LN7012 - Materials Design for Teaching Arabic (2022/23)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2022/23 | ||||||||
| Module title | Materials Design for Teaching Arabic | ||||||||
| Module level | Masters (07) | ||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 20 | ||||||||
| School | Guildhall School of Business and Law | ||||||||
| Total study hours | 200 | ||||||||
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| Running in 2022/23(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) | No instances running in the year |
Module summary
This module offers a practical, hands-on course in Arabic language teaching materials development which adopts a pedagogical rather than a technical approach to materials development with an emphasis on developing relevant, pedagogically and linguistically sound materials rather than high level technical skills.
Multimedia is a term which is often understood as referring solely to digital media. However, on this course, it is taken to refer to all types of media from traditional media such as pictures and printed texts to the use of contemporary media which draws on digital technology. It is important to point out that this module combines analysis and evaluation of existing materials including professionally developed course books, websites, worksheets and teacher designed activities with practical design exercises for the students to work with. Attention is drawn to a range of crucial design issues which enhance students’ linguistic, pedagogical and methodological understanding and hence their understanding of what constitutes effective, relevant and meaningful Arabic language teaching materials.
Throughout the module, students are introduced to a range of different design options developing a variety of different interactive spaces (e.g. webpages, blogs, wikis) which allow for a variety of hyperlinked resources (e.g. radio/tv, YouTube, newspapers) and embedded activities, either digitally interactive or as downloadable work sheets. The students are also involved in designing conventional paper-based, PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard materials. In this way the module combines the development of technical confidence, skill and design judgements (e.g. regarding content, level of language, complexity of task) with a consideration of wider pedagogic and cultural issues such as: the integration of multimedia within an Arabic course programme/classroom teaching; cultural bias in certain materials versus the culture-free nature or potential internationalism of other applications; the practical applicability of multimedia in certain teaching locations; the use of technology by Arabic language learners themselves in creative work.
The module is taught through a highly interactive approach involving a mix of teacher led input, group discussion and collaborative practical activities. There is a single final assignment which involves producing multimedia Arabic language teaching materials along with a theorised rationale explaining the design decisions made.
The module will be taught in Arabic.
Module aims:
This module aims to provide students with a firm understanding of the complexities involved in materials design for teaching Arabic and the knowledge and skills to be able to produce sound, relevant and useful Arabic materials which draw on a variety of media, both ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’. The practical skills, technical confidence and the pedagogical understanding that the module develops is intended to empower students when dealing with institutional and educational challenges that they may encounter in teaching Arabic.
Specifically, it aims to:
● provide students with the knowledge and skills that will help them produce well designed, pedagogically sound and relevant Arabic language teaching materials
● enable students to contribute at different institutional levels (classrooms, departments, institutions and even policy) in decisions about choice and design of syllabuses and materials for teaching Arabic
● enable students to recognise and understand the potentials of existing and new multimedia resources in developing innovative and pedagogically informed methodologies and materials for teaching Arabic
● enable students to apply theoretical knowledge to practical tasks
● develop students’ creativity, ICT skills and technological confidence.
Prior learning requirements
N/A
Syllabus
The module covers topics such as the role and function of materials in Arabic language teaching, the principles of good design, using and adapting Arabic course book materials, ICT in Arabic language teaching and using the Internet for teaching Arabic.
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
Students enrolled in this module will be encouraged to engage with recommended readings in preparation for each lecture. As the module adopts a blended-learning approach, students will have access to a dedicated module site (Weblearn) where they will find learning activities, class materials, lecture recordings, and online forums where they can interact with peers and tutors in synchronous and asynchronous ways.
Our students will have access to the university library website and make use of electronic journals, e-books, databases and full text journals. Support for developing and improving IT skills as well as information on other web based study support, is available on the library website. Students will have a nominated tutor who will support and guide them through the module and who they can consult in person, by email, or designated video-conference software.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will:
1. Have a systematic and critical understanding of the pedagogical principles and design factors involved in the development of multimedia Arabic language teaching materials
2. Be able to produce well designed, relevant and usable multimedia Arabic teaching materials
3. Be able to make informed and persuasive decisions about institutional choice and development of resources for Arabic language teaching and learning
4. Be able to work creatively and effectively with a variety of ICT resources and have the confidence and adaptability to learn new skills as necessary
5. Have demonstrated that they can work flexibly and effectively both independently and with others.
Assessment strategy
There is one formal assessment for this module involving the design of Arabic language teaching materials for 8 – 10 hours teaching, comprising three components:
the Arabic teaching materials themselves
a guide to how the materials should be used (i.e. a teachers’ guide)
a clear rationale about why they have designed the materials in that way – including discussion of the theoretical perspectives that inform their approach (e.g. language awareness, modes of communication, etc.)