The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), has launched a report titled ‘Arabic Language Curricula in the Arab World: Present Experiences and Future Prospects’, presenting in-depth scientific research and analysis of Arabic language curricula in five Arab countries – the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Tunisia.
The 475-page report was completed over nearly two years by a team of more than 25 researchers. It presents prominent characteristics and the key challenges faced by the curricula in each country, and building on that, offers a scenario and a suggested frame of reference for designing a new generation of Arabic language curricula that meet the needs of learners and teachers.
To benefit from global lessons in developing curricula that advance Arabic language education, the report features international models from six countries: Australia, China, the United States of America, Singapore, South Africa, and Ireland. It examines the experiences and efforts to develop curricula for teaching the native language in each of these countries, guided by scientific research and in line with the needs of the communities these curricula were created to serve.
His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the ALC, said: “This report is the result of two years of hard work devoted to the field of education, which is a top priority for us in our plans to empower the Arabic language and position it as a language of knowledge and a marker of our cultural identity. The report’s recommendations will support officials and decision-makers in developing academic curricula to teach the Arabic language, and help build a frame of reference for designing new curricula that meet the needs of the educational sector.”
Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, Executive Director of the ALC, said: “Mastering the Arabic language is a scientific and cultural necessity for Arab students. The process of developing Arabic language curricula is a key educational and scientific requirement that requires advanced expertise in order to adapt to contemporary requirements. We hope this report will contribute to the efforts to develop Arabic language curricula in a way that fulfils these needs and meets all aspirations.”
The report consists of eight chapters, where the first aims to define the term “curriculum”, traces the development of the term according to various educational and philosophical schools that used it, and presents the evaluation framework adopted by the study.
This is followed by five chapters that run a scientific analysis of Arabic language curricula in the five Arab countries selected for the study, exploring the scientific and educational prospects of these curricula, as well as the opportunities they present and the challenges they face. The report concludes with a chapter that contains key results of the study and presents a vision for a reference framework that can guide future efforts to design a new generation of Arabic language curricula.
The report is the first in a series of projects, books, and studies that cover various aspects of teaching the Arabic language, including methods for assessing teachers and ways to benefit from the technological revolution in teaching the Arabic language. The ALC will implement the research series as part of its programmes, in collaboration with partners in academic bodies across the UAE.
