ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains the intersectionality of curriculum content and classroom context in developing an effective Arabic classroom. It describes the experience of teaching and learning Arabic in the modern classroom through examining contexts, texts and the audience of learners. The book presents research on second-language learning and notes the many benefits to teaching the target language’s literature in the language classroom. It also describes an experiment that spanned multiple consecutive summers, during which learners’ capabilities to take responsibility for their own learning were unleashed. The book examines the history of Arabic education in Chinese universities and analyzes its methods and successes over different historical periods. The proposed theoretical framework is essential in guiding the development of educational and linguistic processes associated with language abilities and proficiency.
