| This paper examines current practices and philosophies within Teaching of Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) through analysis of a survey distributed to Arabic language teachers around the U.S. and follow-up interviews with a small subset of the respondents. Based on these contacts with Arabic language instructors, I analyze aspects of the current treatment of diglossic Arabic language variation within U.S.-based TAFL programs. Crucially, I investigate whether or not the recent developments in the field, including a dramatic shift in textbook choice, represent a widespread consensus regarding a new approach to diglossia in the classroom.; I add to the discussion of TAFL by examining the survey and interview results in connection with a second study conducted in Egypt, which investigates native speaker attitudes toward Arabic diglossia and toward different Arabic varieties. This second study also provides insight into broad patterns of native speaker production within the diglossic context. By incorporating this information about native speaker attitudes and production, we are able to re-examine TAFL practices from a fresh perspective, and raise thought-provoking questions about the future direction of the field and how it might better serve its student population(s). |
