Arabic-L:PEDA&K-16:UK Edexcel Arabic Examiners Chair Job

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Fri 28 Sep 2007
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1) Subject:UK Edexcel Arabic Examiners Chair Job

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1)
Date: 28 Sep 2007
From:Haroon Shirwani <arabictutor at hotmail.com>
Subject:UK Edexcel Arabic Examiners Chair Job

Exciting news for Arabic teaching colleagues in the UK. The  
examination board Edexcel are looking for a Chair of Examiners for  
Arabic:

http://jobs.tes.co.uk/job.aspx?jobId=438381

This is a golden opportunity. As many of you are aware, the GCSE and  
A-level for Arabic are very difficult for students without a  
background in the language. The problem is that it is not possible to  
get an A in Arabic GCSE within the same time that it would take to  
get an A in most other language GCSEs (not just French, Spanish and  
German, but also Russian and Japanese). An able, hard-working  
teenager can start from scratch and achieve an A in most languages  
after two years of study, at the rate of about four 40 minute classes  
a week. For Arabic, the same student can expect to achieve a B. This  
is a major obstacle to Arabic becoming a mainstream language in  
schools. With the exams being so difficult, Arabic will remain the  
stuff of evening classes and lunchtime clubs.

If a clear-sighted individual takes up this post, and makes the exams  
a realistic option for non-natives, it will be better for schools  
(can incorporate Arabic into their main languages programme), better  
for Edexcel (more candidates) and better for the study of Arabic in  
Britain as a whole (more students, more interest and more exposure).

Good luck!

Haroon

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End of Arabic-L:  28 Sep 2007