Exploring the English language teachers’ perceptions of plagiarism: The case of Algerian Universities

Abstract

Academic dishonesty is an alarming issue in higher education which spreads increasingly into the academic discourse community. As such, the present study is concerned with the exploration of university English language teachers’ perceptions towards what might most bring about plagiarism among their students. The study attempted to figure out, through the teachers’ academic experiences regarding plagiarism, the main reasons behind students’ inclination to approach this issue at Algerian Universities. This piece of research helps to awake both the teachers and students’ vigilance in response to plagiarism as one of the most alarming acts of academic dishonesty, and, consequently, to diminish this academic corruption. To achieve the aim of the study, the researcher used an English language teachers' questionnaire adapted from a study conducted by Rezanejad & Rezaei (2013). A sample of eighty university English language teachers from Saida University and other Algerian universities were selected to respond to the questionnaire. However, only 36 copies of the questionnaire were filled out and returned. The results of the present research indicated that Algerian university English teachers believe that their students had different reasons for plagiarism but they mostly plagiarize because of their bad command of the language and easiness of plagiarism.