Taoufik Ben-Amor | Columbia University (original) (raw)

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Papers by Taoufik Ben-Amor

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 1998

Al-Kitaab Textbook , Part Two, Second Edition Review.

PMLA, 2022

His research focusses on the intersection of language, music and subjectivities. He is working on... more His research focusses on the intersection of language, music and subjectivities. He is working on a book project entitled Beyond Orientalism: Arab Music and Modernity.

Arabic Literature for the Classroom (Edited by Muhsin J. al-Musawi), 2017

Arabic syllabi have changed a great deal in the last three decades, and the Arabic teaching profe... more Arabic syllabi have changed a great deal in the last three decades, and the Arabic teaching profession has taken many a turn after the advance of proficiency, authenticity, task-based teaching and content-based instruction. That road, however, has not led our students to linguistic and cultural proficiency. Instead, and with the mounting pressure of area studies, we have encountered multiple hurdles, the most prominent of which are the neglect of reading, especially intensive or close reading, and demotion of linguistic precision in favor of fluency. Reading literary text has lost ground to skimming media articles.

Within the framework of Content-Based Instruction, this paper argues for using a healthy ‘dose’ of literary text at all levels of the language curriculum and proposes ways to remedy the artificial gulf that separates content courses from language classes in most current university programs. The paper begins by examining the status quo and probing for reasons behind our current choices of materials. Subsequently, it examines the versatile ways in which literary genres and their linguistic characteristics lend themselves to helping students achieve linguistic and cultural proficiency. The paper concludes with a few general principles, which illustrate practical ways of designing programs with more literary content.

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 1998

Al-Kitaab Textbook , Part Two, Second Edition Review.

PMLA, 2022

His research focusses on the intersection of language, music and subjectivities. He is working on... more His research focusses on the intersection of language, music and subjectivities. He is working on a book project entitled Beyond Orientalism: Arab Music and Modernity.

Arabic Literature for the Classroom (Edited by Muhsin J. al-Musawi), 2017

Arabic syllabi have changed a great deal in the last three decades, and the Arabic teaching profe... more Arabic syllabi have changed a great deal in the last three decades, and the Arabic teaching profession has taken many a turn after the advance of proficiency, authenticity, task-based teaching and content-based instruction. That road, however, has not led our students to linguistic and cultural proficiency. Instead, and with the mounting pressure of area studies, we have encountered multiple hurdles, the most prominent of which are the neglect of reading, especially intensive or close reading, and demotion of linguistic precision in favor of fluency. Reading literary text has lost ground to skimming media articles.

Within the framework of Content-Based Instruction, this paper argues for using a healthy ‘dose’ of literary text at all levels of the language curriculum and proposes ways to remedy the artificial gulf that separates content courses from language classes in most current university programs. The paper begins by examining the status quo and probing for reasons behind our current choices of materials. Subsequently, it examines the versatile ways in which literary genres and their linguistic characteristics lend themselves to helping students achieve linguistic and cultural proficiency. The paper concludes with a few general principles, which illustrate practical ways of designing programs with more literary content.