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Advice for teachers -
Arabic

Teaching and learning activities

Unit 2

Unit 2 – Area of Study 1: Interpersonal communication

Theme: The Arabic-speaking communities
Topic: The Arabic cultural heritage
Sub topic: A short story or a novel

Outcome 1

Respond in writing in Arabic to spoken, written or visual texts presented in Arabic.

Examples of learning activities

  • Read a short story or novel in Arabic. Individually, focus on its key aspects and make notes. Present to the class a general overview of the text, noting significant features.
  • Write a summary of one of the texts.
  • Write personal journal entries to highlight main points and reactions to the selected story.
  • Watch a video about the author of one of the texts. Take notes about any relationship between the author’s life and the text as well as any other significant and relevant connections or comparisons.
  • Listen to a radio interview about one of the texts, or any aspect of it.
  • Read some critical writing about one of the selected texts and note the points made, highlighting any similarities and differences between the criticisms.
  • Choose a favourite character and create a poster of the character’s life, characteristics and relationships.
  • Interview an Arabic speaker about their memories and perceptions of one of the texts.
  • Prepare a section to read or present to the class. Explain the choice of section.
  • Write an evaluative review of one of the texts.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Read a selection of written texts and synthesise information, ideas and opinions into a persuasive email to a friend.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

A persuasive email to a friend about a text

  1. Read two selected written texts. Identify the major events taking place, which characters are involved and how they fit into the plot.
  2. Read reviews of the texts. Discuss positive and negative views in small groups.
  3. Write a 100-word response to each of the reviews.
  4. Select a section of one text. In pairs, write questions about this section.
  5. Swap questions with the other groups and proceed to answer them.
  6. Complete comprehension exercises based on the texts and discuss responses with the class.
  7. Read an article written in a persuasive style. Identify its main features.
  8. Write a plan for the piece of writing (the persuasive email) to be undertaken.
  9. Write an email to a friend persuading them to read the text you preferred.

Unit 2 – Area of Study 2: Interpretive communication

Theme: The Arabic-speaking communities
Topic: Living in an Arab community
Sub topic: The migrant exprience

Outcome 2

Analyse and use information from written, spoken or visual texts to produce an extended written response in Arabic.

Examples of learning activities

  • Research statistics about migration to Arabic-speaking countries. Compare them to Australian statistics. Consider the questions: Where do migrants to Australia come from? How do they arrive? Why do they come?
  • Watch a video about migration. Take notes and identify issues for further investigation.
  • Listen to migrants talking about their lives before migration and their experience of living in the new host country.
  • Participate in a class discussion about general features of the migrant experience.
  • Visit a migration exhibit at a museum to view and research relevant materials.
  • View a series of historical photographs that depict significant moments in the lives of migrants and analyse them.
  • Prepare a PowerPoint presentation reflecting aspects of the migrant experience, as researched, in the new host country.
  • Write a 200-word blog post about reactions to information gathered about migration.
  • View a film about the migration of Arabic speakers. Identify similarities and differences between current research and what is portrayed in the film. Discuss those aspects with a partner and create a poster for the class to read.
  • Interview a person who has migrated to Australia.
  • Write a biographical extract of a migrant to Australia.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    With another student or in a small group, develop a set of questions in order to interview a migrant about their reasons for leaving a country or homeland.
  • Read a newspaper, magazine or online article that expresses the views of migrants to new host countries.
  • Conduct research to find out whether there are certain towns or areas that take more migrants than others. Find and discuss reasons why that might be so.
  • Write a 250-word evaluative piece that compares the Australian and an Arab-speaking country’s experience of immigration.
  • Complete questions after a listening and reading comprehension task and write up answers in another text type.
  • Write an imaginative journal account to describe your first month in Australia   as a newly arrived migrant.
  • Participate in a group conversation, sharing information about migrants from different places in the Arab world and their journey to the country to which they migrated. Discuss the pros and cons of the migrant experience.
  • Listen to a podcast that features an interview with a migrant to Australia. Note any expressions used to describe their experience.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

An interview to explore reasons for migrating

  1. List and quantify vocabulary related to this topic from all material studied so far.
  2. Practise useful expressions and grammar in Arabic.
  3. Become familiar with features of informal Arabic conversations designed to elicit information.
  4. Discuss the expression of emotions by listening to extracts of conversations.
  5. Write the script of an interview with a migrant to Australia regarding his/her experience. Share this with a classmate. Based on the two scripts, prepare and participate in a role-play to highlight the migrant experience in Australia.
  6. Refine relevant material as well as grammar and expressions.
  7. Practise aloud to establish the rhythm of interchange between the two characters – questioning and answering. Consider cultural elements specific to the Arabic conversational form.
  8. Perform the interview in front of the class.
  9. Share oral and written feedback between peers and teacher.

Unit 2 – Area of Study 3: Presentational communication

Theme: The Arabic-speaking communities
Topic: The Arabic cultural heritage
Sub topic: Modern architecture in a city or town in an Arabic-speaking country

Outcome 3

Explain information, ideas and concepts orally in Arabic to a specific audience about an aspect of culture within communities where Arabic is spoken.

Examples of learning activities

  • Research a town or city in an Arabic-speaking country and write a time-line of its development.
  • Note the major architectural styles and periods of the town or city. Read extracts about each of the styles and summarise the elements in an informative piece of writing.
  • Watch a video about the latest wave of construction in the town.
  • Work in small groups to identify the reasons for this latest range of construction and its key elements. Prepare a poster of one of the exemplar buildings of the latest style. Note on it the major elements.
  • Interview another student about their choice of building and how it is unique and/or representative of this style.
  • Research one or more of the architects associated with these buildings. Choose one architect and outline, in a short biography, their influences on the design of the buildings.
  • Identify a particular street or district that features this latest architecture. Address the questions: Where in the town is it? Why was it built here? Is it a residential or business building? Identify any similar architectural elements in buildings in Melbourne or another town in Australia.
  • Listen to radio broadcasts about modern architecture in a town or city in the Arab world. Take notes about how the locals perceive these new buildings.
  • Read online blogs by architectural commentators about this modern development.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Prepare a series of images and an accompanying 200-word informative text to explain the latest architectural developments in a town in an Arabic-speaking country.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

An article about the latest architectural developments in a town in an Arabic-speaking country.

  1. Watch a documentary about architecture in an Arabic-speaking country.
  2. Read an article about the latest buildings in the town chosen for this unit.
  3. Create a glossary of appropriate architectural terms to support this topic.
  4. Identify cultural features/meaning in the new buildings constructed in this modern style.
  5. Research a range of the latest buildings. Tabulate similarities and differences between the buildings.
  6. Discover if these are private or public buildings and consider why this might be significant.
  7. Create a montage of images to illustrate this latest architectural trend.
  8. Listen to local people talking about these new buildings. Note their reactions and grade them as positive, negative or neutral. Note also examples of language used to describe the buildings.
  9. Draft your article explaining each image chosen for the montage along with background information such as its history. Combine content, language and cultural information to make connections and comparisons.
  10. Research the elements required for the text type and choose grammar elements to best support the writing.