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How Do Multidialectal Approaches Contribute to Curricular Diversification? Two Project-Based Examples
Abstract
As instruction in colloquial Arabic has increasingly become part of collegiate Arabic language programs, the primary colloquials taught have overwhelmingly been Egyptian and some form of Levantine Arabic. While the “MSA+Egyptian/Levantine” model has certainly contributed to improvements in students’ sociolinguistic competence, it inadvertently has sustained erasures. Specifically, the “MSA+Egyptian/Levantine” model reinforces imaginings of an Arab world in which cultural and political centers like Cairo and Damascus and their Arabic varieties are deemed the most valuable objects of study, consigning other areas of the region to the periphery. Those areas remain relatively invisible in the curriculum, both linguistically and culturally. In the twenty-first century Arab world, increased intraregional flows of people and technologically mediated communication have rendered the linguistic and cultural diversity of the region more accessible to scholars and students, making curricula focused on the practices of a few “central” areas increasingly anachronistic. In recent years, some linguists of Arabic have proposed multidialectal approaches to the teaching of Arabic. Their goal is to improve students’ receptive skills in multiple dialects, and to foster students’ meta-linguistic awareness of the wide-ranging linguistic variation in the language (Soliman, in press; Trentman, 2022; Trentman & Shiri, 2020). So far, proponents of multidialectal approaches have not yet foregrounded the potential of these approaches to include more systemic engagement with the cultural diversity of the Arab world. As cultural practices vary based on the same factors that determine linguistic variety (Kubota, 2003), it follows that multidialectal approaches will be most impactful if the multicultural content of course materials in various colloquials receives equal attention as the comparative study of colloquial features. This paper examines the contribution multidialectal approaches to the teaching of Arabic can make to curricular diversification that is both linguistic and cultural in nature. To that end, it discusses two examples of project-based learning that aim to substantially expand learners’ focus on diverse Arabic colloquials and cultural practices. The presenter will discuss the design and objectives of each project, their implementation with twenty Intermediate-level learners of Arabic, the role of learning technologies in each project, and results based on assessment and student reflections. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations for maximizing the potential of multidialectal approaches.
Discipline
Language
Linguistics
Geographic Area
All Middle East
Arab States
Sub Area
None