Enhancing Spoken Arabic Work Plan

Enhancing Spoken Arabic Skills Using Digital and Interactive Technology Faculty Member: Martin Isleem ITEC Liaison: Diane Jakacki Student Worker: Udoka Eze

Project Objective: Produce an “app suite” and iBook designed to help students in Intermediate Arabic (ARBC 103 and ARBC 104) increase aptitude and fluency in spoken Arabic. Bucknell rather than written Arabic (which is the focus in most language programs). Isleem’s goal is to develop the app suite over summer 2015 and academic year 2015-16, using the prototype in ARBC 103 in the fall and a revised/enhanced version in ARBC 104 in the spring. Going forward, we hope that the app suite will be available to students in courses beyond Bucknell. This goal is in line with Bucknell’s OER objectives, and will serve the deans’ goal of strengthening the Arabic program.

Rationale: Incorporating digital and interactive tools such as an iOS App and ibook will increase the chances of achieving strong and homogenous intermediate-mid proficiency in Spoken Arabic across the board. These technologies will accommodate various students’ learning styles and abilities, and will enable them to:

• Enhance their speaking and listening skills on familiar topics such as kinship, hobbies, housing, giving directions, shopping etc.
• Expand their active vocabulary;
• Increase their chances of vocabulary maintenance;
• Enhance their sentence and paragraph production rather that producing isolated vocabulary.

With regard to assessment, the assessment of students’ progress in Arabic will rely on different methods that are in use in the current course format such as homework, participation, speaking quizzes, written quizzes, recordings, skits and Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPIs) conducted by Isleem as a certified OPI tester. These will be in addition to the assessment mechanisms offered by the digital tools such as monitoring the learning progress of the students. This feature gives the primary instructor the ability to recognize, map and analyze the students’ struggles, strong sides and weak sides. The digital tools also offer interactive homework and multiple formats of interactive tests and quizzes.

Deliverables: Produced app that builds upon existing Quizlet modules (added content, re-recorded audio, A/V input/instructor review as well as output. iBook/application framework that will house embedded flashcards, A/V, written and audio scenarios, cultural materials, testing and learning materials.

Expectations: Isleem will meet with Jakacki and student worker Eze on a regular basis (see below for outlined schedule). In addition, Eze will meet regularly with Jakacki and attend weekly summer Research Project work sessions with other students engaged in digital summer research work (Wednesdays, 9am -12noon in BERT 025). These sessions are designed to encourage students to focus on progress, receive assistance from digital specialists, and establish a cohort of students working in complementary digital registers.

Tools and Materials Required for Project Completion

• Quizlet subscription
• iOS Developer tools, including XCode 6
• iOS apps (TBD) for review and testing
• Github repository

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Summer Work Schedule

Week 0: May 26-29

• Project design meetings
• Environmental scan
• Work plan established
• Student begins XCode training

Week 1: June 1-5

• Student completes XCode training
• Environmental scan continues
• Jakacki away at conference

Week 2: June 8-12

• Project design storyboarded
• Jakacki away at conference

Week 3: June 15-19

• Project design presentation/review
• App encoding begins (A/V output begins)

Week 4: June 22-26

• App encoding continues (A/V output)
• Isleem away at conference

Week 5: June 29-July 3

• App encoding continues (A/V output complete)

Week 6: July 6-10

App encoding continues (A/V input begins)

Week 7: July 13-17

• App encoding continues (A/V input)
• Isleem and Jakacki compile iBook

Week 8: July 20-24

• App encoding continues and instructor review components)
• Isleem and Jakacki continue compiling iBook

Week 9: July 27-31

• Student troubleshooting app environment.
• Isleem and Jakacki complete iBook compilation

Week 10: August 3-7

• Student completes app troubleshooting.
• iBook reviewed.
• Project due and ready for course integration.