Arabic-L:PEDA:Cultural/pragmatic competence and Arabic diglossia in Study Abroad Programs

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Mon 07 Jul 2008
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:Cultural/pragmatic competence and Arabic diglossia in Study  
Abroad Programs

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1)
Date: 07 Jul 2008
From:"Jeremy Palmer" <jeremy.palmer at gmail.com>
Subject:Cultural/pragmatic competence and Arabic diglossia in Study  
Abroad Programs

[moderator's note: please contact Jeremy at the above e-mail address  
if you or your students are willing to participate in his research on  
study abroad programs.]

Hello teachers and learners of Arabic,

My name is Jeremy Palmer. I am a Ph.D. student in Second Language  
Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) at the University of Arizona. I am  
currently conducting my dissertation research with a few programs  
abroad this summer (including CASA - Shukran ya Mahmoud!).  
Unfortunately, I do not have enough research volunteers to complete my  
research this summer. Thus, I must continue into the autumn.

I am writing to ask for information regarding programs sending  
students abroad to learn Arabic this autumn. I would be most grateful  
for assistance in expanding my research pool. All my research is done  
online and doesn't take much time to complete.

Moreover, all research volunteers will receive a free bilingual copy  
of a work by Al-Ghazali and/or hopefully some other type of incentive  
(if I can come up with something - free online tutoring from  
myself...?).

I am including part of my recruitment letter below.

Thank you for your help, Jeremy Palmer



Hello Students of Arabic,

Thank you for considering volunteering for my research. I am a PhD  
student in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) at the  
University of Arizona.

My research investigates cultural integration and language proficiency  
in a summer study abroad context. I am particularly interested in your  
experiences learning and using Arabic in your host country. Here are  
some of the issues I am investigating:

	• How well do you feel you "fit in" with the host culture?
	• How much difficulty do you find in different situations (like  
dealing with people staring at you or understanding jokes and humor)?
	• How are you received when you speak Arabic?
	• What materials are you using to learn Arabic?
	• In which cultural activities do you participate?
	• What recommendations for future programs would you make?

If you volunteer for this research, you will be asked to do the  
following (everything is online):

	• Complete a demographic questionnaire at the beginning of your  
program (10 minutes).
	• Complete a short weekly language contact survey every week. (2-10  
minutes each week).
	• Complete a final survey at the end of the program or shortly after  
your program ends (50 minutes).
	• Complete a Speech Acts Assessment Test at the end of your program.  
You will hear several audio clips in the spoken Arabic of your host  
country after which you answer a few comprehension questions (10-40  
minutes).

-- 
Jeremy Palmer
Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT)
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Arizona
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End of Arabic-L:  07 Jul 2008