This paper will present the approaches and materials used in teaching Darija. It will also analyze the challenges that face the integration of Darija in the Arabic Program at Dartmouth. The paper will finally offer a glimpse at the short-term implications of adding the Spoken Arabic component to the program and its long-term positive impacts on the qualitative and quantitative growth of the program.

The fourth paper proposed for this panel will approach the integration of Darija and Modern Standard Arabic from the perspective of new program establishment, discussing the author’s piloting of integrated curriculum in a small group tutorial setting at Bennington College, in anticipation of efforts to launch regular Arabic programming at the institution. This will link explicitly to corresponding experiences as described by the other panel members at different institutional types and program ages. The value of integrating Darija and MSA for independent learners and the cultivation/consolidation of program interest and individual student goals will be addressed. I will also reflect on challenges and rewards encountered as an instructor previously focused on instruction in other Arabic varieties.

In this paper, which follows on the initial two presentations’ exposé on teaching Darija at Dartmouth, I address the suitability of using an integrated approach to teaching Darija and Modern Standard Arabic within Arabic programs with a wider range of institutional profiles. To do so, I describe my firsthand experience implementing the same curriculum and materials in our recently established Arabic program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, primarily at the first and second-year levels. The materials, which are described in detail in Turner (2018), consist of supplemental vocabulary, culture notes, and audiovisual components that are hosted on a standalone website and are accessible from any modern browser. They correspond with individual units and lessons from the popular Alif Baa and Al-Kitaab Arabic textbooks (Brustad et al. 2010; 2011), allowing students to acquire basic vocabulary in Moroccan Arabic for regular classroom use. By detailing the successes my students have seen in engaging two Arabic varieties in one classroom, I hope to elucidate the value the Darija component has had, to date, in the twin goals of on-site program building and preparing students for study and work abroad.

The first paper will provide a description of the Arabic Program at Dartmouth. It will shed light on how the program has evolved to become academically solid and gain popularity among students, especially after the creation and restructuration of the MES program. It will also tackle the reasons why Darija has been recently introduced into the program and the rationale behind its integration.