Mehmet Hakkı Suçin
Abstract
Building on the approach and criteria that the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has brought to foreign language teaching, this article presents an Arabic curriculum at levels A1 and A2 for learners whose first language is not Arabic. Its main aim is to adapt the proficiency levels and the communicative approach defined in the CEFR to the linguistic, cultural and pragmatic features of Arabic, and thereby to offer a workable framework for teachers, textbook writers, materials developers and assessment specialists.
The curriculum is built on the communicative approach, learner-centredness, the integration of the four language skills, and the formulation of learning objectives as observable outcomes. The sound system, script, grammatical structure and communicative use of Arabic are discussed in relation to the CEFR’s conception of proficiency.
Detailed objectives are set for listening, speaking, reading and writing at levels A1 and A2. At A1 the focus is on personal information, everyday needs, simple question-and-answer patterns and communication with one’s immediate surroundings; A2 covers wider areas of daily life and more advanced communicative tasks such as talking about the past and the future, describing, comparing and relating personal experiences.
Beyond skill-based outcomes, the curriculum also organizes learning domains, topics, vocabulary and grammatical structures systematically by level, with progressive content built around core domains of communication such as family and social environment, daily life, education, travel, shopping, work and occupations, and health.
The article concludes that the proposed A1–A2 curriculum can serve as a common frame of reference for teaching Arabic as a foreign language and can be used in areas ranging from the preparation of textbooks and teaching materials to teacher training and assessment. It also recommends extending the curriculum to levels B1, B2, C1 and C2 in later stages.
Keywords: teaching Arabic · Arabic as a foreign language · Common European Framework of Reference for Languages · CEFR · A1 · A2 · curriculum · communicative approach · language skills
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Cite this work
Chicago
Suçin, Mehmet Hakkı. “Manhaj al-lugha al-ʿarabiyya li-l-natiqin bi-ghayriha hasab al-itar al-marjiʿi al-Urubbi al-mushtarak li-l-lughat ʿala al-mustawayayn A1–A2” [An Arabic Curriculum for Non-Native Speakers Based on the CEFR: Levels A1–A2]. ʿAlam al-Fikr 44, no. 2 (October–December 2015): 223–256.
APA
Suçin, M. H. (2015). Manhaj al-lugha al-ʿarabiyya li-l-natiqin bi-ghayriha hasab al-itar al-marjiʿi al-Urubbi al-mushtarak li-l-lughat ʿala al-mustawayayn A1–A2 [An Arabic curriculum for non-native speakers based on the CEFR: Levels A1–A2]. ʿAlam al-Fikr, 44(2), 223–256.
Publication details
عالم الفكر / ʿAlam al-Fikr
Volume: 44
Issue: 2
Date: October–December 2015
Pages: 223–256
Publisher: National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (المجلس الوطني للثقافة والفنون والآداب)
Place: Kuwait
ISSN: 1021-6863
Type: Peer-reviewed research article
Language of the text: Arabic