When we launched the We Can Learn Arabic website in 2020, one of the most exciting aspects was the ability to make regular updates as we test the materials in class. We added new units and made tweaks to the activities in 2020 and 2021. In Summer and Fall 2022, as part of our research on multilingual and multidialectal approaches in the Arabic classroom funded by the Qatar Foundation International we have made even more updates!
Hosting Switch
Perhaps the biggest change was switching to a WordPress site (which I then liked so much I switched this site and my dance site as well!). This has made editing and collaborating on the site much easier, a bonus since members of our research team were working on it as well.
Updated Units
Over the summer, we analyzed all of the texts on the site, deciding based on two years of experience teaching with them if they should be kept, updated, or replaced. This Fall, we focused on updating the three units we use in first semester Arabic, as this was the focus of our research project. These are the Introductions, Personal Relationships, and Food Units.
Vocabulary Pages
In previous versions of the site (and as you can still see in the units that haven’t been updated) we used a google doc for vocabulary. This was necessary for the host we were using, but fairly cumbersome, especially for including audio–we linked to a separate audio file, but found students rarely clicked through to it. Now, we have the ability to add audio right beneath the word, which has been very helpful!
Multidialectal Materials
In line with the idea of a multidialectal approach, we’ve worked on increasing the dialect representation in the texts on our site. This is still a work in progress, as finding or creating materials related to specific Can-Do statements in a variety of dialects is challenging. However, we’ve made progress in the units we focused on this Fall, and hope to continue updating them as we find and develop materials. If you have a text you think would be a good fit for the site, send it to me and we’d be happy to put it up!
Metalinguistic Focus
Also in line with a multidialectal approach, we’ve added more targeted questions about variation in the texts students encounter. We point these out and discuss them in class as well, noting that we don’t expect students to be able to produce every possible variety, but to become more adept at recognizing them, or just become more comfortable experiencing the variation they will encounter as Arabic speakers. This has definitely led to some interesting class discussions!
Future Plans
Throughout the Spring and next academic year, we hope to continue to update the rest of our units, and make smaller tweaks like increasing the font size on the vocabulary pages. If you use the site and have recommendations, let me know! We’re always adjusting based on student feedback and our experience.
Leave a Reply