Why the WLI

Creating exemplary curriculum and instruction for 21st century language learners.

The English as an Additional Language Initiative

In the past, the perceived deficiencies of English learners led to a narrow focus on remediation through English-only or separate ESL programs. In the World Language Initiative (WLI), English as an additional language (EAL) instruction is layered across the curriculum and emphasizes the understanding and sophisticated uses of language beyond the classroom for shaping a global perspective. The ISS' EAL pilot program is underway in two “catalyst” schools in China. They offer enriched approaches to curriculum design and instructional delivery that intertwine English-language development across all content areas. The goal is to help support students’ English language acquisition by scaffolding academic content.

Modern Standard Arabic – MSA

Arabic is a diglossic language spoken by more than 300 million Arabs and by many other non-Arab Muslims who learn the Arabic language in order to be able to read the Qur’an. Diglossia has been defined by Ferguson (1959) as the existence of two varieties of the same language, each variety having a specialized function. In Arabic, one variety (a certain regional dialect such as Levantine, Egyptian, Gulfian or North African) is used for every day, informal oral interaction. Regional dialects are collectively known as Colloquial Arabic. They vary from one speech community to another depending on geographical proximity. The other variety existing alongside the spoken dialects is mostly written, and it has oral use in formal, academic and media settings. According to Aramouni (2011) this variety is called Faseeha or Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and it is more or less invariable throughout the Arab world.

Students arrive in classrooms having heard some MSA on TV cartoons and some children's shows but they are still unable to read and write using MSA without proper instruction. Most Arabic language classrooms observed in Arab countries including Lebanon, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, were conducted using regional dialects rather than MSA. This practice leads to a weakened semantic and syntactical system in students' linguistic portfolio. One of the best and fastest methods to rectify that would be to insist that all classroom discourse, teaching and learning activities be in MSA. The WLI program is built around this basic premise, and has developed the resources and the teacher training that would help students learn the language while, through and by using the needed language register.

The Challenge of the Traditional

The teaching and learning of the Arabic language has for the most part been done in very traditional ways. This means that classroom instruction had the textbook as its focal point and the teacher as the transmitter and owner of all knowledge. Moreover, the teaching and learning of Arabic centered around memorizing medieval literature and poetry which left the students unable to transfer that memorized knowledge into their lives, interests and thinking processes. With the explosion of the information revolution and knowledge based societies and economies there is now an urgent need to move instruction to meet the needs of 21st century learners.

It is in this dynamic and important context that the WLI developed its mission, vision and philosophy.

What are the implications of how Arabic is currently being taught in our schools?