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Dr. Nagwa S. Hedayet

Director

Hedayet Institute for Arabic Studies

Cairo, Egypt

Contacts: +225270518

+201222261308

E- Address: nagwahedayet@hedayetinstitute.com

info@hedayetinstitute.com

http://www.hedayetinstitute.com

4th International Conference for Language & Literature

Study Abroad Programs of Islam/AFL Targeting Muslim Heritage &

Non-Muslim Students

Abstract

Study abroad programs teaching Islam/AFL target heritage Muslim students

who have difficulty to understand their own religion/culture because they

either live as minorities in areas far from the sources of Islamic culture or in

Islamic non Arabic speaking countries who may need deeper understanding

of their religion. These programs also target non Muslim students who want

to understand Islam and its culture in a time of conflict and rising

confrontations between extremist radicalization of religious education &

Islamophobic media tendencies and erosion of religious dimensions in

worldwide education in general today.

This experimental research paper was conducted on 1210 heritage and non

Muslim students in more than one study abroad Islam/AFL programs at Al

Azhar FLI and Hedayet Institute for Arabic Studies in Egypt with different

parameters/components & hence resulted into different learned lessons that

the author of this paper want to share with the audience for better future

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programs. Different Islam/AFL teachers’ training, monitoring

academic/administrative criteria as well as instruction methodology yielded

different results that will be discussed, analyzed and compared.

It will suggest the criteria of assessing such programs in the future,

enlightened by the study abroad international reports and field latest

research.

Introduction:

1-The study started in summer 2010 by an agreement between the author

of this paper and Al Azhar ALI in Egypt, to revamp and modernize the study

abroad program at the institute. This began by a presentation at the

WOCMES conference in Barcelona Jul. 2010 to present to the convenors the

new perspectives of Islam/AFL program at Al Azhar which the author of this

paper presented and was positively received. The researcher was asked by

al Azhar to be responsible for teachers’ training at the Arabic Language

Institute for non Natives that was followed by a contract to revamp the

institute as the acting field director and consultant who selected Mr. Abbas al

Tonsy from Georgetown University site in Qatar then, Dr. Shadya Fahmy

from American University in Cairo & Dr. Zeinab Ibrahim from Canadian

Carnegie College in Qatar to be in the board of directors. All are renowned

AFL experts who met with the acting director and author of this paper in

regular internet skype sessions.

The Study Questions:

What is in-service AFL teachers’ lived experience of learning? (Camarat.(2004). (Pls. see teachers’ opinion graph in the appendex)

Can there ever be any balance between temptation of preaching

specific modern Islamic trends (Salafi, Wahhabi thoughts etc.) on the

part of the instructors enhanced as well by the existing written

material for this purpose and actual individual AFL from a liberal arts

approach addressing non Muslims as well coming from different

educational background (Ex. Turkey, Nigeria, UK, Malaysia, Indonesia

etc.)

Is there a good way for Islam/AFL Content-Based Instruction to be

used in a modern liberal and originally and primarily Islamic way

addressing the higher meta-cognition of study abroad students,

Muslims and non-Muslims? Tens of verses talk about using reasoning

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and higher metacognition to understand what is around us that is not

the place to write them here.

Guidelines in Designing Al Azhar Program:

A clear overall conceptualization of language planning (status, corpus

and acquisition)

Setting of realizable and sustainable targets

Prioritizing: Inspired by al-Qur’an and our great mu’allim Prophet

Muhammed (SAW), revisited: “Iqra’a” the first revealed word

contextual meaning was to “recite” or ‘listen well & then

pronounce/repeat’, while most such programs emphasize old

grammar-translation and traditional memorization method through

reading-writing skills as priority skills; if we have to choose, do we

train our AFL instructors first or start a full-fledged modern

curriculum?

Monitoring completion and effective outcomes (Dewaele et al, 2004)

Contacts with other disciplines at the university or center, materials

selection according to learning outcomes, assessment criteria …etc.

(Colin Baker’s; N. Hedayet/Hedaiat, 2004).

Guidance was found in Rogers’ statement: communicative learning

teaching (CLT) has branched into several philosophical other

approaches talking about details in implications such as The Natural

Approach, Cooperative Language Learning, Task-Based Teaching and

Content-Based Teaching. (Rogers. (2001); Duenas. (1997)).

An attempt to modernize da’wa methods as well in order to address

liberal minded students who constitute a considerable body of

academic institutions in present time

Program Affordable Components:

a- AFL training of 18 teachers (males & females)

b- Prepare a ground for modern systems of administering such programs (a serious issue in education in Egypt, let alone in traditional religious

institutes) c- Recruit academic and administrative staff to assist in the different

parameters of modernizing the program

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d-Few months after the break out of the Egyptian Revolution on Jan. 25th,

2011, when all the country was in paralysis, there was a delay of the

program start date at Al Azhar AFL Institute academic year start while 1180

students had already arrived to the institute coming from abroad with the

academic year start in the beginning of Oct. 2011. The team selected by the

author of this research paper* found itself forced to use the most then

convenient for the situation and relatively new existing materials; i.e., Arabic

for Muslims or al ‘arabiyya li l Muslimeen by Dr. M. Seiny. This book is

composed of three parts and is heavily religious and methodologically

traditional very traditional concentrating on reading and writing language

skills basically. It was to be combined with suitable modern audiovisual

materials* to integrate all four language skills in AFL classroom.

e- Cultural activities such as trips to tourist Islamic as well as other non

Islamic sites, tours and seminars that would be a part of the language

curriculum on Islamic arts, architecture, calligraphy, Islamic Law, music,

women in Islam, traditions in the Islamic world and exposure to modern

living Islam around them etc.

Program Implementation:

1- Bi monthly TAFL training workshops where conducted in order to expose

(and actually proved chocking) Al-Azhar instructors to the field modern

methods of student centered AFL class, a class where all the four language

skills are used. Class management, time on task, flipped classroom

instruction as well as inviting guest speakers to class were some of what

they were trained to do for the first time. Writing class rubrics and course (s)

syllabi were the used means to reach the learning outcomes at each

proficiency level according to ACTFL in addition to classroom technologies.*

Pls. see some of the instructors comments on their in-service training graph

2- Assessment criteria of the students’ language proficiency at each level,

criteria of how to choose future instructors, academic promotion and

payment scales tied to professional development and performance as well as

students’ evaluation of their courses’ instruction were all means to quality

control and administer the program

3- Audiovisual materials were to be developed by the instructors to

complement the above selected book in case of materials unavailability

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Challenges Encountered After One Academic Year of Implementing

the Program from Oct. 2010 to May 2011:

Bureaucratic/ administrative issues delayed AFL instructors’ retaining,

training and facilitating teachers’ materials development. By the end

of the year two instructors left and at least four of them had to teach

in private institutes to get reasonable monthly salary despite all the

advice offered to the administration of the institute. See teachers’

retaining in Maria de Duenas. (1997).

Although the top administration of Al Azhar entrusted us to revamp

what we see needed to be done as AFL experts, the direct in the

ground administration of the institute seemed to have had difficulty in

implementing and effectuating some elements of the program that

was agreed upon at the beginning of the academic year. For example,

the cultural activities part of the curriculum was seen as insignificant.

It was overwhelmed with many new issues at the institute. The

students were left only to dry materials focusing on one realm of

vocabulary; i.e., the historical and religious. Students were deprived

form relating the Arabic language to themselves when they are at a

tourist site or at a restaurant in order to feel comfortable with it and

to enable them to reach the advanced level according to ACTFL world

guidelines. These FL guidelines require that a an AFL learner should

be able to use the code switch in the right places and times. (ACTFL

Guidelines Revisited. (2003). Also it captivates enhancing language

functionality at the advanced level which is also a requirement by Al

Azhar University for a student to be enrolled in different majors in

different colleges there.

Money from Gulf countries that are given as grants to Muslim

students implicitly influences the academic atmosphere and becomes

a source of pressure that indirectly (influences) motivates instructors

that see it an opportunity to preach modern types of Salafi or

Wahhabi Islamic versions.

Use of Authentic or simplified Islamic materials necessitates use of

heritage/classical Arabic language level in class (Badawi.

‘mustawayaat al ‘arabiyya.(1973) which re enforces isolating AFL

students from interacting with and fully be exposed to the

surrounding modern Arabic culture in the country that could have

been a tool for enhancing knowledge and understanding of the Cairo

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living book around them and the open source for contemporary

Islamic societies

The program AFL eight levels of classes had 38 + students in each

class to accommodate a total of 1180 students that year from

different heritage nationalities. As expected very big class numbers

were not so ideal for communicative, content-based, flipped

classroom and IT use as well as student-centered FL class instruction.

Several students had to join evening private surrounding language

centers after Al-Azhar program that were using heavily grammar

translation methods of instruction, much positively received by

heritage students who were psychologically prepared for this type of

instruction. This was definitely counteracting against achieving the

targeted learning outcomes. Please see the assessment criteria in the

appendix no. 1.

For the final aggregate report on AFL teachers’ training al Al Azhar Arabic

Language Institute, please check appendix no. 2 attached with this

paper.

Islamic Studies Program at Hedayet Institute in 2011:

Thinking of the learned lessons in the program at Al Azhar, it was

thought that Hedayet Institute was able to design short and long

programs where heritage & non Muslim students’ learn/improve

their AFL skills while using them as tools to acquire information

and understand concepts in Islamic Studies. Content-based

subjects to learn about Islam from its authentic sources was ideal

to implement and culminated in designing curriculum based on

content-based instruction (CBI), (Stowell, F. et al, 2004), while

simultaneously focus on AFL teaching of MSA from the widely used

books in AFL field.

Cultural Activities component becomes an important part in this

study abroad curriculum where heritage arts, architecture, Sufis

shrines (maqamaat), medieval madrassa & sabils (public watering

fountains were visited and appreciated raising Islamic ethics of

societal volunteer services and public domain beauty etc.). These

tourist site - actually living Islamic cultural components- visits as

well as lectures by globally renowned experts/presenters on

Islamic concepts such as: family, women and children’s rights,

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(UNESCO, The Muslim Child Rights. 2003) when students realize

that human rights were an Islamic balanced invention before any

international claims. A presentation on the Development of Islamic

Architecture was in addition to develop artistic taste it was to

serve open mindedness of Islamic civilization in practicality and

being influenced and influencing other civilizations and to

appreciate interfaith dialogue and non Muslims’ role in Islamic

civilization etc. All such culture activities were integrated in the

language program as well in order to enrich the vocabulary realms

and implicitly teach liberal and moderate Islamic thought.

The most suitable to serve the above thought was using the content-based

instruction in teaching AFL and Islamic studies through Arabic language from

the beginning.

Rationale for CBI

• Meaningful information leads to deeper processing and better learning.

(Brinton, D. & Masters, P. (Eds.) (1997).

• Thematically organized materials are easier to remember and learn

• Acquiring cultural knowledge is emphsized through content-enriched

instruction (Duenas, M.(2002 a).

• There is a relationship between students having a purpose (a task to

complete) and their ability to process challenging materials

• As students become “experts” in a topic, they can tackle more complex

tasks, language and content (Joanne Yanova. (2004); Ballman,

T.(1997); (Dupuy.B.C. (2000).

Hedayet Institute Total Immersion Islam/AFL Program Description:

Last year experimental program was in either 14 week long semester or 7

week short one, where students study about 20 hours in Fall, Spring and

summer. The program was attended by 16 students; 10 heritage students

and 6 non Muslims.

Islam/AFL Curriculum:

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1- Modern Standard Arabic component in 10 hours per week

2- Content-Based courses Islam/AFL in 6 hours per week:

A student must choose 2 from 5 courses: Maqaasid ash-Shari’a

(Jurisprudence), Islamic History (Sira), Tafisir al Qura’an (interpretation of

the Qura’an and Tajweed or recitation of al Qura’an and Calligraphy for

beginners only and Islamic Philosophy for intermediate and advanced

learners. Each course is given in excerpts of its authentic sources and taught

in CBI method

3- Cultural Activities integrated in the curriculum of 2 hours /wk in case of a

lecture or a seminar but in case of a trip it could exceed this time depending

on the place visited

4- Egyptian Colloquial Arabic 3 hours per week in order to enhance total

immersion and personal relating to the language learned

Students Improvement and Learning Outcomes:

In general students were one proficiency level higher compared to the

level that was reflected in their placement test upon joining the

program

Use of CBI enabled most of the students to acquire learning outcomes

form the subject matters as well as improve their four language skills

Samples from both heritage & non Muslim students’ writings will be

available with the author should you want to have a look at some.

Hedayet Institute Short Programs for Heritage scholars:

A heritage students’ program between intermediate to advanced AFL

levels was designed to 13 instructors & professors form the Oriental

Institute of Azerbaijan in Baku in the same year.

Two week intensive program included the following curriculum:

1- Four hours of language component per week of both MSA & ECA

2-Intensive cultural activities on different Arab/Islamic topics & trips

3-Gathering with Muslim Scholars at al Azhar as well as gathering with

Egyptian scholars when attending a conference on democratic tradition

& procedures held in Cairo University

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For the final aggregate report of the above Azerbaijan Scholars’ Program,

please check the appendix no. 3 attached with this paper.

Conclusion:

To compare the above three different programs of heritage and non Muslim

students, the researcher noticed the following:

Big numbers of heritage students made Al Azhar program phenomenal

because of its established reputation over the centuries in serving Islam, but

packing them in big language classes because of teachers’ shortage & less

trained administration in implementing novel ideas using quality control

assessment criteria, yielded weak performance and made students finally

resort to evening support classes to achieve the outcomes of their level. This

made measuring the pedagogical results of the experimental program very

difficult. A prevailing culture among heritage students coming for different

Islamic countries honor and credit grammar traditional methods of learning

Arabic and Islamic studies especially at its stronghold, al Azhar has been an

implicit obstacle to the program as well.

Hedayet Institute total immersion program of Islam/AFL that combined both

targeted groups in Islam/AFL content-based instruction where cultural

activities constituted an important integral part of the program facilitated

internalizing language as well as concepts in Islam as well as gained

language skills that helped them connect with the culture and learn from

their surroundings. Egyptian Arabic variety helped feel comfortable and

immerse in the culture even at the beginners’ level in buying the

underground ticket to the school or ordering food at a restaurant.

As for short highly intensive cultural programs such as the Azerbaijan one it

was the most successful for the content-based topics and concepts given all

in MSA, were chosen according to the group interest, such as Islamic

economy, Arab culture and traditions etc. in addition to survival Egyptian

Arabic that helped the group be immersed in the culture although the

program was short. One of the main lectures was on the basic differences

between MSA and Egyptian colloquial Arabic which all students found very

helpful.

These experimental attempts prove enlightening and guiding towards

designing better Islam/AFL study abroad programs in the future perhaps

drawing mainly on CBI presented in the latest pedagogical methods of

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teaching Arabic as a foreign language in order to help study abroad students

to achieve the hoped for learning outcomes as well as build a generation

with critical thinking and empowered by IT skills through language learning

classrooms and exposure tasks to help Muslims effectively share in building

the third millennium civilization using its tools. This research definitely needs

more elaboration from other colleagues and researchers.

References:

Badawy, el Sa’ed.(1973). mustawayaat al ‘arabiyya al mu’aasira. Dar al

ma’arif al misriyya

Ballman, T. (1997). Enhancing Beginning Langage Courses Through Content-

Enriched Instruction. Foreign Language Annals, 30:2. 173186-

Brinton, D. & Masters, P. (Eds.) (1997) New Ways in Content_Based Instruction, Alexandria, VA: TESOL

Cummins, J. (2000). Immersion Education for the Millinium. Retrieved Oct. 2012 at: http://www.lteaching.com/cummins/immersion2000.html.

Duenas, M. (2000 a). Acquiring Cultural Knowledge Through Content-

Enriched Instruction. Babylonia 3, 5862-

Dupuy, B.C. (2000). Content-Based Instruction:Cant It Help Ease the

Transition from Beginneing to Asvanced Foreign Language Classes? Foreign Language Annals 33:2, 205-222.

Hedaiat, Nagwa . 2004. Arabic Across the Curriculum in a Bilingual Gulf University. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education 1. Dubai, Zayed

University. http://groups.yahoo.com/LTHE/

Kasper, L. (1995).Theory & Practice in Content-Based ESL Reading Instruction. English for Special Purposes 14:3, 223238-

McLaghlin, M. & Voet, M.E. (Eds.) (2000). Creativity & Innovations in Content Area Teaching. Norwood, MA:Christopher-Codon. Publishers, Inc.

Stoller, Ferdrica. L. & W. Grabe. (2004). A Six- T’s Approach to Content-Based Instruction. Focis on Post Secondary Instruction.

http://www.carla.umn.edu/colaltt/modulescurriculum/stoller-

grabe

Stoller,F. (2004). Perception in Curriculum Planning. Annals Review of

Linguistics; 24, 2612 83-. Printed in US Cambridge University Press.

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Criteria of Oral AssessmentStandards

Criteria

DistinguishedILR=4

(Optimal)

SuperiorILR =3

( Accomplished)

AdvancedILR =2

(Developing)

BeginningILR= 1

(Weak)

Communicative competence1-Functions

2- Context

3- Content

Accuracy

Code switching

Coherence & Cohesion

Audience Engagement

Sound Use of Terminology of Is.

stds

Beginner

ILR=1

/

Intermediate

ILR=2

/

Advanced

ILR=3

/

Distinguished

ILR=4

/Standards

/Criteria

Communicative Competency

Accuracy

Coherence and Cohesion

Audience Engagement

Sound use of Terms/voc

EX:Criteria of Writing Assessment

Appendix no.1

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Evaluation of Islam/AFL Short Study Abroad Program for Azerbaijan November 2010 (Total of 11 responses)

Seminars Excellent V. Good Good Fair

Differences btw ECA & MSA 82% 18% 0% 0%

Egypt History: Muhammed Ali's Period until Today 55% 36% 9% 0%

ECA use for living in Egypt 73% 9% 18% 0%

The Libyan Culture & Tradition 82% 0% 9% 0%

Azhar Roundtable on Islamic Philosophy 45% 55% 0% 0%

Women's Role in Culture/Civilization, Cairo Univ. Conference 73% 9% 9% 9%

Arts in Ancient Egypt 82% 9% 9% 0%

Development of Egyptian/Arab Cinema 73% 18% 9% 0%

Oriental Music 91% 9% 0% 0%

Discussion with Hedayet Teachers about AL Levels 91% 9% 0% 0%

Arabic Media 45% 36% 9% 0%

The Gulf Colloquial 91% 0% 0% 9%

Islamic Economy 27% 45% 18% 9%

Appendix no. 2

Appendix no.2,3

Appendix no. 3

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Fair

Good

V. Good

Excellent

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Category Institution

Remarks

Class size- Faculty/ student ratio

Placement exam (pre- program)

(elements of test)

Availability of after hours mentors

Number of levels and sessions

Breadth of program

Elective and cultural classes

Flexibility to work within different

schedule

Opportunities for AY study abroad

Assessment (practices, frequency, type,

grading, methods, etc.)

Proficiency testing (post-program)

Years in operation

Weekend activities

Accreditation

Criteria to Evaluate Study Abroad Institutions

Criteria of Study Abroad Programs. Appendix no. 4.