MOE Subjects
In accordance with the Ministry of Education’s prescribed curriculum, both the Arabic Language and Islamic Studies are a compulsory part of the VISS – Tilal curriculum.
Arabic Language
We offer two types of Arabic Curriculum as prescribed by the Ministry of Education to our diverse range of students:
- Arabic A is offered as a compulsory language for all Arabic passport holders
- Arabic B is offered for students who do not hold an Arabic passport
Islamic Studies
Whilst optional for non-Muslim students, Islamic Education is compulsory for all Muslim students at all levels and is taught by highly qualified, carefully selected teachers. Islamic education is taught in Arabic for the native Arabic speakers and in English when the class consists of non-Arabic speaking students or a combination of Arabic and non-Arabic speaking students.
What Are The Requirements In Terms Of Learning When Delivering Arabic Language Classes To Students?
For successful Arabic language learning, teachers ensure the presence of these elements:
- Awareness of students’ levels of Arabic to ensure they get to the next level. The Ministry of Education has included levels in the Arabic Frameworks for both Arabic for Arabs and Arabic for non-Arabs curriculum.
- Interest and Motivation: Activities in class and outside class should encourage students to learn the Arabic language and understand the Arabic culture.
- Engagement: students are fully engaged in class discussions and activities and produce tasks that display their creativity and understanding.
- Reinforcement through revision, praise, assessment and feedback.
- Support of the students in terms of learning and well-being.
Arabic Language Is Delivered Through Two Different Curriculums:
Arabic for Arabs and Arabic for non-Arabs. We use the Ministry resources including textbooks, frameworks, assessment outline etc. We also comply to the Ministry requirements in terms of teaching time and interactions.
Arabic for Arabs
This program is for students who are registered in school with a passport from one of the 22 countries belonging to the Arab league. Arabic classes start in grade 1 with 6 interaction periods in primary school and continues with 4 in secondary school. In these interactions, teachers ensure their students develop the 4 skills of the language: Listening, reading, writing and speaking. They also include the grammatical rules of the language which includes also (Albalaghah). Students use standard textbooks provided by the Ministry of Education and additional resources as needed.
Arabic for non-Arabs
This program is for students whose passport is not belonging to the 22 countries of the Arab league. It is competency based approeach to teaching and learning as students develop the 4 skills of the language in addition to basic grammar. In addition to learning the language, students develop cultural understanding of the Arab culture.
How Does It Differ for Native Arabic Speakers Compared to Those Who Are Learning It As An Additional Language?
In native Arabic class, most students have Arabic as their mother tongue so with varying levels, they generally have strong receptive, productive and interactive skills and the expectation of the course is to consolidate them further. The students are expected to develop their fluency and proficiency and acquire the language to analyze texts as they grow. We use both the Ministry of Education curriculum standards and the IB standards.
What Is The Goal For Native Arabic Speakers To Achieve By The Time They Graduate From The School?
- \Communication and collaboration in a confident and creative way.
- \Engagement with a range of Arabic texts from different periods, styles, and cultures.
- \Extensive and creative writing and speaking in different context and for different audiences and purposes.
- \Sensitivity to the formal and aesthetic qualities of texts and an appreciation of how they contribute to Diverse responses and open up multiple meanings
- \Skills in analysis and evaluation.
- \Skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, presenting and performing
- \Foster a lifelong interest in and enjoyment of Arabic language and literature.
What Is The Goal For Non-Native Arabic Speakers To Achieve By The Time They Graduate From The School?
- \An awareness and appreciation of a variety of perspectives of people from diverse Arab cultures
- \Communication in the Arabic language in a range of contexts and for a variety of purposes.
- \Curiosity, creativity and a lifelong enjoyment of learning Arabic.
- \Understand and use the Arabic language to express and respond to ideas.
- \Organize and present ideas in Arabic.
- \Understand, analyse and reflect upon a range of written, audio, visual and audio-visual texts.
Can You Give Us Some More Insight Into The Ways In Which The Arabic Language Is Being Taught – Specifically For Non-Native Speakers?
At the start of learning Arabic, teachers ensure they are aware of the language profile of each student including information when students first started learning Arabic and the areas of improvements in the 4 skills through a diagnostic test.
Learning is differentiated accordingly and the teacher may have groups of ability in the same class.
The choice of the resources used in class is very important as we use different resources including the Ministry textbooks. Technology helps with differentiation as students extend their learning in an independent way.
All the skills are taught in every lesson with a focus on a particular skill each term. Students are engaged in class through a variety of activities where they display their understanding and creativity in the subject.
Teachers give feedback to students on their progress and guide them for better outcomes.
Collaborative tasks are encouraged so that students support each other and feel more confident learning.