Mentoring Matters in Workplace: The Impact of Formal Mentoring Program on EFL Instructors’ Performance at ELI, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

An unprecedented acceleration in globalization, cross-culture integration and intensified innovation are a few elements that have triggered the need for availability of mentoring as the professional identity of any institution of higher learning. It has got the status of a foundation stone of mutual accomplishments between universities in the provision of teacher development. Therefore, this research study was carried out to evaluate the experiences of faculty members who participated in a formal mentoring program organized by the English Language Institute (ELI) at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) from 2017 to 2019. In this mixed-method study, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data in order to respond to questions connected to the effectiveness of the mentoring program for mentors and mentees. The study particularly sought to discover the character of the work issues discussed and the worth judged by participants as emerging from their contribution to a programmed mentoring correlation. Data analysis transpired that mentoring promoted all of those who participated in the program. The study concluded that mentoring could assist in constructing capability in two ways- featured and standardized mentoring of trainee teachers through overt mentoring practices, and demonstrating and deconstructing teaching methods and practices for mentors' pedagogical progression. This study emphasizes the worth and value of the formal mentoring program as a valued and fitting professional development approach.