ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an original research that aims to provide a path towards addressing a long-standing problem in the teaching of the Arabic language to native speakers. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this research focused on the development of technology-based curriculum for the teaching of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) to 5 to 6-year-old (kindergarteners) Arabic native speakers. Utilizing the affordances of tabletop touch screen surface technology, the chapter reports on the development of a framework for language instruction based on combining three innovative approaches: student-centered curriculum based on storytelling, physical classroom reconfiguration, and interactive software centered on multiplayer, collaborative games. Following the deployment of the new pedagogy into a pre-elementary school language-learning curriculum, it also reports on the significant changes in attitudes toward MSA by students, as well as the learning gains they experienced over the course of a semester. Finally, modifications and improvements that resulted from the outcomes of the actual experiment are reported.
