Arabic-L:PEDA:AUC TAFL program announcement

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 29 May 2003
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1) Subject:AUC TAFL program announcement

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1)
Date: 29 May 2003
From: zeinab Ibrahim <zeinabib at aucegypt.edu>
Subject:AUC TAFL program announcement

Master of Arts in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language
WWW.AUCEGYPT.EDU
Master of Arts

Interest in the Arabic language has increased greatly throughout the
world.
With this has come a demand for professionals trained in the field. The
master's degree program in teaching Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL(
in the Arabic Language Institute, based on modern theory and practice,
is
especially designed to meet this need.
The master's degree requires two years' residence and covers the
Following areas: linguistics, contrastive analysis in second-language
teaching and
learning, and methods of teaching foreign languages. In addition,
practice teaching is required. The courses have been structured to
promote
research as well as to develop highly trained teachers. In addition, a
number of issues
related to the role of Arabic in modern society are freshly examined,
such as current methods of teaching Arabic to children, reform of the
writing
system, grammar reform movements, and the problem of diglossia. The TAFL
program seeks to inspire new approaches to these problems.

Admission

Applicants for the Master of Arts degree in TAFL should hold a bachelor
of arts degree specializing in Arabic language, Islamic studies, Middle
East
area studies, or a modern language. Applicants should also meet general
University admission requirements. Applicants with undergraduate
specialization in
modern language other than Arabic must take a number of additional
courses in the field of Arabic studies. Applicants for the Master of
Arts degree
in TAFL should have teaching experience prior to admission into the
program or
must acquire this experience concurrently with the program.

Language

Non-native speakers of Arabic and holders of degrees other than
Arabic  language or Islamic studies must demonstrate in an
examination that their  proficiency in Arabic is adequate
for study in the program. The level of  language proficiency
required for admission is not less than the level Superior as specified
by the
guidelines of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign
Languages ACTFL). An applicant who is not a native speaker of English
must have
sufficient command of English to qualify for admission as an AUC
graduate student. Those with less but showing exceptional promise may be
recommended for AUC preparatory training for a period not to exceed one
year.
A limited number of fellowships are awarded on a merit basis.
Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination consists of a written examination
followed by an oral examination. It is required only of students not
writing theses
and may not be taken more than twice.




Thesis

The thesis is usually required for graduation. In some circumstances
and with the adviser's approval, a candidate may be allowed to replace
the
thesis with two additional courses, increasing the total number of
minimum credit
hours required from 30 to 36. In such cases the candidate would be
required
take the comprehensive examination.  The student writing a thesis must
produce a professional paper on some aspect of TAFL. The thesis
must be prepared under the guidance and close supervision of a
faculty adviser and a designated committee.

Courses Required for the Master Degree

A minimum of 30 graduate credit hours and a thesis are required except
As indicated in the Thesis section below. Required of all students:
                  TAFL 501 Principles of Linguistic Analysis
                  TAFL 503 Psychological Factors in Language Learning
                  TAFL 510-511 Methods of Teaching a Foreign Language
                  TAFL 515 The Phonetics of Arabic
                  TAFL 520 Research Methods and Experimental Design
                  TAFL 565 Observation and Evaluation of Language
Teaching
Electives should complete the required number of credit hours. Choice
will depend upon the thesis topic and the student's undergraduate field
of
study and must be approved by the adviser. While they are normally
selected from
among
500 level TAFL courses, with the adviser's approval, electives may
include up to two non-TAFL courses. No more than two 400-level courses
may be
counted toward the degree.

Other TAFL Courses :

  -502 Testing and Evaluation in Language Teaching
  -506 Resources for Teaching a Foreign Language
        - 516 The Linguistics of Arabic
-        525 Contrastive Analysis in Second-Language Teaching/Learning .
        -542   Selected Topics in Applied Linguistics
        -550Language Pragmatics
        -551Advanced Arabic Grammar
       -553 Sociolinguistics
       - 555 Research Seminar
       -560 Supervised Study in TAFL
       - 588Comprehensives
       -599 Research Guidance and Thesis







Faculty Research Interests

The research interests of the Arabic Language Institute faculty cover
many theoretical and applied aspects of Arabic language linguistics.
These
include:

Acquisition of Arabic as a first language
Acquisition of Arabic as a second foreign language
Sociolinguistic investigation of the language situation in the Arab
World
Methodology of teaching foreign and second languages
Relationship between Arabic and current linguistic theory
Computerized analyses of Arabic/Computer assisted language learning
Textbooks and teaching materials development
Illiteracy: roots and eradication
Geopolitics of language
Contrastive studies between and/or among Arabic and other languages:
English, French, German, Japanese, Mandarim Chinese, etc  Language
related learning disabilities
Language maintenance, change and shift

TAFL Faculty

BADAWI, EL-SAID Professor and Director of the Arabic Language
Institute: B.A. 1954 Dar Al Ulum; M.A. 1960, Ph.D 1965, University of
London.

ELGIBALI, ALAA Associate Professor of Linguistics, and Director of the
TAFL
Program: B.A. 1976, Ain Shams University; M.A. 1979, American
University in Cairo; Ph.D. 1985, University of Pittsburgh.

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End of Arabic-L:  29 May 2003