1. Teaching Arabic Online:
a collaborative training programme
Mariam Attia, University of Durham
Nazmi AlMasri, Islamic University of Gaza
Giovanna Fassetta, University of Glasgow
Katja Frimberger, Univerisy of Glasgow
Maria Grazia Imperiale, University of Glasgow
CESE Conference, University of Glasgow 1st June 2016
2. • The Gaza context
• Aims of the course
• Trainers’ guiding principles
• Articulation of the course
• Modules’ structure
• A work in progress (by way of conclusions)
Overview
3. Gaza: a context of pressure & pain
Gaza Strip: Facts & figures
Nearly 2 million people
25 miles long (40km) and 6 miles
(10 km) wide
Gaza under siege: 10 years on
Effects of the Siege on:
Mobility
Academic life
Socio-economic life:
unnemployment, poverty
Health & well-being: physical &
psychological
4. • Increase young Palestinian’s employability beyond the closed confines of
the Gaza Strip by working in an online environment.
• Offer the trainees the theoretical knowledge, competences and skills
needed to teach in an online environment
• Encourage the trainees to become actively involved in their own learning
process and to think critically and creatively about themselves as learners
and as teachers
• Contribute to the creation of a centre of expertise in Teaching Arabic as a
Foreign Language (TAFL) online at IUG, based on up to date knowledge
and practice in foreign language teaching and grounded in specific
experiences of TAFL in Palestine and other Arabic speaking countries
Aims of the training course
5. • 4 educators (FL teaching experience)
• 10 learners (EFL teachers; Arabic teachers)
• A variety of languages and of competence in each
language
• Avoid educational transfer (cultural imperialism)
• Collaboration and co-creation
• Action research
Team and guiding principles
Trainers’ guiding principles
7. • The course is articulated in 6 modules (10
hours each)
– M1 Context
– M2 Technology
– M3 Pedagogy
– M4 Language
– M5 Creative Methodologies
– M6 Back and Forwards
Articulation of the course
8. • The story so far…
• Challenges
• Achievements
A work in progress
Gaza is a long and thin piece of land which borders with Israel, the Mediterranean and Egypt. With the West Bank it part of the Palestinian state. It is home to nearly 2 million people, on a territory of 365 square kilometres.
Land, air and sea blockade by Israel and Egypt since 2007. This means that all people and goods circulation are restricted. So people cannot move freely in and out of the strip. A part from what is cultivated in the strip, foodstuff allowed in is strictly calculated to avoid starvation, but is kept to this level and not sufficient to provide a healthy diet; medicines, construction material and fuel too are restricted and so is fishing. This has dire consequences of the local economy and has brought it almost to a standstill.
Almost 10 years of siege mean that the population in Gaza is suffers from a series of huge challenges.
Mobility is severely restricted and moving in and out of the Gaza strip is very difficult and fraught with challenges (example of Nazmi)
This has a consequence to academic life and the possibilities for knowledge exchange, research, dissemination, etc. are severely limited. Power cuts are a normal part of everyday life
Of course it has dire consequences of the socio-economic life in the strip, where over 20% of the population lives in extreme poverty, unemployment is at 45% and its economy is on the verge of collapse (World Bank)
The consequence of the poverty, unemployment, restriction of movement, but also the threat of bombing and violence is constant and the population of the strip lives in a situation of constant anxiety and pressure. This has obvious consequences for the population’s health and well being, both physical and psychological
2014 bombing of Gaza by Israel killed over 2000 people, 30% of whom were children. Attacks left vast amounts of destruction to buildings and infrastructure (including hospitals and schools and IUG) and caused a huge number of internally displaced people
The aim of the training course are the following
Pilot course – future ownership and independence
The educators’ team consists of 4 people with experience of teaching a foreign language. One can speak Arabic proficiently, while a second person speaks it to intermediate level. We thought very hard about our position in relation to the job we were going to do, our wish not to impose a way of teaching to a totally different context about which we know something but which we do not know directly. We wanted to create a course based on collaboration and which would bring together the best of our experience and tradition and of the experience and tradition of teaching and learning in Gaza, based on freirean idea of dialogue, making a difference in the world, situated learning. This has resulted in the course we are going to illustrate and in what is effectively a piece of Action Research.
Cycle of: PLAN, ACT, OBSERVE, REFLECT, REVISE, PLAN...
We prepared the above statement from us as our fist introduction to the learners in Gaza, to give them an idea of what our thinking was behind the course and our ethical positioning in relation to it.
Tongue in cheek
Each module is delivered in two days and a mixture of offline preparation the students do at their own pace and of direct contact via Skype
PART 1: Offerings: the educators present a range of theoretical and practical points. The students prepare by accessing online material and then we meet in what we call a face-to-scree encounter, via Skpe. During the Offerings FTS encounter, the educators present material or lead discussion on the specific theme (e.g. teaching philosophy, example lessons and reflections etc)
PART 2 Re-making: the learners prepare a piece of work (practical and/or theoretical) based on the trainers’ offerings. They can take as much or as little as they want from the offerings and adapt it to their needs and context. During the Re-makings FTS encounter, the leaners discuss or present the material they have made.
The reflection stage consist in a personal journal in which the learners note their experiences and thoughts and of an evaluation sheet which they share with the educators
Each of these stages is timed as follows (read)
We have 12 registered learners in Gaza but about 8 or 9 at any one time. Some are teachers of English as a foreign language, some are teachers of Arabic language and literature.
The course we are now delivering is articulated into 6 modules, each focussing on a specific theme. We have also created the content and prepared the material for each module). The content and structures were presented to the potential learners and feedback was obtained from them. The content and material were adapted as a consequence.
This is still very much a work in progress. This lunchtime we delivered the Offerings for module three (focuses on Pedagogy)
The challenges are represented here by a Rubic cube to give an idea of their complexity. A combination of technology challenges, language challenges (our knowledge of Arabic, the learners’ different levels of English proficiency), the fact that some of the learners are at IUG but we also have one attending from home and that one of us is in Durham means that sometimes we have 4 way Skype conversations and if any of you have tried this, you will know how bad connection can become. Power cuts in Gaza mean that sometimes our learners disappear in the dark, but their connection keeps going. However, the University of Glasgow that does not need to rely on Skype to survive has a rather slow connection that can become very frustrating.
However, this has not stopped us nor the learners. The determination to make this course work, on all parts, the dedication and the commitment mean that we constantly find way rounds challenges and are extremely creative with how we teach. This is negotiated minute by minute following the whims of online connection and also thanks to the many asynchronous activities we have also planned and the learners prepare. So we have already a huge amount of teaching material online, which uses a great variety of software (name a few?). Here are some screenshots of some of the learners’ videos where they illustrate they teaching philosophies, and some of the material that they have created to teach us their very first 10 minute Arabic as a foreign language lesson. It’s a real privilege to work with such a dedicated group of young people and at the end of the face-to-screen meetings we are always extremely tired from the concentration that is required, but also high with adrenaline and excitement at the way in which the learners respond, collaborate, work with us to make sure that this course happens.
