From Oct. 4-5, CMEIS staff joined members of North Carolina Arabic Teachers’ Council to attend the Fostering Language Acquisition in North Carolina (FLANC) Fall Conference. It was an especially celebratory weekend as, for the first time in the conference’s 59 year history, an Arabic language educator was named Teacher of the Year! We would like to extend our congratulations to Najoua Ben Ramak, Arabic teacher at Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville, for this amazing accomplishment.
Congratulations are also due to the amazing educators who presented their work to support and expand Arabic language education in North Carolina. Some highlights:
- UNC-CH’s own Caroline Sibley discussed the pedagogical value of debate and highlighted the recent successes of the UNC Arabic Debate Team
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Dr. Elizabeth Saylor of NC State presented her work to develop a new study abroad program in which students can choose to study either Moroccan Sign Language (LSM) or Moroccan spoken Arabic (darija)
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Dr. Hala Abdou of Arlington Public Schools presented on her work to integrate food and sustainability in Arabic language instruction
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Dr. Samia Touati presented on her efforts to create holistic educational experiences through her organization Arab Heritage Learning
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Dr. Mike Turner of UNC-W discussed his work to develop curriculum and pedagogical practices that reflect thediversity of Arabic language learners in the United States
