the IT resources they need to use for teaching and report writing.

Research Methods
The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the English Studies courses offered by the Faculty of Letters and Humanities Ben M'Sik in preparing graduates for the job market and helping them develop certain skills and traits valued by employers. In pursuance of this aim, the study's research design involved using a questionnaire survey with a non-probability sample of English Studies graduates. This strategy gave us rich data regarding the graduates' perceptions of the effectiveness of the English Studies courses in various areas, despite some generalizability and potential response bias limits. Other research methods, such as focus groups or interviews, could be used in subsequent studies to further examine the subject and add to the findings of the current investigation.

Research Instrument and Data Analysis Procedure
A systematic strategy is essential while undertaking research in the area of applied linguistics. One frequently employed technique is the questionnaire survey, which involves asking a series of specifically constructed questions to select a particular example, issue, or request from a variety of alternatives. Creating the survey questionnaire, choosing a sample for interviews, carrying out the survey, and gathering and interpreting the results are the four primary steps in conducting a questionnaire survey.
For the study, the researchers utilized the Google Forms tool to conduct the survey, as it allows for the design of complex questionnaires and distribution to a group of respondents. The online tool also provides the convenience of evaluating the acquired data through clear graphs and automatically saves and hosts completed forms on Google Drive. Additionally, responses in Google Forms can be easily summarized in a table or exported to a spreadsheet for more in-depth analysis.

JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics), 8(2), 2023
However, the researchers encountered some issues with incomplete information in the results, such as missing graduation years or students filling in their track instead of their graduation year. Unfortunately, Google Forms does not have built-in filtering options for improper results, so the researchers had to use additional tools, such as Microsoft Excel, to construct charts, and tables, and perform calculations. Excel's automatic update feature for tables and calculations based on input values made it convenient for creating different types of tables and incorporating calculations into them.
To ensure the wide reach of our survey, the researchers conducted digital outreach through various social networks such as WhatsApp and Facebook groups, as well as email for individuals without social media accounts. When designing the questionnaire, the researchers considered suggestions such as avoiding lengthy questions to encourage more respondents to participate and using the "funnel method" which involves starting with general inquiries before gradually progressing to more specific and potentially sensitive questions. The survey consisted of eight questions, with the first one focusing on demographic information to count and determine the proportion of women enrolled in higher education. The remaining questions covered the year of graduation, the academic path taken, the most recent degree obtained, specialization, current circumstances, and the value of the English studies program's course offerings.

Participants
The sample of respondents to the survey must be chosen after the survey's questions have been developed. It can be either a very big or a very targeted sample of people, depending on the project's characteristics and the survey's purpose. The number of respondents to the survey is shown in Figure 1. The researchers obtained 74 responses, with more than 50% of men and about 48% of women. This indication also enables us to draw the conclusion that women participate significantly in university education, particularly in English studies programs (see Grebennikov & Skaines, 2009;Trudeau, 2018;Delaney & Devereuv, 2021).

Results
The questionnaire was filled up by 74 participants, as was already noted. Gender discrimination is a prominent issue in modern social science research, and transgender people are an essential group to take into account. Three response options were offered in the survey: male, female, and prefer not to say. Nearly 48 percent of respondents identified as female, compared to a little over 50 percent of respondents who identified as male. This shows that women are now significantly represented in higher education (for a similar viewpoint, see Parker, 2021).
The age distribution of survey respondents is shown in Figure 2 and includes three age categories: 20-30, 30-40, and above 50. The majority of respondents-more than three-quarters-are between the ages of 20 and 30, according to preliminary assessments. Only two respondents are over 50, while 25% of the remaining respondents are between the ages of 30 and 50.

Figure 2. Age distribution
The researchers took particular information from the survey in order to analyze current trends in women's participation in higher education. The age distribution by gender within the three previously indicated age ranges is shown in Figure 3. According to the graph, women make up the majority of alumni in the youngest age group, outnumbering men by about 41%. The present situations of the respondents are shown in Figure 5. Nearly the same amount of respondents (27%), who do not have teaching posts, work as high school teachers. The main goal of the English studies program was to achieve this. More than 18% of graduates are employed in the private sector, which may be a reflection of the caliber of the curriculum since graduates must be qualified to keep their jobs in a competitive job market. Only one respondent, a new graduate, stated that they were unemployed. Undoubtedly, the current economic crisis has made it challenging to get employment swiftly.

Figure 5 Current situation of Alumni
The following question is answered, as displayed in Figures 6, 7, and 8: "Are you in agreement or disagreement that the courses offered by the English Studies program at Ben M'Sik have benefited you?" Alumni were questioned regarding their levels of satisfaction in a variety of areas, including obtaining employment, their career in general, job interviews, locating an internship, graduate studies, teacher preparation, teaching, classroom management, selecting instructional materials, and writing tests.
These findings suggest that the English Studies programs at the Ben M'Sik Faculty of Letters and Humanities have been successful in producing graduates who have the best profiles for the job market. Graduates who have taken these seminars have improved and developed specific traits and acquired a variety of particular abilities that enable them to successfully negotiate job interviews. Additionally, graduates of English Studies degrees are now more likely to find employment and pursue careers in a range of professions, including teaching. The Alumni Association claims that these courses were beneficial for individuals who continued their education. This indicates that the students have acquired the information and abilities required for master's and/or Ph.D. studies as a result of the modules they have studied.
The effectiveness of these courses in terms of aiding students in locating internships and passing writing assessments, however, is disputed by some graduates. This could be brought on by a lack of thorough attention given to developing students' writing abilities and addressing students' evaluation and writing-related issues. The results from graduates of the English department shed light on a number of issues that make this examination worthwhile and useful. The attitudes of graduates toward the effectiveness of the English Studies courses are a crucial aspect since they will have a significant impact on the advancement of the Applied Language Studies track. This conversation can be used to support a number of proposals.

Discussion
Summarizing thus far, the study has examined the success of the English Studies programs provided by the Ben M'Sik Faculty of Letters and Humanities, with a focus on alumni satisfaction with job search, career advancement, job interviews, internships, graduate studies, teacher preparation, teaching, classroom management, selecting instructional materials, and test-writing.
Based on your findings, it is evident that the courses offered by the Faculty of Letters and Humanities Ben M'Sik appear to be effective in preparing graduates for the job market, especially in teaching. This fact seems to be in consonance with previous studies that have highlighted the importance of English language proficiency in employability and career advancement, particularly in high-value service industries such as education and business. For example, Roshid & Chowdhury (2013) found that English language proficiency played a critical role in securing employment opportunities for Bangladeshi graduates in the Australian job market.
Another important finding is that the courses have been deemed effective in helping graduates develop communication skills and perform well in job interviews. This is also supported by previous research. Studies by Pandey & Pandey (2014) and Chaibate et al. (2020) have highlighted the importance of soft skills, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, in enhancing employability and career success. However, the findings also seem to suggest the courses' inefficacy in finding internships and passing writing tests, which is consistent with previous research that has identified writing as a major challenge for English language learners, particularly in academic contexts. Ma (2021) found that postgraduate students faced significant challenges when writing in English.
Overall, the findings provide valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of language education programs and highlight the areas that need improvement to enhance graduates' employability and career success. By considering the perspectives of alumni and their career outcomes, our study builds on previous research and contributes to the ongoing dialogue on language education and its role in shaping career paths.
Additionally, the design and delivery of English language courses can be improved with the help of the study of educational engineering. The development of successful and effective educational projects can be aided by the ADDIE technique. When it comes to the planning of educational projects, this methodology is the most popular and commonly applied. Five steps make up the process: • Evaluation: The track's design will not be interesting and useful if a prior, during, and post evaluation is planned for after the training. During this time, you can assess the track's effectiveness, including its return on investment (ROI) or students' contentment. Figure 9. The ADDIE method summary In much the same way, it is proposed that the department adopt this strategy to enhance the content and instruction of its courses, which may ultimately result in greater student outcomes and employability. In order to improve the delivery and accessibility of its courses, the department should also think about incorporating digital technologies and online learning platforms, such as Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Moodle. This can assist with the digital transformation of teaching and address any COVID-19 pandemic-related difficulties. In order to maintain the high caliber of its programs, it is advised that the department perform regular evaluations to determine the success of its courses, including the use of online platforms and digital technologies.

Conclusion
The efficiency of the Applied Language Studies track at the Ben M'Sik Faculty of Letters and Humanities in terms of its influence on graduates' employability and career growth has been laid out by this study. The research findings imply that the English Studies department's courses have been extremely important in preparing graduates for the labor market, notably in the teaching sector. But there is always potential for growth, especially in terms of strengthening students' writing abilities and offering assistance with passing writing exams and locating internships.
There have been pedagogical recommendations made to address these areas for improvement. This entails offering mentoring programs to students looking for internships and introducing more writing-focused courses. In order to build and develop educational projects and tracks that address clearly defined educational objectives, such as the digital transformation in teaching, it is also crucial to take into account the incorporation of educational engineering approaches. One such method is the ADDIE method.
In general, this study emphasizes the significance of regularly evaluating and enhancing academic programs' performance in addressing labor market demands and preparing graduates for successful professions. Therefore, it is our aim that the research's conclusions and suggestions will help to advance future reforms generally and the Applied Language Studies program at the Ben M'Sik Faculty of Letters and Humanities specifically.

Recommendations
In light of the study's findings, several pedagogical suggestions could be put into practice in order to raise the standard of English language instruction in Moroccan universities: 1. Emphasis on the development of students' communicative competence: In line with the research conducted, students believe their speaking and listening abilities are lacking. Teachers should therefore concentrate on fostering students' communication skills by giving them chances to practice speaking and listening in authentic settings. Discussions, arguments, and role-playing exercises can all be useful in improving these abilities. 2. Increase the use of technology in language instruction: The study discovered that teachers rarely ever included technology in their instruction and that students had restricted access to it. Teachers should use technology in their lessons to address this, such as interactive whiteboards, virtual classrooms, and internet resources. Students' motivation and involvement may be increased as a result (See Harrizi et al., 2022). 3. Offer opportunities for genuine language use: The study revealed that students believed their English classes were disconnected from everyday life. Therefore, teachers should give students chances to utilize English in real-world contexts, such as through volunteer work, internships, and study abroad possibilities. Students' motivation may increase as a result, and their language skills may also advance. 4. Emphasize the strengthening of writing abilities: Our findings suggest that students had trouble writing in English. Writing projects should receive feedback from teachers, who should also educate students writing techniques and give them opportunities to practice writing in a range of genres. 5. Encourage learner autonomy: students felt that they were not given the opportunity to be in charge of their own education. Teachers should encourage learner autonomy by giving students the chance to create learning objectives, select their own course materials, and keep track of their progress. This can encourage lifelong learning and increase student motivation.
It is advised that the English Department at the Faculty of Letters and Humanities Ben M'Sik continue to concentrate on establishing and increasing the quality of its English language courses in light of the findings about the significance of English language skills for employment. Additionally, it is recommended that the department take into account including more useful and industry-relevant information in the curriculum, like digital literacy abilities and soft skills development.