diglossia and its effect in language teaching (original) (raw)
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The Impact of Diglossia in Teaching and Learning Arabic
The present study attempts to investigate the impact of diglossia in teaching and learning the Arabic course in Sana'a Secondary Schools. It highlights the sociolinguistic phenomenon 'diglossia' with relation to education and its effect on education in general and teaching the Arabic course in particular. Recently, clear shortcomings and deficiencies have been noted in the students‟ linguistic skills in all Arab schools, particularly at the secondary level. Some educationists attribute that lack of students‟ linguistic performance to the language variety used by teachers in a classroom, particularly those who are teaching the Arabic course. The study significance lies in investigating the variety used in classroom interaction of Sana'a secondary schools and determining the students‟ weakness points as regards the use of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) when interacting with their teachers. It also investigates the reasons that stand behind the Arabic course teachers‟ use of the vernacular in teaching Arabic and highlights the impact of such a procedure on the students‟ linguistic proficiency. For the purpose of achieving the objectives mentioned above, three sets of questionnaires were administered to a sample consisting of students and teachers from both genders in Sana'a secondary schools. The data collection was also based on the Arabic teachers‟ interview as well as the Arabic course inspectors‟ reports. The data collected from the sample population were processed and analyzed by the use of SPSS statistical programme and the results of the questionnaires items were interpreted accordingly. The data analysis shows that the Arabic course teachers in Sana'a secondary schools sometimes use MSA in teaching Arabic whereas students rarely use it when interacting with their teachers. It also argues that the students‟ linguistic deficiency lies in their lack of capacity to communicate with their teachers in MSA, not in comprehension as their teachers claim when they have recourse to the vernacular. In addition, the study unveils the importance of teachers‟ qualification since it has been asserted through the data analysis that the more experienced teachers showed higher attitudinal stances towards MSA than those holding less experience.
Published in the Journal of Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences (Educational Sciences, SciRes Literature LLC), Middletown-USA. Vol. 4, Issue 4: April 2023. ISSN 2799-2276. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.37871/jbres1725\. Available on the link: www.jelsciences.com/articles/jbres1725.pdf, 2023
The main purpose of this research paper is to explore and assess the challenges and difficulties facing L2 learners of Arabic due to the diglossic situation in the Arab world and whether to learn both codes, standard and dialectal or one of them. The study also tries to understand the nature of the awareness and motivation of L2 learners about the Arabic diglossic situation in Iraq. Therefore, the procedure followed to achieve this assignment highly based on, and thoroughly examined, enormous references, verified and analyzed some statistical procedures previously used by other scholars related to diglossia along with the debate sessions held with some native teachers of Arabic as a Foreign language who have taught and still teaching this language to non-native speakers. The originality of the study lies in the invaluable information gained, through the discussion sessions as well as interviews held with these well-experienced teachers and students which definitely added a significant depth to the findings of this study. Further, the study has presented and discussed the perspectives of some scholars, who are prominent in the field of sociolinguistics, as well. This really reflects the practical objective implications of the study. Eventually, the findings reveal that teaching/learning Arabic as a foreign language is not an easy task due to the diglossic situation in the Arab World.
Arab World English Journal , 2022
The Arabic language is characterized as a diglossic language. Hence, this study dealt with this sociolinguistic phenomenon and examine the impact of the Arabic diglossic situation in terms of social communication and the Arabic language learning process based on the second Arabic language learners’ perspective. The study starts with reviewing and discussing the literature by considering the Arabic diglossia from both linguistic and educational perspectives. To achieve the research objectives the researcher used mixed-method research namely, a close-ended questionnaire for quantitative data and open-ended questions for qualitative data. The sample included 26 students from different nationalities at the Arabic Language Center for Speakers of Other Languages at King Khalid University. The researcher concluded that the Arabic diglossic situation, especially the difference between the functionality of MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) and CA (Colloquial Arabic) is an impactful factor that can create an obstacle for the second Arabic language learners in terms of social communication in real context as well as the Arabic language learning process. The data prove that the second Arabic language learners in the Arabic Language Center for Speakers of Other Languages at King Khalid University are aware of Arabic diglossia and its impact on their social communication in real-life situations. Moreover, it was found that the Arabic diglossic situation slightly impacted their Arabic language learning process in terms of their desire to continue learning the Arabic language and the switching between MSA and CA that take place in the educational setting by some teachers
Diglossia: A Challenge for Learners of Arabic as Second Language
Diglossia: A Challenge for Learners of Arabic as Second Language, 2018
Diglossia is an important feature of the Arabic language which creates a variety of tones and colors reflecting a wider spectrum of cultures and history. However, diglossia brings also a big challenge for adult learners pursuing the Arabic language. This challenge has not been addressed always in an effective way. The different approaches and programs sometimes have been focused in the Standard Arabic, and neglecting the colloquial Arabic. Technology, Science, and the development of new methods offer many strategies to lessen the gap generated by diglossia. Students of Arabic have now the opportunity to be in contact anytime and anywhere with native speakers, listening to authentic material, and being informed of magazines, news, cultural rapports with the Arab world.
A REPORT ON THE EFFECT OF ARABIC LANGUAGE DIGLOSSIA ON TEACHING AND LEARNING
A REPORT ON THE EFFECT OF ARABIC LANGUAGE DIGLOSSIA ON TEACHING AND LEARNING, 2021
Findings from a mixed method; quantitative and qualitative assessment of156 studies and conceptual papers reviewed revealed the following: 1- There are positive effects to incorporating teaching Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) using phonics which is in line with the latest research on the science of reading. 2- The distance between MSA and various dialects was observed in several studies included in the review and more recently the effect of socio-economic factors on learning MSA has been cited in several studies as an important contributing factor to delays in learning MSA. 3- A finding that was of interest was that the difficulty students found in learning MSA decreased the more they were exposed to MSA, the higher their proficiency became and as they moved up grades . Thus, several studies suggested that difficulty of learning MSA decreased around Grade 4. 4- Various teaching and learning themes were found to emphasize the importance of bridging the gap between MSA and dialects through activities that build diglossic-awareness early on. 5- Early exposure to MSA was one way of bridging the gap and easing its learning, in addition to engaging students in literacy activities, and involving parents and the community. 6- Some studies concluded that there is no effect for diglossia on student performance in school and that students sometimes came to school with some knowledge of MSA due to exposure to literacy related activities at home. 7- Several studies emphasized the importance of paying attention to teaching methodologies used with non-native Arabic speakers. 8- The contradictory findings between research on Arabic diglossia reveal the inconclusively of the current body of evidence available and puts in the forefront the high importance and need for more research around those issues. Recommendations: Recommendations are divided into recommendations for researchers, teachers and parents, policy makers and funders, and are summarized below as follows: 1) Recommendations for researchers: a. More research is needed on the effect of diglossia on teaching and learning b. More testing of teaching and learning interventions is needed 2) Recommendations for teachers and parents: a. Early exposure to MSA at home is crucial (via reading to children, and exposing them to high quality MSA cartoons, board games and music) b. Having teachers read children’s literature to students daily in school c. Integrating MSA into wholesome and fun activities in school d. Ensuring that teachers are proficient in MSA and can use a simplified form with age-appropriate vocabulary with the children e. Preparing and training teachers in best practices related to Arabic teaching and learning and the science of reading. It needs to be understood that the notion of diglossia is an inherent feature of Arabic language that should not be an excuse for poor teaching and learning practices 3) Recommendations for education policy makers: a. Policies should underline that diglossia is an inherent feature of Arabic language that should not be an excuse for poor teaching and learning practices b. Policies should be more focused on the quality of teaching and learning practices c. Policies should embrace diglossia as an enriching feature in Arabic language rather than looking at MSA & SpA as competing and parallel concepts that do not meet 4) Recommendations for funders of research: a. Need for research funding, grants and incentives to be directed at interventions to improve the teaching and learning of Arabic b. Need for better evidence of the effectiveness of teaching and learning practices, which may mean establishing new institutions and research centers similar, for example, to the What Works Centers in the UK, which includes the Education Endowment Foundation
Effects of Diglossia on Classical Arabic: Language Developments in Bilingual Learners
GEMA , 2020
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Arabic diglossia on the development of classical Arabic language acquisition amongst bilingual learners in a private school in Lebanon. The study compares the Arabic language (L1) performance to that of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in accordance with Bialystok's model. One hundred-forty participants; (n=140), ranged from five to eleven years of age, with a mean of eight years were sampled. A two-stage random sampling technique was applied, while ensuring that students with contrastive academic achievement were included within the study. The participants sampled for this correlational research were learners enrolled at a private middle school. Participants were given two standardized measures so as to establish the trend of development in oral skills for both classical and colloquial Arabic, determine the grade level at which convergence occurs between the two forms of acquisition and finally compare the degree of classical Arabic (L1) acquisition with respect to their EFL acquisition. The findings indicated interrelatedness between Arabic diglossia and the late oral development of classical Arabic, whereas participants showed a higher degree of comfort with English than with their mother language. Recommendations for future directions and research are also given.