DOHA: Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) hosted an ‘Enhancing Teaching Arabic in Qatar’ workshop for 25 primary, private and Independent school teachers to complement their language learning pedagogy.
Led by Dr Zeinab Ibrahim, Professor of Arabic Studies and a renowned sociolinguist, the workshop introduced teachers to linguistic theories behind the Arabiyyatti project, supported by Qatar National Research Fund’s (QNRF) National Priorities Research Programme.
Ibrahim said Arabiyyatti aims to introduce teachers to recent best practices in teaching modern standard Arabic to schoolchildren. While Arab children are able to speak their local dialect, they are often unable to communicate using modern standard Arabic, otherwise known as fus’ha.
“There are common problems with teaching Arabic across the region, and Arabiyyatti is the result of research indicating the need to support educators by introducing them to updated teaching methods and recent linguistic theories that deal with language acquisition and learning.
“I hope participating instructors gained value from the workshop, and it will inspire them to use Arabiyyatti in their classrooms for the benefit of their students and the preservation of the Arabic language,” Ibrahim said.
The Arabiyyatti research team, led by Ibrahim, set out to help primary school students learn to read and write Arabic and build positive attitudes toward modern standard Arabic by engaging them through interactive programming and gaming.
The project, called Aladdin, was piloted at Qatar Academy in Fall 2013.
Dr Munir Tag, Programme Manager, Information Communication Technologies, QNRF, said, “Arabiyyatti aims to simplify and enhance Arabic language learning in schools in Qatar through the use of modern technology and interactive gaming and we are pleased with the results it has yielded so far.
“As a member of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), QNRF invests in cutting-edge research to enhance a culture that supports QF on its mission to build Qatar’s innovation and technology capacity, and help the country develop into a hub of research excellence through QF R&D.”
The Peninsula
