Handbook for Arabic Language Teaching Professionals in the 21st Century

The Handbook for Arabic Language Teaching Professionals In the 21st Century, Second Edition, draws on the collective expertise of language scholars and professional educators in a variety of sub-disciplines to provide a comprehensive treatment of teaching and research in Arabic as a second and foreign language worldwide. Keeping a balance among theory, research, and practice, coverage emphasises research; program design at the university level; philosophy and goals; content; students’ needs; curricula for specific purposes; language levels; Arabic speaker competence; what language variety/varieties are taught; the role of assessment; accreditation; study abroad programs; and various contexts of learning Arabic.

The field faces new challenges since the publication of the first edition, including increasing and diverse demands, motives, and needs for learning Arabic cross various institutions; the reality that Arabic is no longer a less commonly taught language; a need for accountability and academic research given the growing recognition of the complexity and diverse contexts of teaching Arabic; and an increasing shortage of supply and need for quality of teaching instruction. The second edition addresses these challenges. It is designed to generate a dialogue—continued from the first edition—among professionals in the field leading to improved practice, and to facilitate interactions not only among individuals but also among educational institutions within a single country and across different countries.

Kassem M. Wahba is currently Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Georgetown University, USA.

Liz England, is Professor of Education and World Languages, Shenandoah University, USA.

Zeinab A. Taha is Associate Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, The American University in Cairo, Egypt.