e-Arabic Learning Portal (eALP)

The eALP provides a visual reference and access point to all our eLearning resources and projects to support the learning and teaching of the Arabic language at the Centre of the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW).

eLearning Agenda

In September 2007, CASAW (Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World) a UK government funded collaboration between the Universities of Edinburgh, Durham and Manchester; received funding to launch a pioneering eLearning agenda to facilitate its aim of radically modernising the teaching of Arabic in the UK within and beyond the classroom using technology-enhanced tools and strategies.

Considering the fact that the majority of Arabic language teaching is still carried out in traditional teacher-led environments, the initiative’s main objective was to invistigate a healthy blend between the old and the new ways and the practical use of emerging interactive Web 2.0 tools and technologies and how they can be adopted and adapted to help learners maximise their mastery of language skills and increase their learning opportunities.

This was felt to be an initiative aligned with national strategic interests, given the chronic shortage of proficient Arabists to undertake the growing number of roles (business, media, intelligence, diplomacy, etc.) requiring a proficiency-based practical knowledge of Arabic.

e-Arabic Toolkit (e-Arabic Learning Tools Directory)

e-Arabic Toolkit is an initiative to create an online directory of e-Learning tools and technologies for learning and teaching the Arabic language.The project aims are :

• to highlight, categorise and archive new and emerging technologies and tools for learning and teaching Arabic at all levels and in different sectors.
• to encourage Arabic learners to adopt eLearning strategies throughout their language learning experience
• to guide teachers to adopt and embed the use of learning technology to support and develop learning in their teaching practice

e-Arabic FlashCards Directory

e-Arabic FlashCards is an initiative to enhance vocabulary and grammar memorization and recall using digital audio flashcards. The collection of e-flashCards produced so far is composed of lists of thematic Arabic vocabulary, expressions and grammar rules.The project’s pedagogy is based on the learning paradigm of declarative learning.
The site provides sets of 15-30 digital flashcards on approximately 40 topics, organised and categorized by topic ranging from the Arabic alphabet, arts and media to economics, military, politics and grammatical rules.
The vocabulary is appropriate for beginners through to advanced learners of Arabic.
Designed with a flashcard authoring software called (Before You Know It), learners can interact with the digital flashcards using a variety of learning modes, from reviewing to recognition to production.
Learners are assessed with points for correct answers throughout the learning session in each set.
Each digital card has an Arabic word/expression with its English translation and includes an audio recording of a native-speaker’s pronunciation (recorded by Mourad Diouri).
At the bottom of each list, learners can download the following:

• The flashcard set
• The PDF Vocabulary list
• The podcast of the list

Based on student feedback, these resources are amongst the most popular and favourite eLearning tools that students have used regularly to memorise and consolidate the language.
This is an excellent resource for independent learning for students of Arabic at all levels.

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m-Arabic | Mobile/Streaming Audio Learning Directory

m-Arabic is an initiative aimed at promoting m-learning (mobile learning) of Arabic using theme-based audio podcasts.
This type of learning is most useful to auditory/aural learners who enjoy to learn independently outside the classroom.
m-Learning’s main focus is on learning across contexts which takes advantage of learning opportunities offered by portable technologies. (e.g. PDAs, mobile phones, MP3 players, etc…)
The m-Arabic site has a growing collection of home-grown (produced by Mourad Diouri CASAW’s eLearning Lecturer) and third-party theme-based podcasts on a variety of subjects.

v-Arabic (Virtual Arabic Realia Directory)

v-Arabic is a searchable database of virtual/digitised language realia which attempts to promote context-based online learning of Arabic. Realia are real-life items which reflect the target language and culture in everyday life.

The potential benefits of using virtual realia are:

• To help learners immerse themselves into an authentic virtual learning environment
• To maximize students’ mastery and understanding of the target language
• To empower students to become successful autonomous learners inside and outside the classroom
• To stimulate students’ interest and foster their motivation to explore the target language further through other online resources

The site contains a remarkable collection of digitized realia resources which were carefully selected to be stimulating, motivating and authentically informative.
To simplify the search, the resources are organized and categorised under:

a. digital images
b. streaming audio & video
c. interactive flash-based resources.

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Streaming Video Resource Directory

The Streaming Video Resource Directory is an initiative to create a growing archive of online educational videos and tutorials about the Arabic language and culture.

Mourad’s e-Learning Highlights of the Week

Mourad’s e-Learning Highlights of the Week a weekly blog where Mourad Diouri, CASAW’s e-Learning lecturer, highlights the most useful and latest e-Learning tools, resources and ideas for learning and teaching Arabic. These resources will be drawn from CASAW’s home-grown eL resources (e.g. e-Arabic Toolkit, v-Arabic, m-Arabic, e-FlashCards, etc.) as well as external sources. It is dedicated to anyone involved in Arabic learning and teaching.
This is an excellent way of keeping up to date with eLearning tools and resources available online.

Collaborative Space

To enhance the learning and teaching experience further beyond the traditional classroom environment, the Collaborative Space is an initiative to design a virtual space which is used as a communication and collaboration area that allow learners, and teachers, to work together on collaborative language learning projects.

Survival Guide to living/studying in the Arab World

This is a collaborative project to create a wiki-based, dynamic and growing knowledge repository which will act as a suvival guide for students studying Arabic as a foreign language intending to live and/or study in the Arab world. This will act as an evolving guide to be modified as successive cohorts of students visit the Arab world.

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e-Seminar Room

In order to revolutionise the face-to-face teaching of Arabic, CASAW recently secured funding to upgrade its teaching room into an “e-seminar room” equipped with the latest eLearning technologies (e.g. SMART-board. WiFi, Visualizer,etc). Students will be able to engage and learn collaboratively via the interactive SMART-board with wireless internet connection (WiFi) using portable devices such as laptops, mobile phones and PDAs. This type of technology-enhanced teaching and learning makes the learning of Arabic more effective, collaborative, stimulating and enjoyable.

CASAWiki (CASAW Wiki)

CASAWiki is a private wiki site for CASAW staff which spans the Universities of Edinburgh, Durham and Manchester. It is intended to act as a CMS (Content Management System) to support the administration, management and teaching of CASAW.

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e-Lingua Tandem is an initiative to support Arabic language learners to find language partners from the Arabic-speaking world who are interested to learn more about your language and culture, as well as support you with your formal language study. This is a mutual language partnership of two or more learners, where all involved benefit equally.

This service is intended to help Arabic language learners to find an eTandem partner with whom they can improve their linguistic skills as well as expand their cultural understanding of the target culture.

In eTandem, you work together with your partner by communicating either face to face, or electronically (hence the name e-Lingua Tandem) via telephone, e-mail or other online media such as MSN, Skype etc.

Together, you will need to discuss your learning objectives and goals well in advance (i.e. what and how much you want to learn) to make your e-Tandem experience more effective.

As the Arabs Say…كـَما قالـَت العَرَب

Weekly Arabic Quotes, Proverbs, and Sayings for Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language selected, podcasted and interpreted by Mourad Diouri

Using a variety of multi-media e-Learning tools and resources, As the Arabs Say is an initiative to enhance understanding of the Arabic language and culture by exploring a wealth of carefully selected Arabic quotes, sayings and proverbs that authentically reflect the way many Arabs live and communicate.

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