Online Arabic Language Learning: What Happens After?

Abstract

Learning Arabic, a category IV less commonly taught language (LCTL), can be a daunting task even with the luxury of a five-day per week schedule, good teachers, office hours, and solid learning materials. This study reports on the successes and challenges of teaching Arabic within a distancelearning environment. With a grant from the Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE), the authors developed Arabic Without Walls (AWW), a first-year online Arabic course supported by Web materials (e.g. text, graphics, sounds, short human-interest videos, and selfcorrecting Java-scripted exercises). The AWW course was delivered in a Moodle wrapper with weekly chat (voice and text) sessions. AWW was taught for two years at the University of California, Berkeley (2007-2009) under the direction of Sonia Shiri and then for two more years at the University of California, Irvine (2009-2011) by Maha Alsaffar. The AWW course was designed to prepare students to seamlessly enter a second-year Arabic class with competence equal to that of those students studying Arabic in a face-to-face format. The present study focuses on student outcomes and their reflections during and after this two-semester course. One of the unexpected findings was that the small-group computer-mediated communication (CMC) sessions with sound and text gave students more personal attention than would have been possible in the classroom setting. The overall student impression of this online learning experience suggests that AWW was a credible alternative for students who otherwise would not have had access to Arabic instruction at their home institution or for those who had sought a more flexible learning environment due to their own schedules and life circumstances. In this study, we seek to contribute to the establishment of best practice for online language learning, including a CMC component.

Online Media Creation and L2 Motivation: A Socially Situated Perspective

“…Although evidence of directly beneficial influences on linguistic outcomes is “slight and inconclusive,” technology “may impact indirectly and positively on learner attitudes and behaviours” (Macaro, Handley, & Walter, , p. 1). Although positive motivational influences have been associated with a number of digital technologies (Golonka, Bowles, Frank, Richardson, & Freynik, ), they appear most noticeably in activities involving media production (Blake & Sh'iri, ; Kessler, Bikowski, & Boggs, ; Oskoz & Elola, ). As Blake () has suggested, the use of digital technologies may “stimulate more effort, if not better writing” (p. 136).…”

E-Learning: An Implementation for Arabic Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Although elearning will not replace more traditional learning formats in the classroom, teachers must realize that e-learning can optimize learning. Therefore, it must be articulated well in the rest of the curriculum (Blake & Shiri, 2012). As explained above, Arabic learning is packed into four skills.…”

Speaking ability progress of language learners in online and face‐to‐face courses

“…Some research in this area has focused on the effectiveness of different modes of online communication (Blake, 2011). One study conducted by Blake and Shiri (2012) found that online chat sessions added greatly to learners' Arabic language development. In their study, students were required to keep in constant contact online with their instructors and classmates, and the students noted that this assignment was helpful in keeping pace with the course and in practicing Arabic.…”