Browsing Tag
ACTFL
4 posts
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL): A national organization dedicated to improving and expanding the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. (المجلس الأمريكي لتعليم اللغات الأجنبية)
What happens in your brain when you learn Arabic?
Learning Arabic requires different brain activity than learning German. What does this mean for adult learners? Can the brain adapt to the new demands? A study from the Max Planck Institute provides answers. In this in-depth interview, Dr. Matthias Schwendemann, who was part of the research team, provides fascinating insights into what happens in our brains when we learn Arabic or German.
Does the term “foreign language” still fit our times?
Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL); the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL): we need to talk about the "F"-word in these acronyms, writes Dr. Roger Anderson. If Arabic is a "foreign" language, then every time Arab-Americans speak it within their home, they are performing something foreign in every conversation. Hence, the "foreign" has to be abandoned, opines Dr. Anderson in a thought-provoking guest article.
How a US Military Arabic Course went global
In the 20th century, Arabic language material was scarce. During the Vietnam War, Reginald Hefner, had access to a language lab of the US military - and later discovered, how the Military's Arabic material was used by publishers around the world. He shares some reminiscences and anecdotes in this guest article.
Is Arabic taught differently in Germany than in the USA?
"Real-life-situations" (USA) versus "lots of grammar" (Germany) - that's what studying Arabic used to be in both countries. But that is changing, says Paula Rötscher, who has studied Arabic at university level in the US and in Germany - and, moreover, teaches Arabic at several institutions.
