UAE: New platform to help non-Arabic speakers learn language, transform how subject is taught

ZAI Platform is an essential tool for teachers to foster literacy, nurture critical thinking, and inspire students to embrace the richness of the language

Sahim Salim

Published: Tue 26 Nov 2024, 6:00 AM

Last updated: Tue 26 Nov 2024, 9:08 AM

A new digital hub launched in the UAE will offer innovative tools and resources to boost Arabic education. The ZAI Platform is an open-source learning hub primarily for Arabic teachers, “who can access all the resources free of charge”, an official told Khaleej Times.

Additionally, non-native Arabic speakers will get access to resources to learn the language, explained Dr Hanada Taha Thomure, endowed chair of Arabic Language at Zayed University.

“We have prepared Arabic vocabulary and phrases and provided the English translation and transliteration to make it easy for expats and non-native Arabic speakers to pronounce it in Arabic. The list of phrases and vocabulary we have selected covers commonly used sentences and words in the Arab world and greatly helps in facilitating communication with Arabic speakers. (These include) … how to greet people in Arabic, order food in restaurants, buy groceries at a supermarket etc,” she explained.

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The platform aims to transform the way Arabic is taught and learned, empowering educators and students with accessible tools.

“Our platform and all the resources and tools we have created will be available largely to anyone in UAE and beyond. Our vision is to provide resources enabling teachers, who influence … millions of students to learn Arabic across the region,” said Dr Hanada. “The ZAI Platform is an essential tool for teachers to foster literacy, nurture critical thinking, and inspire students to embrace the richness of the Arabic language. We all have a role to play in transferring and promoting our linguistic heritage and culture to the next generations."

Dr Hanada Taha Thomure

The hub includes teacher resources such as training materials, Arabic vocabulary visuals, morphology visuals, and poems. It has educational tips, webinars, and conferences. “We are working continuously on updating the platform with new resources.”

The development of the ZAI Platform has been a collaborative effort led by the Zayed University. The Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek) is supporting the creation of the first Arabic Phonics Programme, while the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, in partnership with NYU Abu Dhabi, has contributed to advancing the Barec tool.

In a Press statement, Shamma Sohail Al Mazrui, Minister of Community Development and chair of Zayed University’s Board of Trustees, said: “The Arabic language is not just a medium of expression; it is the heartbeat of our identity. It is our collective duty to empower educators and inspire students, equipping them to be guardians of their Arabic heritage, ready to shine in an ever-connected world.”

Bettering learning outcomes

The platform supports educators with curated content and practical tools to enhance learning outcomes. It has multiple tools like:

SARD (Smart Arabic Reading Diagnostic Tool): Using this, educators can diagnose students' reading abilities, supporting personalised learning and early intervention practices. It helps flag learning gaps. This is done by having the student go through a series of assessments comprised of 13 to 16 tasks depending on grade level. Once the full assessment is completed, the teacher receives the results for review and analysis. “This will enable their teacher to tweak the kind of learning support and aid they need. This makes education more individualised so that every child gets the information they need to be on the required level compared to their peers,” explained Dr Hanada.

Barec (Balanced Arabic Readability Corpus): This readability evaluation tool ensures that teaching materials align with diverse literacy levels.

“We aim to compile a corpus of 10 million words that are levelled according to their readability/difficulty level. One key deliverable is developing educational resources. Moreover, it is based on the corpus, annotations, and tools generated as part of the project. It would be possible to develop a range of educational resources for students and teachers. These could include lesson plans, reading lists, writing prompts, and children’s books — tailored to different levels of readability.”

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