An assessment framework of communicative Arabic proficiency considering its diglossic nature Rahaf Alabar, Goldsmiths, University of London

The study proposes an assessment framework of communicative Arabic proficiency considering its diglossic nature. It explores the concept and components of communicative Arabic proficiency (CAP) in relation to the Arabic varieties, and its potential testing norm and constructs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine assessment stakeholders who fall into three categories; assessor teachers, teachers and learners of Arabic as a foreign language at the (UKHE) context. The findings highlight a) aspects like social appropriacy, grammatical accuracy, cultural and bi-dialectical knowledge to be the major attributes of CAP. b) the socio-linguistic, cultural/intercultural, bi-dialectical competence, and interactional competences as the different components that CAP comprises; c) interaction and culture/inter-culture as the potential different constructs through which learners’ CAP could be measured. And d) the diversity of participants’ opinions regarding the description of Arabic native speaker and the disagreement amongst them about the appropriate assessment norm; the educated native speaker or an L2 user. The research findings reflect various opinions mainly regarding three topics of those under scrutiny; testing MSA and/or the colloquial, culture meaning and assessment approaches, in addition to the educated native speaker/ or an L2 user as a norm of proficiency assessment. Through examining the research findings in the light of the relevant literature, the UKHE context and the learners’ needs, a languacultural assessment framework of CAP was proposed. The distinctive aspects of it are; proposing a situated assessment approach of MSA and the colloquial, an interactional construct and a diglossic competent L2 user as a norm of proficiency assessment.

University of Leeds

3/28/2017 8:07:14 AM