The ACTFL and AATA along with 15 other language institutions developed the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages known as the 5 Cs; Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities (ACTFL, 2018). These standards aim at teaching second language with the goal of preparing students to be culturally and communicatively competent. Communication using a second language happens through culture and not a matter of mere grammar and vocabulary instruction (Liddicoat, 2008). Thus, the intercultural approach to language teaching has become indispensable in today’s world where learners are intermediaries between their culture and the second language culture (Liddicoat, 2011). The principles of an intercultural language classroom are closely tied to the standards of the 5 Cs. Based on these principles, intercultural language teaching and learning can be viewed as a sequence of four processes: noticing, comparing, reflecting, and interacting (Liddicoat, 2011). First, learners are guided through language to notice cultural similarities and differences. Then, students compare between their culture and the target language culture as well as between the already existing knowledge about the target language and its culture and the new information that was noticed (Liddicoat, 2011). After the comparison process, students engage in developing an understanding of how one feels and thinks about diversity. As a final process, students interactively communicate to gain personal experience with diversity (Liddicoat, 2011). A review of the literature shows that research regarding intercultural language teaching and learning has focused on the theoretical aspect, with few studies, mainly based on English language, on how to apply the principles to classroom practice (Liddicoat, 2011; Lu & Corbett, 2014). To the best knowledge of the researcher, there is little research on teaching Arabic as a foreign language that takes this intercultural approach. Accordingly, this paper focuses on how to apply the intercultural language teaching and learning approach in the AFL classroom. The aim is to design lesson plans and materials at the intermediate level for teaching reading and writing that integrate this intercultural approach. This presentation aims to provide AFL teachers with practical know-how for putting to work the theoretical framework and principles of intercultural language teaching and learning. The presentation will also prioritize creating classrooms that are “safe houses” where students can explore intercultural learning that better prepares them to become responsible global citizens (Lu & Corbett, 2014).

A gap still exists between teaching and assessment in terms of using critical thinking skills. Pretorius et al (2017) say that” universities are still heavily reliant on the use of more traditional forms of assessment such as essays, tests, and exams” (p.389). Accordingly, students are affected by what is called the negative wash back effect, thus becoming demotivated and disinterested in subject matter. This paper deals with one area which introduces teaching and assessment of reading comprehension through critical thinking. Critical thinking enables learners to employ skills such as analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and judging while reading texts. The theoretical framework of reference used is the “Response Theory”, where students are encouraged to contribute their own thoughts and conceive themselves as having ownership of the texts (Hirvela 2013). This theory posits the reader as the most important element in the reading process, and thus may be successfully implemented in assessment lessening the gap mentioned earlier. It also allows students to write their personal reactions and comments to texts, to reflect on their discoveries and to connect their knowledge to what they have learnt from the text, thus reading not only between the lines but also what Woodbeck (2014) calls reading beyond the lines. This raises students’ critical language awareness preventing them from becoming passive readers answering only comprehension questions (Correia 2006) and giving them ownership of their own understanding. One of the applications of the “Response Theory “is Digital Story Telling (DST). Such a strategy opens the door for applying the 21st century skills; namely critical and creative thinking, problem solving, communicating, and collaborating. It motivates learning as well as paves the way for teaching through a communicative approach. It also introduces language in a contextualized way providing the sub-skills of critical thinking. Yang and Wu (2012) say that DST enhances students’ critical thinking. They add that “For instructors, story mapping provides a basis for immediate assessment of students’ stories” (p.340). In my presentation, critical thinking teaching and assessment activities for reading comprehension will be modeled along with illustrations from students’ production.

This study analyzed the evolution of Interlanguage in the writings of intermediate and advanced level learners of Arabic. The analysis was conducted by using Larry Selinker’s (1972 and 1992) definition of Interlanguage, a new language system that is related to but also distinct from both the learner’s L1 and L2. This exploratory, descriptive study comprised of an analysis of 100 expository texts from university students enrolled in second-, third-, and post-third year Arabic courses, ranging from Intermediate Low to Advanced High language proficiency levels. The data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively and looked at the following cohesive features: the use of overt and zero connectives, instances of repetition, lexical cohesion, and language transfer from English as a way of measuring the development of Interlanguage in the participants’ Arabic writings. Each cohesive feature in the writing samples was measured by the number of occurrences, variety, and quality at the clause, sentence, paragraph, and discourse levels. The goal was to investigate the features and measure the development of the written Interlanguage of Arabic language learners as they progress in their written proficiency. The results of this study indicate two important aspects of Arabic Interlanguage development in writing among Arabic language learners: 1) Arabic students go through phases in the development of their Arabic writing skill and, 2) the transition from phase to phase indicates that Interlanguage development in writing is not a linear process. In this study, second- and third year participants varied in their variety and frequency of overt and zero connective. Post-third year participants demonstrate an awareness of the importance of connectives as cohesive markers. Overall, participants in this study are developing their application of connectives, yet their writings, at times, still contain drops and English-style sentences. Regarding lexical cohesion, second- and post-third year participants used lexical couplets, yet third year participants did not. Additionally, each phase featured an increase in the frequency of reiteration and reference, specifically anaphora, among participants as they move from second- to third- to post-third year. Overall, the findings from this study offer insight into the features of Interlanguage development in writing among Arabic language learners.

Decoding and Encoding Meaning: Insights into Arabic Morphology for the Superior AFL Translation Class The transition from the advanced to the superior level of Arabic proficiency is widely known to pose considerable challenges for AFL learners (Brown, 2015). This presentation illustrates how translation is used in the advanced AFL classroom to help students make the transition by deepening their understanding of the intricate ways the permutations of Arabic morphology convey meaning. With its overarching root and pattern system, the derivational morphology of Arabic constitutes the very backbone of the language. Yet, it is observed that students continue at the advanced/superior level to struggle with the finer points of meaning associated with its various forms. It is at this point that carefully constructed translation exercises are proposed as an effective means for developing the in-depth knowledge of the morphology necessary for the leap to the superior level. A variety of translation strategies will be presented, gleaned from the presenter’s extensive work with advanced/superior students in the Center for Arabic Study Abroad program at the American University in Cairo. They will focus on the practice of juxtaposing different forms of the same root in various authentic Arabic contexts and, hence, demonstrate how meaning changes in numerous ways, ranging from the major to the subtle. Attempts at finding the most accurate English rendering are shown to compel students to analyze the interplay between root, form and meaning-in each respective context, in the process becoming sensitized to the shades and nuances of meaning. Denotations and connotations, as well as ‘types of meaning’: propositional, expressive, presupposed, and evoked, as proposed by Cruse (1986), are explored insofar as they are embedded in the morphology. Samples of students’ work pre and post such discussions are presented, revealing progress achieved. The above is, moreover, conducted with reference to the notion of equivalence/non-equivalence across languages, at the lexical, grammatical and pragmatic levels as employed by Baker (2011). This provides an adequate theoretical underpinning as the categories it proposes neatly interface with the morpho-sematic and pragmatic functions of the various word forms which are addressed. References Baker, M. In Other Words; A Coursebook on Translation. New York, Routledge Press, 2011. Brown, T. & Brown, J. To Advanced Proficiency and Beyond: Theory and Methods for Developing Superior Second Language Ability. Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2015. Project MUSE. Cruse, D.A. Lexical Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

In this study, I record and describe dialectal and register-based variation observed in the production of undergraduate students of Arabic as a foreign language at a major U.S. research university. As a point of curricular design, these students receive explicit instruction in multiple, discretely identifiable varieties of their target language, and the present research investigates the ways in which this diversity of input is reflected and reshaped as an element of student output. In so doing, it is posed to fill a gap in the theoretical and applied linguistic literatures between studies of the untutored acquisition of second language variability (e.g., Friesner & Dinkin, 2006) and those of native second dialect learning in a classroom context (see Siegel, 2010), and in addition addresses a pressing issue of curricular design and implementation in 21st century Arabic education (cf. Al-Batal, 2017). Utilizing material drawn from over 30 hours of class observation and recorded individual interviews, I evaluate student production data on the basis of both type and frequency of language mixing behaviors attested and further draw on observed classroom practice and metalinguistic commentary to identify the motivations and avenues of actuation underlying these behaviors. The results show a striking correspondence to theoretically postulated outcomes of language and dialect contact in a “natural” setting, reflecting widely recognized aspects of code-switching typology and new dialect formation: particular characteristics evidenced include the observation of a three way distinction between alternation, insertion and congruent lexicalization in mixing (Muysken, 1997) and pressure toward interdialectal leveling and fudged forms (Trudgill 1986). These traits lead to the analysis of the data as reflecting four readily definable stages of mixing practices which vary across student experience levels. These stages sketch a progressive trajectory of evolution in the diverse linguistic output of Arabic learners, and argue strongly against fears of fossilization of non-native-like mixing patterns that may temporarily dominate individual phases of learning. The marked parallels with language/dialect contact phenomena in non-classroom contexts show the relevant developmental patterns to represent predictable and explicable phases in the acquisition of linguistic variability, which have the potential to eventually lead to native-like patterns of diversity in target language production. Knowledge of this progression has clear implications for Arabic language educators, ranging from assessment to classroom management to curricular design, and additionally serves to inform the work of theoretically oriented scholars of linguistic variation in noncanonical contexts.