In Japan, with the increase of interest in learning Arabic and the spread of Arabic teaching, the number of learners of Arabic continues to rise. Because many of them learn Arabic for the purpose of practical use, such as for business and traveling, Arabic teaching has been required to meet the learners’ needs. However, little research on the actual condition with a view to improving Arabic teaching/learning has been conducted. For the past few years, I have given papers concerning the results of researches among Japanese university students, both Arabic major and non-Arabic major students, who attended Arabic courses. The aim of my research centered on four aspects: (1) interest in Arabic cultural elements, (2) skills and knowledge desired by the students, (3) skills and knowledge emphasized in class and perceived as such by the students, (4) the students’ perception of difficulty of Arabic language acquisition. In this study, I statistically analyzed the data which were obtained for a comparative examination between 151 Arabic major students and 176 non-Arabic major students of Japanese universities. As for (1), interest in twelve kinds of the elements were rated on a 7-point scale. For (2) and (3), nine elements for each were rated on 5-point scale. The visual analogue scale with scores ranging from 0 to 100 was used to assess (4). The main findings were as follows: (a) there were differences between the two student groups in the extent of the students’ interest in the Arabic cultural elements, (b) there were differences between the two student groups in (2), (c) there were slight differences between the two student groups in (3), (d) stronger inconsistency between (2) and (3) is found in the non-Arabic major students than in the Arabic major students, (e) (4) is rated at approximately 80 points out of 100 points in both student groups, and (f) there were no significant correlations between (2), (3), and (4) in both student groups

Study abroad is typically considered an important step in language learning, as it provides the opportunity to use the target language in a real-life setting. However, research indicates that that there is a great deal of individual variation in linguistic outcomes and target language use during study abroad (Churchill and DuFon, 2006; Collentine and Freed, 2004; Freed, 1995). As interest in studying Arabic continues to grow, more and more students are choosing to pursue study abroad in Arabic-speaking countries (Conlin, 2010). Although there is scant research on Arabic study abroad, existing research demonstrates that Arabic use and interaction with locals outside of the classroom may be problematic, emphasizing the need for further research in this area (Dewey et al, 2009; Kuntz and Belnap, 2001). This paper examines the out-of-class language use of 54 students studying Arabic in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt. To measure Arabic and English use, I use a modified version of the language contact profile (Freed et al., 2004). The results demonstrate that there is great individual and program variation in the study abroad students' use of Arabic and English. To understand this variation, I draw upon interview, social media, and participant observation data with the study abroad students as well as 23 Egyptian teachers and friends. Using emergent theme analysis, I discuss how factors such as gender, proficiency, religion, physical appearance, individual goals and program structure affect Arabic language use during study abroad. This analysis demonstrates how individual factors can both hinder and help access to Egyptians in Arabic, contesting previous research that focuses on these types of factors as positive or negative predictors of language acquisition during study abroad (i.e. Brecht et al., 1993). I conclude by giving recommendations for Arabic programs at home and abroad based on my research findings, focusing in particular on how programs can negotiate between students and the socio-historical context to facilitate students’ out-of-class Arabic use, as well as better prepare them linguistically and culturally for the experience.

Arabic Heritage Learners in Denmark: Realities and Visions Abstract Despite the large corpora of research on the issue of language heritage learners around the world, little is done on Arabic as a Heritage language. For that, the current study will focus on Arabic heritage learners living in Denmark given the fact that the Arabs are the biggest foreign community living there. This study is a replication and extension of a previous study conducted by Ibrahim and Allam , in 2006 at the American University in Cairo. In their study the two researchers categorized the Arabic heritage learners enrolled at the American University in Cairo and investigated their linguistic level, their motivation, their attitude, their parents’ attitude towards learning Arabic, and the material used for teaching Arabic for these learners. This current study will try to document whether or not there are any similarities/dissimilarities between Danish and American Heritage learners of Arabic. Data will be collected using two surveys; one for the Arabic heritage learners and the other for their Arabic teachers, and the sample of the study is enrolled in the Arabic Language classes offered at the Arab and Islamic studies, Institute for Culture and society in the University of Aarhus, Carsten Niebuhr Section, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies in the University of Copenhagen, and International Business Department, Communication Studies, Faculty of Humanities in University of Southern Denmark. Inferential statistics as well as open-ended interviews will be used to compare the initial results with the results from the previous study. Based on the results of the study, the researcher will conclude by recommending new innovative techniques that might be helpful in improving both the Arabic teaching profession and the learning process as well. It will answer questions related to learning and teaching of Arabic as a heritage language among the second generation of Arab immigrants and Muslims heritage.

The first decade of the 21st century has witnessed an increase in interest in the Arabic language and culture and studying the Arabic language in the Middle East has become a target for many for personal and professional reasons. In Jordan, universities and language centers have been trying to accommodate the increasing numbers of students in their Arabic language and cultural programs and Amman, the capital, had for long years been a preference for the majority of incoming learners of Arabic. More recently, the preference of Irbid city over Amman for the purpose of Arabic language acquisition has been noticed. CET Chinese Education Travel (CET), who have recently established their program at the Yarmouk University language center, have clearly expressed their preference of the Irbid environment over that of Amman for the purpose of student immersion in Jordanian Arabic and culture. This is an example of a shift in attitude toward the immediate environment chosen for foreign Arabic language students. This study explores the changed attitudes and perspectives as to the most suitable environment for the acquisition of Arabic for US students. The study investigates the local environment of the CET students and its effect both culturally and academically on their language acquisition and immersion. The study sample are a group of students sent by CET to Yarmouk University. Data was collected on site and by means of a questionnaire. The study has found that there are many challenges learners face individually, locally, and culturally being placed in a city in the north of Jordan which is nothing like metropolitan Amman. From this study the authors concluded that the environment of Irbid city has a positive effect on the performance of Arabic learners since students showed a significant increase in levels of achievement.