ARP Arabic Standards and Standards Committee
ARP Arabic Standards
The Arabic Reader Program Standards Committee members were selected because of their expertise in the field of teaching Arabic as a foreign language. The Committee developed the standards for classification of books and stories in each of these levels and aligned reading levels with ACTFL Proficiency Standards.
The Committee developed criteria and a methodology for dividing each story book into appropriate proficiency levels and for points assigned to each story based on appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure. Additionally they developed questions that properly assess the students’ understanding of each story and determined the number of stories required for each level to ensure alignment with reading comprehension standards. The committee also designed guidelines for teachers in order to support the highest achievement of the program goals.
Standards Committee
Dr. Mahdi Alosh is currently the lead professor of the Research Chair for Teaching Arabic to Speakers of Other Languages (TASOL) at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. He is an ACTFL consultant and tester trainer. He was Professor of Arabic and Applied Linguistics and Associate Dean at the United States Military Academy 2006-2009. He was Associate Professor at the Ohio State University until 2006, where he also served as director of the Arabic Language Program (1987-2006). He was awarded several grants from the Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Flagship Program, and the State Department. He is the author of many books and articles. He was member of the Executive Board of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic, former President of AATA (1998-99), and is currently member of the Editorial Board and Associate Editor of the Foreign Language Annals and the North East Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Dr. Ghayda Al Ali is a lecturer of Arabic at the University of Virginia. Born in Baghdad, she attended the University of Almustansrya, Baghdad, earning an undergraduate degree in English and later a master’s degree in English-Arabic translation, teaching English-Arabic translation for eight years in Iraq and Libya. She also worked as visiting professor at Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, where she taught the courses “Arabic,” “Women in Islam,” and “Middle East Culture.” She is the author of How Arab Journalists Translate English-Language Newspaper Headlines: Case Studies in Cross-Cultural Understanding, and Learn Arabic with Ala-Den’s Journey through Baghdad. Ghayda’s research interests lean heavily towards news discourse analysis of Arabic print media and its interaction with the Western media. She has a strong passion to improve communications and understanding between Arab cultures and the West.
Dr. Salah Ayari is currently an Instructional Associate Professor of Arabic and Arabic Studies and Director of Language Instruction at the Department of International Studies at Texas A&M University. Originally from Tunisia, he holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining Texas A&M, he taught Arabic at the University of Minnesota and served as the principal of a private school for twelve years. Since 2007, he served as a consultant for Concordia Language Villages and a teacher trainer through the STARTALK summer programs. He also conducts site visits to private and public schools for Arabic program evaluation. In 2009, Dr. Ayari initiated an intensive ten-week summer study abroad program in Tunisia and Morocco, and which he has led since then, in order to enhance student fluency in Arabic and promote understanding of the culture, history and politics of the Arab World.
Lina Kholaki has a master’s degree in education from Pacific Oaks College in California. She has been in the education field for over twenty years and has experience teaching Arabic from PK-12 and at the college level. She taught Arabic at the New Horizon Elementary-Middle School in Pasadena for thirteen years. Since 2001, Lina has been the language expert and coordinator for Arabic teachers at the four New Horizon campuses for the Bureau of Islamic and Arabic Education and for the Aldeen Foundation. She has also directed Aldeen’s STARTALK Summer High School Student program and coordinated the Teacher Training program for the last seven years. Currently she serves as consultant for the Arabic language Immersion program at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), California. In addition, Lina was a member of the Task Force Committee charged with drafting the Standards of Arabic as a Foreign Language for the 21st Century for K-12 and has reviewed the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. Lina is a member of the Board of Directors of Aldeen Foundation and also serves as president of the National Arabic Teacher Association (NATA), a nonprofit organization that was created as a forum for Arabic language teachers.
Thouraya Boubetra has been the Director of the Online Arabic Education Program at Aldeen Foundation since 2010 and was previously the Online Coordinator for the Aldeen/STARTALK summer program. She is also the executive editor for the quarterly newsletter of the National Arabic Teachers Association (NATA). She graduated from Algeria University with a degree in Arabic Language and Literature and worked as journalist in a daily and weekly newsletter and as an Arabic language teacher in Lebanon. Upon moving to Southern California, Thouraya continued her teaching at the New Horizon School, where she taught Arabic and French. Thouraya also worked with the Bureau of Islamic and Arabic Education (BIAE) to improve Arabic language teaching by preparing supplementary material for teachers. Thouraya also serves on the Board of Directors of Aldeen Foundation and she is an active board member in several educational and non-profit organizations. She is serving currently as an executive committee member in the Arabic Teacher Council of Southern California.