Students’ Sensitivity to Arabic Cultural Differences and Its’ Impact on Their Perceptions of Arabs

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Students’ Sensitivity to Arabic Cultural Differences and Its’ Impact on Their Perceptions of Arabs "
El Majdi, Hicham Ma, Ting-Lan

Document Type	:	Latin Dissertation
Language of Document	:	English
Record Number	:	1108850
Doc. No	:	TLpq2468625631
Main Entry	:	El Majdi, Hicham
	:	Ma, Ting-Lan
Title & Author	:	Students’ Sensitivity to Arabic Cultural Differences and Its’ Impact on Their Perceptions of Arabs\ El Majdi, HichamMa, Ting-Lan
College	:	Edgewood College
Date	:	2020
student score	:	2020
Degree	:	Ed.D.
Page No	:	132
Abstract	:	Negative media coverage of Arabs and Muslims in America influences people’s sensitivity and affects the lives of Arabs, Muslims, and people who look like them. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine Arabic American students' sensitivity to Arabic cultural differences and its impact on their perception of Arabs. Twenty Arabic language students from a public Southeast university in the United States volunteered to participate in this study. The participants were male and female students between the ages of 17 and 24, from different ethnic backgrounds, and at various course levels. This study utilized a theoretical model by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' (ACTFL) to support students' cultural understanding. The model contained three standards: Products, Practices, and Perspectives. The researcher self-designed a survey instrument to identify the participants’ cultural sensitivity to Arabs within the three cultural standards. This study found that the participants have a profound awareness of the Arab culture; their perception showed the absence of Arabs’ media distorted images. The least statistically significant finding was the results students reported when asked to associate the word 'Arab' with Arab countries. The researcher suggests administrators will need to train teachers to develop lessons building around the 3 Ps framework and marry the theoretical ideal with the realities of the higher education classroom. Further, teachers should expand the use of the “C” of culture out into their daily lessons and try to identify the relevant extracurricular they can include in their portfolio of lessons.
Subject	:	Educational administration
	:	Educational leadership
	:	Higher education
	:	Islamic studies
	:	Journalism
	:	Sociology