Article: Saudi Students Flood U.S. Colleges for English Lessons

From http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/11/saudi-students-english-class/1827465

Saudi students flood U.S. colleges for English lessons
by Mary Beth Marklein
January 15, 2013

Meshari Albishi, 25, is one of thousands of international students arriving each year in the United States to study English as the first step toward a college degree. They come from all over the world, but Saudi Arabia, where the government has poured billions of dollars into a generous scholarship program, is driving the recent surge.

In just seven years, Saudi student enrollments have skyrocketed from 11,116 in 2006, to 71,026 last year, according to the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the United States, the Virginia-based agency that administers the scholarship. Nearly all recipients (95%) start with language training, which can take anywhere from a month to a year or more, officials say.

Read the full article at http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/11/saudi-students-english-class/1827465