Arabic as One Language: Integrating Dialect in the Arabic Language Curriculum

Mahmoud Al-Batal

ISBN 10: 1626165041 / ISBN 13: 9781626165045

Published by Georgetown University Press, 2018

About this Item

Summary:Arabic is a diglossic language: What is written is different from what is spoken. For decades, students have learned written Arabic first and then spoken but this does not reflect the sociolinguistic reality of the language nor does it give students what they need to communicate. Teachers of Arabic have struggled to teach communicative skills. With the introduction of Al-Kitaab Third Edition, this method had to be established. Though there has been much discussion about "integrating Arabic," little research or evidence has been presented about it. In this volume, Al-Batal gathers scholars who are using this method with success to present research that the method works. They will address curricular models, students' measured outcomes (with copious examples), and attitudes of students and teachers (which often change) using this methodology. Contributors are a mix of well-known and young scholars, bringing fresh voices into this discussion and making this method more established and less "experimental." Additional data will be provided on the GU Press website. Data include, tables/figures, audio, and video recordings of students showing the proposed method and outcomes from the method discussed. References to these resources will be made in the book.

Seller Inventory # BGLANG136

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Arabic as One Language: Integrating Dialect in the Arabic Language Curriculum
• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1626165041
• ISBN 13: 9781626165045
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New
• Seller catalogs:
  • Middle East
  • Language
  • Linguistics

About this title

Synopsis

For decades, students learning the Arabic language have begun with Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and then transitioned to learning spoken Arabic. While the MSA-first approach neither reflects the sociolinguistic reality of the language nor gives students the communicative skills required to fully function in Arabic, the field continues to debate the widespread adoption of this approach. Little research or evidence has been presented about the effectiveness of integrating dialect in the curriculum. With the recent publication of textbooks that integrate dialect in the Arabic curriculum, however, a more systematic analysis of such integration is clearly becoming necessary.

In this seminal volume, Mahmoud Al-Batal gathers key scholars who have implemented integration to present data and research on the method's success. The studies address curricular models, students' outcomes, and attitudes of students and teachers using integration in their curricula. This volume is an essential resource for all teachers of Arabic language and those working in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL).

About the Author

Mahmoud Al-Batal is professor of Arabic at the University of Texas-Austin and former director of the UT Arabic Flagship program and the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA). He has published many articles and books on TAFL and is one of the authors of the Al-Kitaab Arabic Language Program.