Learning Arabic as a Foreign Language on Undergraduate Degree Courses in England

Abstract

Communicative Language Teaching has been changing the way foreign languages are taught since the 1970s. Arabic degree courses responded to this by teaching Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) communicatively, meaning essential components of communicative competence, notably sociolinguistics, were absent, making courses at odds with the approach. In the majority of English Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), students are taught to speak, listen, read and write in MSA and often expected to pick up a regional variety (RV) during their year abroad. This study has revealed that some HEIs have introduced RVs into the curriculum or classroom. However, an important component of degree-level Arabic is missing: a background understanding and awareness of the language situation. This absence of what makes Arabic so unique, which starts with diglossia, means courses cannot do justice to the language itself. When developing the curriculum, a shift has been identified in the wider field of HE due to the changing climate in which HEIs operate. Engaging students in their education and making approaches more student-centred is advocated in the wider literature as a solution to face the changes of the modern-day world, making HEIs more competitive, accountable and inclusive, and improving the student experience. To date, no comprehensive research has investigated what this means for undergraduate degree-level Arabic or how it can be drawn on when developing the curriculum. This study addresses this gap through mixed-methods research to explore multiple perspectives, data was gathered from eight of the nine English HEIs offering undergraduate Arabic: 122 student questionnaires and 15 student interviews, 12 tutor interviews and 14 classroom observations. This three-dimensionality was crucial to achieve as comprehensive a picture of the discipline as possible. There is a long-standing debate on whether degree-level courses should include practical or theoretical knowledge. As Arabic is learnt at university ab initio, the practical acquisition of the language is expected. It requires a different approach to other L2s due to the complexity of the language situation. Some components of communicative competence may need to be discarded on Arabic beginner levels by using MSA in inauthentic situations. However, an awareness of the language situation complements practical skills acquisition and is consistent with what universities are for: providing a fuller understanding of the subject matter. This study urges HEIs to experiment with including a module on Arabic linguistics, which would raise awareness surrounding the language situation as well as promoting student agency, academic conversation and transparency.

Date of Award	11 Jun 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	Barbara Loester (Supervisor), Inga Bryden (Supervisor) & Alexis Gibbs (Supervisor)