10. Advancing Arabic Language Education: Empowering Teachers and Promoting Critical CALL through the Arabic Teachers’ Council
Advancing Critical CALL across Institutions and Borders - Reimagining Possibilities for Languages, Literacies, and Cultures - Emma Britton
Kamilia Rahmouni [+]
Virginia Commonwealth University
Description
Arabic educational practitioners in the United States are confronted with various challenges, namely issues related to diglossia, teaching approaches, as well as limited professional training and resource constraints. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of these challenges and attempts to address them by proposing a diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)-enhanced communities of practice framework; this framework builds upon the concept of communities of practice (CoP). The proposed DEIA-enhanced CoP framework is used to explore the role of the District of Columbia-Arabic Teachers’ Council (DC-ATC) in mitigating these challenges. To achieve this, the chapter examines the Council’s organizational and operative structure and explores its endeavors to address these issues. The exploration focuses on the workshops organized by the DC-ATC between 2020 and 2023 and their impact in mitigating the challenges faced by Arabic educators. By leveraging the transformative potential of technology, the DC-ATC created professional development opportunities, fostered a sense of community, and promoted collaboration and resource-sharing among Arabic educators. These efforts resulted in improved DEIA outcomes for Arabic educators and contributed to the creation of a more robust, inclusive, and effective environment for Arabic teaching and learning.