Level Description

The nature of the learners

At this level, learners have established communication and literacy skills in Arabic that enable them to explore aspects of Arabic language and culture as well as topical issues drawn from other key learning areas. They are widening their social networks, experiences and communication repertoires in both Arabic and English and developing some biliteracy capabilities. They participate in collaborative tasks that both recycle and extend language. They are gaining greater independence and becoming more conscious of their peers and social context, and increasingly aware of the world around them.

Arabic language learning and use

Purposeful language use in authentic contexts and shared activities in the classroom develop language skills and enhance communication and understanding. Learning how Arabic is structured reinforces learners’ oracy and literacy. Learners develop their speaking skills by interacting with teachers, peers, family and local Arabic speakers to share their own and enquire about others’ experiences أقرأ قصة قبل النوم؛ وأنتِ هل تقرأين قبل النوم؟, social activities and opinions. They have access to a broader range of vocabulary, and use a growing range of strategies such as effective listening skills to support communication. They write more accurately and fluently for a range of purposes, contexts and audiences. They listen to, view and read Arabic folk tales, fables and films to engage with themes, characters and events, exploring embedded cultural beliefs, values and practices, and use their imagination to create and perform songs, poems, short plays and video clips. They obtain information from a range of sources about social, cultural and communicative aspects of lifestyles in Arabic-speaking communities, and present the information in different formats for particular audiences. Individual and group presentation and performance skills are developed through modelling, rehearsing and resourcing the content of presentations.

Contexts of interaction

Learners use Arabic in the classroom and in their extended social space, such as family, neighbourhood and the community, for a growing range of purposes, for example, exchanging information, expressing ideas and feelings, and responding to experiences. They are able to work more independently, but also enjoy working collaboratively in pairs and in groups. They explore cultural aspects of communication, and use information and communications technologies (ICT) to support and enhance their learning.

Texts and resources

Learners interact with an increasing range of informative, persuasive and imaginative texts about neighbourhoods, places, and Arabic-speaking communities and individuals. They refer to and use more established grammatical and lexical resources to understand and communicate in Arabic. The use of dictionaries is encouraged for accuracy and expansion of language acquisition.

Features of Arabic language use

Learners’ pronunciation, intonation and phrasing are more confident, and they apply appropriate writing conventions, including spelling and punctuation, in a range of print, digital and multimodal texts. They use grammatical structures, such as verb conjugation, suffixes, linguistic elements such as conjunctions and a range of adjectives and adverbs to describe actions and events according to time and place هو كتبَ؛ هي ركضت , share information about life at home and school أمي تطبخ طعاماً لذيذاً؛ أبي يغسل السيارة كل أسبوع, elaborate on ideas and information and express opinions relating to their personal and social worlds. They understand how language use varies when interacting with different people and for different purposes. They explore cross-linguistic and intercultural influences of other languages on Arabic, such as Aramaic, Syriac and Assyrian, and regional languages such as Persian, Kurdish and Turkish.

Level of support

While learners work both independently and collaboratively at this level, ongoing support and feedback are incorporated into task activities such as the production of written texts. Support includes the provision of models, scaffolds, stimulus materials, and resources such as word charts, vocabulary lists and dictionaries.

The role of English

Classroom interactions are increasingly bilingual. Arabic is used primarily for communication, while English and Arabic are used for discussion of linguistic features and cultural practices, and for reflective tasks and explanations. Learners are given opportunities to think about personal and community identity. They explore the relationship between language and culture, and ask questions about cultural values and practices and how these relate to their own sense of identity as Arabic background speakers when interacting in different Arabic- and English-speaking contexts.

Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 6, students use spoken and written Arabic to exchange personal information and describe people, places and ideas related to their personal experiences and social activities such as celebrations for example, أذهب مع عائلتي لزيارة جدي وجدتي في الأعياد؛ في العطلة الأسبوعية, sport (for example, أألعب رياضتي المفضلة مع أصدقائي بعد المدرسة في الحديقة العامة and other interests such as أشاهد أفلام الكارتون مع عائلتي في السينما؛ ألعب ألعاب إلكترونية. They make shared decisions, for example, أريد أن... , provide suggestions such as يمكن أن... , and complete transactions. When participating in classroom routines and activities, they follow shared rules and procedures, express opinions and ask for clarification, for example, حسنا؛ نعم ولكن؛ أعتقد أن...؛ ما معنى ... . Students use patterns of Arabic pronunciation and intonation when interacting. They locate, classify and organise information from a range of spoken, written and visual texts related to aspects of culture and lifestyle. They present ideas and information on topics of interest and aspects of culture in different formats for particular audiences. They respond to a range of imaginative texts by expressing opinions on key elements for example, من القصة نتعلم ال..., characters for example, أحب علاء الدين لأنه...؛ لا أحب الملك في الفيلم لأنه and actions for example, يجب على نيمو أن يسمع كلام أبيه, and making connections with own experience, for example أنا أيضا يجب أن...؛ أنا مثل... . They create and perform short imaginative texts based on a stimulus, concept or theme. They use a variety of tenses for example, الأفعال الماضية والمضارعة and apply verb conjugation for example,أكلتُ/أكلَ/أكلت, suffixes for example, أذهب/ يذهب/تذهب, basic conjunctions for example,و؛ أو and a range of adjectives for example, الصفة للمذكر والصفة للمؤنث للأشياء والأشخاص and adverbs for example, سريعاً؛ ليلاً؛ صباحاً؛ يوميًّا to construct sentences and to produce short texts. Students translate texts from Arabic into English and vice versa, identifying words that are not easily translated, such as أيفون؛ تلفاز؛ كومبيوتر , and create bilingual texts for their own learning and for the school community. They identify ways in which their own biography for example, السيرة الذاتية؛ الخبرات الخاصة, traditions for example, العادات العائلية والإجتماعية and beliefs for example, المعتقدات الخاصة impact on their identity and influence the ways in which they communicate in Arabic and English.

Students identify the role of vowels in softening and extending sounds and apply writing conventions to own constructions. They distinguish between the structure and features of different types of spoken and written Arabic texts and identify ways in which audience, context and purpose influence language choices and the form of Arabic used. They provide examples of how language use and ways of communicating vary according to the relationship between participants and the purpose of the exchange, for example, أنواع الجمل: الإسمية والفعلية؛ الترداد في بعض العبارات؛ طول الجمل والفواصل الشفهية فيها. They identify how languages influence one another, including the influence of indigenous languages of the Arabic-speaking world and regional languages such as Aramaic, Syriac, Phoenician, Persian, Kurdish and Turkish on Arabic, for example الأبجدية؛ المفردات المستعارة؛ أصل الكلمات. They give examples of how language use reflects particular value systems, attitudes and patterns of behaviour across cultures.