Introduction+Resources


 * FAQs About How to Use These Materials

What kinds of materials are available?
Vocabulary sets, activity plans, and activity materials are presented to assist teachers in developing a robust first year curriculum according to their own specifications, or to supplement existing programs. “Can-Do” statements accompany each unit to indicate the tasks and functions students should be able to perform effectively by the end of each unit.

How should I use these materials?
We envision teachers using these materials in two ways:

** 1) As the Core of Your Curriculum **
The eight thematic units can constitute the primary content of a first year high school Arabic course. Each unit contains carefully-selected vocabulary sets and creative activities to activate that vocabulary in all skill modalities. We recommend following the units sequentially, as each unit’s activities assume control of the previous units’ vocabulary. Also included in each unit is a set of “can-do” statements relevant to the unit. These statements, developed by seasoned high school Arabic teachers, provide important insights into the functions and tasks that are appropriate to the level and vocabulary of each unit. These statement will help you to structure your course and develop materials to help students to accomplish level-appropriate tasks. The expectation is not that you will work to achieve all of the suggested can-do statements of each unit. Rather, teachers may choose the can-do statements that best suit their class--keeping in mind the primary goal of language proficiency development--and construct appropriate assessments of students’ performance toward those particular can-do statements. Suggested class projects and assessment activities can also be found in each of the thematic units. Alongside the eight thematic units, the “Anytime Games” section offers additional vocabulary practice activities that can be adapted for use in any unit.

** 2) As a Supplement to Your Curriculum **
These materials can enrich the curriculum of any proficiency-oriented classroom by introducing additional content areas, tasks, functions, and language features not found in traditional textbooks. The vocabulary and activities recommended in these units can easily be adapted for use with a wide variety of content in a proficiency-oriented classroom. Teachers wishing to adapt the activities presented here may be particularly interested in the “Variations” and “Extensions” sections of each activity plan, where alternative activities are often introduced.

What’s the method behind your materials?
The materials presented here are designed to frame and/or enrich a proficiency-oriented curriculum for Novice-level Arabic language learners. The materials promote meaningful, effective communication through the use of authentic and semi-authentic materials, tasks and activities. Activities and materials are flexible to be adapted to many types of student-centered classrooms, and to accommodate and support varied learning styles.

For an in-depth review of the goals, pedagogical principles, and instructional approaches that inform these materials, please visit our “Goals, Principles and Approaches For Designing a First Year Arabic Curriculum” section. This document will be of use to any teacher seeking to develop a principled, rigorous, proficiency-oriented language program that incorporates the communicative activities available here.

More information on Proficiency-Oriented Instruction can be found via the [|Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)_] .For more information on the ACTFL proficiency guidelines, please visit the [|ACTFL 2012 Proficiency Guidelines] website.

How much time should I spend on each unit?
The answer to this question will differ from classroom to classroom. To fully activate the vocabulary of each unit, spend adequate time on task in all skill areas (reading, writing, speaking, listening, cultural competence), and assess students’ performance on the specific can-do statements selected for each unit, it is estimated that each unit will require approximately one month in a standard high school Arabic course. Teachers will need to consider their own teaching setting (intensity, structure, class size, student population, and program expectations, etc) as they develop and structure their courses.

Why do you focus on Levantine Arabic?
These materials introduce learners to spoken Levantine Arabic and some elements of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). The focus on spoken Levantine introduces students to language forms used by native speakers in performing the functions associated with Novice and Intermediate-levels. At these levels, users of a language are engaging with “everyday topics that affect them directly” and “familiar topics related to their daily life.” In real life, these sorts of topics are discussed by native speakers using a spoken variety of Arabic.

A recent survey by the Arab American Institute revealed that over 40% of Arab Americans have roots in the Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine/Israel). Given that statistic, students are likely to encounter speakers of Levantine Arabic in their communities. Likewise, the community of teachers that developed these materials consisted of native and non-native speakers of Levantine Arabic eager to engage students to interact with native speakers using authentic, appropriate language.

I don’t teach Levantine Arabic. How can I benefit from these materials?
The thematic units and “anytime activities” you find here contain materials for developing all skill areas (reading, writing, listening, speaking, and cultural competence), with a particular focus on oral proficiency development. Each unit contains a wealth of activities that can be adapted to other language varieties and content areas.

We encourage teachers to consider that, among native speakers, the tasks and functions of the Novice and Intermediate levels are most often performed in spoken varieties of Arabic. A familiarity with spoken Arabic--of any regional variety--offers students the advantage of being able to communicate effectively, appropriately, and accurately with native speakers. Research has also shown that students who study a spoken variety of Arabic early in their study of the language are more able to handle other spoken varieties as they progress with the language than students who study MSA alone!

Do these materials introduce the Arabic writing system?
The materials included here assume a basic familiarity with Arabic script. We assume that teachers will make use of the many resources already available for introducing Arabic script before transitioning to using the materials contained here.

Here are a few resources for introducing Arabic script. For additional suggestions, visit our “Additional Resources” page.

Qatar Foundation International [|Wheel of Letters] (online app) Brustad et al (2010) [|Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds: 3rd Edition] Wightwick and Gaafar (2005) [|Easy Arabic Script.]

Are the materials available in transliteration?
We offer limited transliteration in these materials, with most materials being provided in Arabic script. We strongly encourage the introduction of Arabic script from the beginning of any Arabic curriculum, prior to working with these materials. However, we recognize that each learning situation is unique and that the timing of introduction of script may differ from program to program. Thus, all vocabulary lists are available with or without transliteration of Arabic items.

The transliteration system used in these materials matches that introduced in the widely-used Arabic language textbook [|Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds: 3rd Edition] (Brustad et al, 2010). Note that classroom materials include some minimal transliteration in the first unit for additional support to beginning readers.

= A Special Note on Vocabulary =

Vocabulary development is at the heart of language learning, particularly when learning languages with few cognates in the learners’ first language. Vocabulary items are the building blocks of your students’ ability to function effectively in Arabic. Classroom activities for activating vocabulary constitute a large part of each learning unit contained on this page, and ought to constitute the majority of in-class time. Additionally, students should be actively studying the vocabulary at home through engaging homework activities and by employing good memorization strategies. Several strategies are listed in the “Student Guide” included here. We encourage you to share the strategies with your student,s and to help them discover new ways to develop full, active control of the vocabulary of each unit. The vocabulary items presented in these units are high-frequency words from spoken Levantine Arabic, selected to be relevant and appropriate for the tasks and functions of the [|ACTFL Novice and Intermediate proficiency levels.] Each vocabulary set includes dedicated space for student notes. This space is meant to promote student and teacher awareness of learning styles and strategies. In this space, students might draw pictures, write notes, or develop mnemonic devices to speed acquisition of vocabulary items. Encourage your students to use this space to test out strategies for vocabulary memorization, available in the Student Guide. ||  || Downloadable and Printable Versions



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