“Muslim-American Identity Acquisition”: Religious Identity in an Arabic Language Classroom

Abstract

The social turn in second language acquisition (SLA) has led scholars to involve a more social semiotic approach in their research (Johnson, 2004; Ortega, 2013). In heritage language contexts, this means greater attention to learners as individuals who construct, enact, and resist multiple identities in the classroom (Gee, 2000; McKay & Wong, 1996; Norton & Toohey, 2011; Pierce, 1995). For Arabic heritage language learners (HLLs) the question of identity is fraught with complexities across linguistic (Ryding, 1991; Abu-Rabia, 2000), cultural (Temples, 2013), political (Brown, 2009), social (Sehlaoui, 2008) and religious domains. This paper examines the role of religious identity for second-grade Arabic language learners at a K-12 Islamic school. This sociocultural linguistic study highlights the ways in which learners’ religious identities intersect, support, and overlap with their social and academic identities in a language course exclusively for Muslim HLLs. Findings point to the ways that identity is negotiated through talk, highlighting how Muslim learners draw on their religious identities in Arabic class to support and strengthen their academic and social identities. Religion can serve as a resource for HLLs even in the absence of ethnic and/or ancestral links to the language given adequate ideological and implementational space (Hornberger, 2005).

“I’m a Heritage Speaker of the Damascene Dialect of Arabic”: Negotiating the Identity Label of Arabic Heritage Language Learner

“…They did not display Pan-Arabism ideologies. The labels they chose suggest that a more hetero/multi/transglossic understanding of the Arabic language, particularly in relation to the way it is taught in the language classroom, will lead to a more nuanced understanding of Arabic HLLs and their identities (Engman, 2015). This understanding may in turn strengthen HLLs' self-esteem (Yu, 2015), motivations, participation, and performance.…”

“…While not all Arabic varieties may be mutually intelligible across the entire Arabic sociolinguistic landscape, they are all referred to as "Arabic" and seen as part of the Arabic language, due to the many linguistic features they share, as well as shared sociopolitical, historical, and religious contexts. The notion of a singular "Arabic" language is intertwined with symbolism of group identity (Suleiman, 2003) whether it is pan-Arabism, the ideology that all Arabs constitute one greater nation, or the idea of the Muslim ummah, the ideology of a supra-national Muslim (Engman, 2015;Shah, 2006). Arabic, by which is usually meant MSA, remains a strong unifying force across a vast region while being dynamic and heterogeneous due to a history of influence over an immense and diverse geographical area.…”

“…Within the context of Arabic language learning, Engman (2015) refers to these Type 3 learners as "Muslim HLLs," Husen (2011) refers to them as "non-Arab Muslims," and Temples (2010) calls them "religious heritage learners." Temples argues that learners of Arabic "can and should be divided into three distinct groups: heritage language learners (HLLs), religious heritage learners (RHLs), and foreign language learners (FLLs)" (p.124) for reasons of varying motivation and proficiency.…”

Adolescent Non-Arab Muslims Learning Arabic in Australian Islamic Schools: Expectations, Experiences, and Implications

“…This research also contributes to our understanding of Arabic learning and instruction in Australia and comparable multi-cultural English-dominant-Muslim-minority (EDMM) contexts (the UK and the USA). 3 The need for expanding and diversifying research on Arabic learning and instruction is recognised (Alhawary 2018;Lo 2019;Ryding 2006Ryding , 2018aRyding , 2018bSelim and Abdalla 2022;Wahba et al 2018) and has motivated some research focused on non-adult learners of Arabic (Berbeco 2011;Engman 2015;Labanieh 2019;Ramezanzadeh 2015Ramezanzadeh , 2021Selim and Abdalla 2022;Soliman and Khalil 2022;Temples 2010Temples , 2013; with a few researchers drawing attention to the need for more research focused on Arabic learning and instruction in Islamic schools (Engman 2015;Selim and Abdalla 2022).…”

Towards arabic for specific purposes

“…The study divides the surveyed subjects of a charter school into three groups (language heritage, cultural heritage, and foreign language learners), trying to link them to their motivational orientations as an alternative to their proficiency levels. The surveyed learners' age further decreases in Engman's (2015) study, that focuses on cultural and language heritage students at primary school. By observing class activities and carrying out interviews, the research interrogates the way in which the students' religious identity intersects with their social and academic identities.…”