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M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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Ph.D. / Arabic has been offered a third language optional subject in secondary schools in South Africa for the past two decades. With the introduction of outcome-based education (OBE) and the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in South Africa, it has become necessary to look afresh at the exsting curriculum for Arabic and the possibilities that exist for its continued promotion.

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Motivation and motivational strategies are believed to enhance student participation in the learning of a second language. As an educator, I wanted to conduct my own research to investigate whether a teacher can motivate slow learners by using different motivational strategies. Fifteen pupils of Form I participated in completing a questionnaire to show how much they were intrinsically and extrinsically motivated in the learning of the Arabic language before applying the motivation strategies. At the end, the same questionnaire was given after these strategies were applied. As a result, my goal was achieved. Pupils seemed to be motivated after applying the motivational strategies. However, based on the findings, extrinsic motivation showed no sign of improvement and obviously, this matter merits further research. Some recommendations are provided. At last, it is hoped that results of this study could be used to adapt the curriculum to the needs of slow learners. / Classics and World Languages / M.A. (Arabic Language)

Teaching Arabic as foreign language is a fairly new field of study, particularly in Western Universities. The aim of this thesis is to discuss one aspect of this field by concentrating on text-book analysis and evaluation. In carrying out this task we have formulated a set of questions to serve as parameters in the collection and analysis of data relevant to this task (appendix II). The subject of this practical study is vol. 1, entitled "Arabic for Beginners" of a series of books used for teaching Arabic to foreign adults at the Arabic Language Institute. Our study utilises a number of notions and considerations which are applicable to text-book analysis and evaluation generally. In Appendix I we deal with some of these points in an attempt to specify the theoretical dimension presupposed by our practical analysis. The thesis contains two main parts:- the theoretical part which deals with different aspects belonging to the teaching of Arabic as a foreign language, including the characteristics of the Arabic language and the teaching of sounds, vocabulary, constructions, and culture. The practical part, on the other hand, is concerned with the practical application and the outcome of the analysis of the text-book in terms of a set of criteria which may have applicability outside the immediate realm of Arabic foreign language teaching. The thesis contains four chapters. Chapter one deals with the characteristics of the Arabic language and its importance as a foreign language; it also concentrates on the objectives of Arabic language teaching as well as on the problem of syllabus design in relation to this language. Chapter two gives a general outline of the institutes and the materials of teaching Arabic as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia. Chapter three deals with the importance of sounds, vocabulary, constructions and culture, paying attention to their place in the text-book of teaching Arabic as a foreign Language. Chapter four sets out the results of applying the criteria of text-book evaluation to the book under investigation, pointing out its positive and negative features in the areas of sounds, vocabulary, constructions and culture.

This study examines the history and development of the “Arabic as a foreign language” (AFL) programme in Dearborn Public Schools (in Michigan, the United States) in its socio-cultural and political context. More specifically, this study examines the significance of Arabic to the Arab immigrant and ethnic community in Dearborn in particular, but with reference to meanings generated and associated to Arabic by non- Arabs in the same locale. Although this study addresses questions similar to research conducted on Arab Americans in light of anthropological and sociological theoretical constructs, it is, however, unique in examining education and Arabic pedagogy in Dearborn from an Arab American studies and an educational multi-cultural perspective, predicated on/and drawing from Edward Said’s critique of Orientalism, Paulo Freire’s ideas about education, and Henry Giroux’s concern with critical pedagogy. In the American mindscape, the "East" has been the theatre of the exotic, the setting of the Other from colonial times to the present. The Arab and Muslim East have been constructed to represent an opposite of American culture, values and life. Through the agency of conflation, Arab (and Muslim) Americans are accordingly lumped together with people from abroad, making for their status as permanent outsiders. Thus, if the American Self represents an ideal, the inhabitants of this oppositional world of Arabs and Islam (an Anti-world) represent an Anti-self. A source of fear and object of hate and prejudice, this Anti-self is the object of derision and anything connected with it (e.g. language, customs, religion, etc.) becomes suspect and is devalued by association. This document has two objectives: First, to present an historical account of this context, and, secondly, to shed light on how and why things that are associated with Arab Americans in Dearborn are devalued. This is achieved by addressing the developments of meanings (of actions and symbols) in their American context, and how they have shaped (and still shape) the local culture's depiction of and understanding of Arab (and Muslim) Americans. Therefore, Arab American issues of language, culture and societal interactions should be understood as constituting a stream of American life, which represent a dimension of the total American experience, past and present, that is best understood through the paradigm of American studies. Viewing this experience as a cultural whole rather than as a series of unrelated fragments (e.g. immigration waves and settlement patterns, religious and state affiliations, assimilation and preservation debates), Arab American culture and issues begin to shine through as an organic and holistic experience whose characteristics are shared with other groups, suggesting research on this community is equally generalisable to others. ii As an academic work, this document promotes an understanding of the Arab American experience from an interdisciplinary point of view through focusing on the phenomenon of language in the community with emphasis placed on the AFL experience at school. Therefore, it is a broadly-framed outlook that permits, in an introductory way, a view of the richness of the Arab American experience, particularly in Dearborn, Michigan, as part of the American experience. Data were collected using two surveys, one for AFL students at a high school, and another was administered to adults in the community—in Dearborn. In addition, an action-research-based effort, individual personal interviews and focus groups were conducted with stakeholders in the community: parents/community members, teachers/school personnel and students, utilising personal involvement in understanding and analysing the data. Also, the study referred to archival and documentary evidence available in the school system. Four hypotheses regarding importance/significance and utility of Arabic were offered and tested by means of qualitative, interpretive analysis. Findings included: (1) Arab Americans valued Arabic as an emblem of their community in Dearborn, suggesting its employment as an indicator of political empowerment. (2) Conversely, in the non-Arab community Arabic was observed as a mark of the Other, and an artefact of ethnic retrenchment and rejection of assimilation. (3) Interestingly, however, development of English language competence emerged as a major concern in the community, outweighing Arabic language preservation. (4) While, language maintenance efforts in the community were observed as minimal, especially at the organisational level, and support for such programmes was marginal to nil. (5) Additionally, Arabic, while not the object of a desire to master as a medium of communication, was observed to signify a special symbol of heritage for Arab American youth in the Dearborn community, who may have rejected their parents’ ideas about learning Arabic, but had developed their own. (6) What is more, Arab American youth were observed developing a viable hybridised identity, whose mainstay is being “Arabic”, despite the dominance of English and Euro-Anglo cultural norms. (7) At the institutional level, Arabic was observed devalued in the school setting due to its association with Arabs, Islam, Arab Americans, and immigration. (8) Moreover, relations between Arab Americans and non-Arab Americans in the school system seems to have been equally impacted by this process of devaluation, furthering the cause of stigmatisation, prejudice and racism.

This study explored the learning experience of Arabic language learners at the college level, focusing on their perception of effective and ineffective Arabic language teachers as well as the influence of their experiences on their motivation. The study also attempted to shed some light on the nature of the teacher-student interaction within the current sociopolitical context. The 29 students who agreed to participate in this study were all Arabic language learners enrolled in the second year or higher of Arabic at a major university in the United States. Data were collected from multiple sources including an open-ended survey and semi-structured interviews that were conducted on a one-on-one basis with the participants. Data were analyzed using coding procedures suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1998) from a grounded theory qualitative approach. Results indicated that participants perceived their effective Arabic language teachers as adaptable teachers. These adaptable teachers influence learners' learning outcomes by balancing their high expectations of their students with an awareness of language learning needs. Moreover, participants' perceptions of their best Arabic learning experiences were always associated with adaptable teachers, whose positive interaction style radiated throughout in their teaching. The data indicated that participants were intrinsically motivated in four different ways: (1) intrinsic motivation for the linguistic aspects of Arabic, (2) intrinsic motivation for knowledge, (3) intrinsic motivation for optimal experience, and (4) intrinsic motivation for accomplishment. Moreover, motivation constructs such as expectancy-value, self-efficacy, and flow were related to the students' experiences. According to many students, the more years they spent in learning Arabic, the more they had become obsessed with it. Most participants in this study credited both native and non-native speakers as effective language teachers.. Participants credited their native teachers for their linguistic knowledge and their in-depth understanding of the Arabic culture and described them as resourceful. At the same time, they credited non-native teachers for their pedagogical knowledge, organizational skills, and knowledge of learners' characteristics, and described them as role models. Suggestions for future research and implications for research and practice are discussed. / Not available / text