Perspectives on Teaching Arabic as a Heritage Language: What We Can Learn from Teaching Polish as a Heritage Language

07/20/2020

*This online seminar is hosted in the German language.

Expolingua and QFI are pleased to host an interactive online seminar for Arabic educators and Arabic heritage project managers on Friday, July 10th at 3:00 pm EST.

In this online seminar, Barbara Stolarczyk, director of the Center for Heritage Languages at Darmstadt University; Asma Zarrug, lecturer at Heidelberg University and Arabic heritage language teacher; and Mohamed Akoush, Arabic heritage language teacher at Spreewald Grundschule in Berlin, talked about teaching Arabic as a heritage language in Germany.

Examples and suggestions were based on current research in the field and knowledge gained during practical experience. It will allow educators to learn more about the immense challenges of teaching Arabic as a heritage language in Germany: How are teachers trained and what teaching materials are available? Is there a curriculum and how is it tied into the school system of each federal state?

The session shared knowledge gained from comparing the achievements of teaching Polish as a heritage language in Germany, innovations and best practices, and how to maneuver as a teacher of Arabic as a heritage language without the appropriate support.

Specifically, this session will provide the following:

Insight into the process of establishing teaching Polish as a heritage language in Germany and what we can learn from this for establishing teaching Arabic;
Discussions on the challenges of teaching in a field without appropriate teacher training, curriculum and limited teaching material;
Recommendations for different materials that can be used to promote all four skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking), encourage collaboration and provide feedback.

This session will be led by the Expolingua, a German-based conference organizer for teaching modern foreign languages in Germany and Qatar Foundation International.

Audience: Arabic language educators (especially primary and secondary level, but all language educators are welcome) and project managers for teaching Arabic as a heritage language in federals state-run programs.

Webinar Details: This online seminar took place on Friday, July 10th at 2:00 pm EST/2:00 pm GMT+1