-Working with Arabic-Speaking students -Language challenges faced by Arabic speaking students when they're learning English as a second language

1. A R A B I C - S P E A K I N G S T U D E N T S
L A N G U A G E C H A L L E N G E S
R A J A A L T U K R U N I
F A L L , 2 0 1 5

2. 1 . F A C T S A B O U T T H E
A R A B I C L A N G U A G E

3. • 420 million people around the world
speak Arabic.
• It’s the sixth most spoken language.
• There are three forms of Arabic:
1. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)
2. Qur’anic Arabic / Classical Arabic
3. Colloquial Arabic
http://istizada.com/complete-list-of-arabic-speaking-countries-

4. • Arabic Alphabet consists of 28
letters.
• Arabic is a language that is written
and read from right to left.
• Arabic is written in the cursive way.
• Dots are used to differentiate a
letter from another.
http://www.arabicegypt.com/news/facts-about-the-arabic-
language

5. 2 . L I N G U I S T I C
C H A L L A N G E S I N W R I T I N G
& P R O N U N C I AT I O N

6. 2.1 WRITING CHALLENGES:
2.1.1 Word Order (Adjectives Placement)
2.1.2 Capitalization
2.1.3 Use of Articles
2.1.4 Run-on sentences
2.1.5 “Arabish!” (Gomaa, 2010)

7. 2.1.1. WORD ORDER:
ADJECTIVE PLACEMENT
IN ARABIC
Adjectives follow the nouns they
modify (e.g., girl beautiful ).
IN ENGLISH
Adjectives precede the associated noun
(e.g., beautiful girl).
(Barry, 2014)
Therefore, some ELLs
may write:
- She’s a student good.
- She’s a good student.

8. 2.1.2. CAPITALIZATION:
OMITTING OR OVERUSING ENGLISH CAPITALIZATION
IN ARABIC
Each letter has two forms capital/
small (e.g., sentence-initial, proper
names…, etc.)
IN ENGLISH
Each letter has multiple forms
depending on where the letter is
used in a word, for example:
• Equivalent letter for K (‫)ك‬
B: ‫ﻜ‬) )
M: (‫ﮑ‬)
E: (‫ك‬)
.
Therefore, some ELLs
may write:
-frank likes Playing
footBall.
(Barry, 2014)

9. 2.1.3. USE OF ARTICLES:
HOW, WHEN AND WHICH ARTICLE TO USE
• Arabic doesn’t include indefinite articles (a/ an).
• To differentiate between definite and indefinite: (‫ال‬ )= the
.
Therefore, some ELLs may write:
-It was interesting book.
-It was an interesting book.
(Barry, 2014)

10. 2.1.4. RUN-ON SENTENCES
• “Run-on sentences in Arabic are accepted and there is no error
in writing them. Newspapers, magazines and books have run-on
sentences and readers can follow them with no confusion.” (Adas,
2013, 255)

11. 2.1.5. “ARABISH!”
ELLs may write a sentence like:
 “[flu] infection spreads by peace with hand.’’
 “…the student means here the flu infection is caused by
greetings and handshakes.” (Gomaa, 2010)

12. WRITING SAMPLES

13. Nurse type 1
Every patient in the hospital need someone to 2
look after him/her this someone is the nurse . 3
so the good nurse should be patient , carrying 4
even respectful to make the sick one feel much 5
better and comfortable . he/she most smile , 6
talk to the patient in clear way . most of the 7
situation of the patient can be worse if they 8
don’t feel comfortable with the nurse its always 9
Psychology . 10
Bad nurse always unclear and doesn't care 11
about the patient . she/he doesn’t consider 12
his/her work as a 13
humanitarian 14

14. Good Nurse And Good Health 1
Occur positions in hospitals between the nurse and 2
the patient because of indifference by the nurse and lack 3
of respect for the patient's feelings. The patient may 4
develop a serious illness he says his nurse news direct 5
way do not pave him the news this affects the patient's 6
health and feelings and lack of respect for the patient 7
cause harm to the nurse the cause of his death or hurt 8
them . As has happened in the series grey's anatomy 9
when Mr. Clark killed a lot of the nurses because he is one 10
of the nurses neglected his wife did not care about the 11
feelings of Mr. Clark told him the news of her death in a 12
manner not indifferent caused of the collapse and kill 13
them . Finally, the nurse must be interested in each patient 14
all sides to be a successful nurse because its safety of 15
human life at every nurses and can not play the lives of 16
people. Smile and speak good sincerity, a cure for every 17
disease. 18

15. 2.2. PRONUNCIATION CHALLENGES:
/P/ /V/
Arabic does not include these two sounds:
• The voiceless bilabial plosive /p/
• The voiced labiodental fricative /v/
Therefore, some ELLs may substitute
these sounds, for example:
• [bibəl] beoble for people
• [fyo͞o] fiew for view

16. 3 . T E A C H I N G T I P S

17. THINGS YOU CAN DO…
1) You should be aware of the role of affect in writing (e.g., when giving
feedback). (Horwitz, 2008)
2) Enhance students’ self correction: they “must go from being passive receivers
of corrections, to actively recognizing and correcting their own mistakes.”
(Pesce, 2015)
3) Raise students’ awareness of the similarities/ differences between their L1 and
L2:
A. Modeling and giving examples.
B. Giving explicit instruction of writing conventions in L2 (e.g., punctuations,
capitalization, spelling, …etc).

18. CONT.
4) Regular practice (e.g., using journals or diaries)
5) Overcoming Arabish style in writing:
A. “the teacher can assign readings and at the same time work one on one
with the students to assist them with converting Arabish in English!”
(Gomaa, 2010)
6) To avoid run-on sentences in L2:
A. “the teacher has to make it clear for the students that it is confusing for
English readers to have very long sentences, unlike Arabic”(Gomaa,
2010).
B. introduce/ practice punctuations (e.g., adding semicolons or periods and
using connectors). (Gomaa, 2010)

19. CONT.
7) Practicing unfamiliar sounds:
A. “Unfamiliar sounds -- which do not exist in the learners’ mother tongue -- should
be identified and given special attention” (Ahmad, 2011, 34).
B. “Minimal pair drills should be used to distinguish between similar or problematic
sounds in the target language” (Ahmad, 2011, 35).
C. Use tongue twisters “a technique from speech correction strategies. (e.g., she sells
seashells by the seashore)” (Ahmad, 2011, 35).
D. “The students can be provided a listening model by the teacher or some
electronic devices, such as a tape-recorder or CD, and then asked to repeat or
imitate it” (Ahmad, 2011, 35).
E. Watch some English programs on TV or other visual media (e.g., BBC English,
CNN, etc.) “These programs offer live exposure to English pronunciation”(Ahmad,
2011, 35).

20. REFERENCES
Ahmad, J. (2011). Pronunciation problems among Saudi learners: a case study at the preparatory year program.
Retrieved from http://www.languageinindia.com/july2011/jalalsaudilearnersfinalpaid.pdf
Adas, D. & Bakir, A. (2013). Writing difficulties and new solutions: blended learning as an approach to improve
writing abilities. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, (3) 9, 254-266.
Barry, D. (2014). The impact of native Arabic on English writing as a second language. Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/7792170/The_Impct_of_Native_Arabic_on_English_Writing_as_a_Second_Language
Gomaa, L. (2010). 5 writing troubles spots for ESL students of Arabic.
Retrieved from http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/10068-5-writing-trouble-spots-for-esl-students-of-arabic
Horwitz, E. (2008). Becoming a language teacher. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Pesce, C. (2015). 10 Most Common Writing Mistakes and How to Bust Them. Retrieved from
http://busyteacher.org/18134-10-most-common-writing-mistakes-how-to-bust.html