Practice for Teaching Arabic: A Communicative Approach 2009 CASAW
Practice for Teaching Arabic: A Communicative Approach 2009
Intensive Course in Teaching Arabic to Adults:A Communicative Approach
Location: British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London, SW1A 2BN
The Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW), a joint initiative between the universities of Edinburgh, Durham and Manchester, will be running a 1-week intensive CPD course in teaching Arabic to to non-native speakers using a communicative approach.
Aims of the Course
The broad aim of the course is to raise the standard of the teaching of Arabic in UK academic institutions and schools. The CASAW Teaching Arabic course is designed to help participants design and deliver Arabic classes in a dynamic and communicative manner which ensures a high level of student motivation and rapid academic progress in all four language skill-areas: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
http://www.casaw.ac.uk/index.php/weoffer/more/best_practice_fo_teaching_arabic_a_comunicative_approach_3-7_august_british/
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Independent, Education, A-Z of A-Levels:Arabic.
The Independent, Education Section
July 13, 2001
A -Z of A-levels: Arabic
By Lucy Hodges
What is it? At A/S-level you study the language only, but you also learn about the culture; at A-level you can do literature as well as more of the cultural stuff. All of it is targeted at non-native speakers. At A-level the topics broaden, and you can take some literature. You can study, for example, the Arabs in Spain in the Middle Ages, or Egyptian writers such as Naguib Mahfouz, Ahmed Shawqi or Ibn Al-Muqaffa, who wrote a work that is quite similar to Aesop's Fables.
Why do it? Some do it because they are from families of Arabic origin and want to hang on to the language. Some are Muslim and fancy learning Arabic for that reason. Others want to work in the Middle East, and some are married to Arabs.
What skills do you need? It helps to have GCSE Arabic. Plunging straight into A/S-level Arabic would be quite difficult, though not entirely impossible for those who can already cope with the language or those who have an affinity to languages.
How much practical work is there? No essays in the A/S-level, though you do have to write a letter, a report or an article. Plus grammar tests, a comprehension passage and a translation from Arabic to English. It's all reading and writing, no oral or listening. At A-level you write two essays and you do a comprehension.
Ratio of coursework to exams: No coursework.
Is it hard? Most people tend to think that Arabic is an incredibly hard subject, because it involves learning a whole new alphabet. But, according to Nadia Abdelaal, the chief examiner to Edexcel exam board, it's not.
Is it enjoyable? Yes, you are meant to enjoy the A/S-level.
Who takes it? Mainly 17- and 18-year-olds. A-level Arabic is also taken by people who have some sort of Arabic background.
How cool is it? It's moving increasingly into the 21st century, says Nadia Abdelaal. People who have hitherto shown little interest in the subject are now sitting the exam. The number of students have almost doubled from 289 in June 2000 to 493 this year.
Added value: No trips. But you get to try plenty of foodstuffs, which can be brought into school from local ethnic grocers, foods such as mango and guava juice and apricot sheets dissolved in water.
What subjects go with it? French, politics, almost anything really.
What degrees does it lead to? It doesn't lead to a degree. Degrees in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies start from scratch, so students tend to do the subject either at degree level or at A-level.
Will it set you up for a brilliant career? Maybe, particularly if it enables you to do business with oil-rich countries or get a job translating at the United Nations.
What do students say? "I've been taking Arabic outside school for eight years now. I did Arabic GCSE in Year 8 and got an A* and I'm enjoying the A/S-level. I like the way it's taught through newspaper articles and discussing contemporary issues. It enables me not only to read the Koran, but to understand it." (Farah Roomi, 15, who is currently at Altringham Girls' Grammar School, but does her Arabic on Saturday morning at a separate supplementary school)
Which awarding bodies offer it? Only Edexcel.
How widely available is it? There are not many schools and colleges that offer Arabic. But you can study it independently of your school or college.
July 13, 2001
A -Z of A-levels: Arabic
By Lucy Hodges
What is it? At A/S-level you study the language only, but you also learn about the culture; at A-level you can do literature as well as more of the cultural stuff. All of it is targeted at non-native speakers. At A-level the topics broaden, and you can take some literature. You can study, for example, the Arabs in Spain in the Middle Ages, or Egyptian writers such as Naguib Mahfouz, Ahmed Shawqi or Ibn Al-Muqaffa, who wrote a work that is quite similar to Aesop's Fables.
Why do it? Some do it because they are from families of Arabic origin and want to hang on to the language. Some are Muslim and fancy learning Arabic for that reason. Others want to work in the Middle East, and some are married to Arabs.
What skills do you need? It helps to have GCSE Arabic. Plunging straight into A/S-level Arabic would be quite difficult, though not entirely impossible for those who can already cope with the language or those who have an affinity to languages.
How much practical work is there? No essays in the A/S-level, though you do have to write a letter, a report or an article. Plus grammar tests, a comprehension passage and a translation from Arabic to English. It's all reading and writing, no oral or listening. At A-level you write two essays and you do a comprehension.
Ratio of coursework to exams: No coursework.
Is it hard? Most people tend to think that Arabic is an incredibly hard subject, because it involves learning a whole new alphabet. But, according to Nadia Abdelaal, the chief examiner to Edexcel exam board, it's not.
Is it enjoyable? Yes, you are meant to enjoy the A/S-level.
Who takes it? Mainly 17- and 18-year-olds. A-level Arabic is also taken by people who have some sort of Arabic background.
How cool is it? It's moving increasingly into the 21st century, says Nadia Abdelaal. People who have hitherto shown little interest in the subject are now sitting the exam. The number of students have almost doubled from 289 in June 2000 to 493 this year.
Added value: No trips. But you get to try plenty of foodstuffs, which can be brought into school from local ethnic grocers, foods such as mango and guava juice and apricot sheets dissolved in water.
What subjects go with it? French, politics, almost anything really.
What degrees does it lead to? It doesn't lead to a degree. Degrees in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies start from scratch, so students tend to do the subject either at degree level or at A-level.
Will it set you up for a brilliant career? Maybe, particularly if it enables you to do business with oil-rich countries or get a job translating at the United Nations.
What do students say? "I've been taking Arabic outside school for eight years now. I did Arabic GCSE in Year 8 and got an A* and I'm enjoying the A/S-level. I like the way it's taught through newspaper articles and discussing contemporary issues. It enables me not only to read the Koran, but to understand it." (Farah Roomi, 15, who is currently at Altringham Girls' Grammar School, but does her Arabic on Saturday morning at a separate supplementary school)
Which awarding bodies offer it? Only Edexcel.
How widely available is it? There are not many schools and colleges that offer Arabic. But you can study it independently of your school or college.
The New York Times asked a group of five persons to comment on "God and Mark Sanford." The five persons were Chuck Colson (convicted Watergate felon turned Jesus promoter), Shmuley Boteach (orthodox Jewish rabbi), LaShawn Barber (right-wing blogger); Steven Waldman (editor of Beliefnet) and Colleen Carroll Campbell (a woman who has written about young people going back to orthodox religion and who has appeared on the Catholic cable network EWTN).
I found that to be an extraordinarily limited crowd, so I posted the following in comments:
(I left in the spelling and grammar errors.)
I found that to be an extraordinarily limited crowd, so I posted the following in comments:
All the people that the New York Times asked to comment on this are conservative religious people. Does the Times think there are no liberal religious people, or even those of us in the middle of the road?
For the record, I think Mark Sanford has shown a lot of really bad character traits that disqualify him from public office. That would start with his breach of private trust with his wife, continue through his breach of public trust with the citizens of South Carolina by simply disappearing and end up with possible misuse of public funds. Then there’s the whole bizarre business of discussing his matters of the heart with the Associated Press.
One does not need to be a conservative religious person to make observations about that, even to make obseervations involving God. I sincerely hope that the next time something like this happens (and it will), the Times will see fit to invite more than the right end of the right wing of the religious spectrum to comment.
(I left in the spelling and grammar errors.)
Achieving Superior Arabic Fluency
Internet Archive: Free Download: Pushing the Limits: Achieving Superior Arabic Fluency in America
This research defines the most successful methods for teaching Arabic in order for students to reach the Superior level of proficiency. Also, the missing link of all previous research is defined in this study; that being the "student-language relationship". For further information or to contact the author please visit the following website: http://studentlanguagerelationship.blogspot.com
This research defines the most successful methods for teaching Arabic in order for students to reach the Superior level of proficiency. Also, the missing link of all previous research is defined in this study; that being the "student-language relationship". For further information or to contact the author please visit the following website: http://studentlanguagerelationship.blogspot.com
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
بابا تليفون Dad, Telephone - Arabic Children's Song
This song is awesome and pretty simple to understand so it should be a good learning tool if you're starting out. It's by a group called طيور الجنة (The Birds of Paradise) that sings a lot of great songs for kids such as اسناني واوا which I guess you could translate as (My teeth hurt) and also أنا البندورة الحمرة (I am the red tomato). Their songs are all in Syrian Arabic and all really cool!
I don't think the words in this song need much explaining. It's just a matter of looking at the text as they sing and matching what you hear to the words written down. قدوة might not be a word you've heard before. It's an MSA word and means "an example".
بابا تليفون - Dad, telephone!
قلو مو هون - Tell him I'm not here (Literally, tell him not here)
بابا بيقلك هو مو هون - Dad tells you that he's not here
مو قلتلي يا بابا ان الكذب حرام - Didn't you tell me, Dad, that lying is wrong
و انو إللي بيكذب يا بابا الله بيزعل منو - And that God gets angry at those who lie
عينه ما بتقدر إتنام والناس بتبعد عنه - They can't sleep and everyone stays away from them
بتعلمني و بتنسى يا بابا اللي قلتو - Dad, you teach me then you forget what you said
انت القدوة يا بابا و انت المثل الأعلى - You are my model and (high) example
ما تزعل مني يا بابا يا عيوني و اغلى بابا - Don't get mad at me, Dad. Oh precious apple of my eye.
I don't think the words in this song need much explaining. It's just a matter of looking at the text as they sing and matching what you hear to the words written down. قدوة might not be a word you've heard before. It's an MSA word and means "an example".
بابا تليفون - Dad, telephone!
قلو مو هون - Tell him I'm not here (Literally, tell him not here)
بابا بيقلك هو مو هون - Dad tells you that he's not here
مو قلتلي يا بابا ان الكذب حرام - Didn't you tell me, Dad, that lying is wrong
و انو إللي بيكذب يا بابا الله بيزعل منو - And that God gets angry at those who lie
عينه ما بتقدر إتنام والناس بتبعد عنه - They can't sleep and everyone stays away from them
بتعلمني و بتنسى يا بابا اللي قلتو - Dad, you teach me then you forget what you said
انت القدوة يا بابا و انت المثل الأعلى - You are my model and (high) example
ما تزعل مني يا بابا يا عيوني و اغلى بابا - Don't get mad at me, Dad. Oh precious apple of my eye.
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