The WLI Arabic Program

Hanada describing the current challenges in Arabic education

As ISS continues to develop schools in the Middle-East region, it has resolved to seek solutions for providing quality language instruction by fostering the development of high quality, sustainable Arabic language programs for schools.

In collaboration with Dr. Hanada Taha-Thomure, Associate Dean of Bahrain Teachers’ College at the University of Bahrain, and a team of experts, they set out to craft a new vision for Arabic language learning at Riffa Views International School in Bahrain and The KAUST School in Saudi Arabia. The result was the creation of the native program, Qisas and non-native program Hiwaraat, which form the core of the initiative.

The WLI Arabic Program supports levels 1-9, for both native and non-native Arabic speakers and features:

• Metacognitive approaches
• Exciting and engaging Arabic text, illustrations and activities
• Scenarios and dialogues from Arab daily life, children’s Arabic music and art and cultural notes for non-native learners
• Literature-based program for native language learners
• Integrated grammar and etymology
• A student-centered, communicative approach – engaging students in higher-order thinking and dialogue rather than rote memorization
• A standards-based approach. The Qisas Series (native) is aligned with the ISS Arabic Language Arts standards (based on the Ohio ELA standards) and the Hiwaraat Series (non-native) is aligned with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) standards.

Qisas (Stories) for native language learners is literature based and aligned with the ISS Arabic Standards. The program uses a range of resources rather than a specific textbook. The resources include a large collection of authentic children's literature and student resource books. Such resources offer learners a rich linguistic experience that focuses on teaching them to read independently, comprehend, discuss, analyze, research, and synthesize using Modern Standard Arabic.

Hiwaraat (Dialogues) for non-native language learners aims to equip students with language skills and tools that enable them to function and be able to communicate with Arabic speakers, and to promote mutual understanding of and respect for the Arab culture.
These new instructional programs are offered to educators and their students through a comprehensive framework of components designed to support and sustain critical shifts towards best practices in Arabic language learning.

Further, ensuring quality is a key concern. The developing program is being audited by Dr. Dany Doueiri, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Arabic Language Programs, California State University, San Bernardino, who has already given some preliminary feedback, stating, “I would like to congratulate you on the extensive work you have developed for the Arabic language program. The documents are truly amazing and comprehensive. They must have taken months and months to conceptualize, plan, research, draft, and complete. Having interacted with other Arabic programs in the Arab region, I can assure you that you are setting very high standards that many existing schools in the region should carefully look at to learn from and hopefully one day implement and adopt in their own classrooms.”

The program is also being overseen by an advisory board of eminent authorities in the field. Efforts are underway to partner with assessment agencies to begin gathering performance data on student achievement, including NWEA with whom we are working to develop an- Arabic MAP assessment. This data will help inform a long term research project that is being designed to gauge the impact of the program design on student achievement.