UAE Launch Smart learning to liven up Arabic teaching methods

As traditional teaching methods are commonly blamed for the deterioration of Arabic teaching in schools, the Ministry of Education’s smart learning initiative is placing a special focus on Arabic e-programmes to help liven the subject.

The incorporation of e-learning in the teaching of Arabic was the topic of discussion at the forum on best practices in employing Arabic teaching techniques in schools which was held recently under the patronage of Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education.

The new Arabic e-programmes will allow teachers to cover the material online where students can listen to texts and solve questions as well as watch videos related to the subjects taught.

“These programmes, which are part of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Initiative for Smart Learning, have been implemented this year for all grade seven students in 132 public schools. We have already started the pilot project for grade eight and hope to incorporate it next year for all grade eight students in public schools,” Bushra Abdullah, Arabic curriculum specialist at the ministry, said.

She added that students will also have an electronic platform where they can access all their homework and material online. This will help students who miss class catch up with the material they missed.

“Teachers will also be able to contact the students directly through this platform and comment on their performance personally.”
Thousands of practice questions will also provided to students in an electronic bank that can be accessed on econtent.moe.gov.ae

A report provided by the ministry found that 70 per cent of students had issues when it came to Arabic grammar classes and 67 per cent were unhappy with the way Arabic was taught in class.

“The feedback we received so far from students and parents has been great. We hope that these programmes will help fill the gap between teachers and the Arabic language since students and parents often complain about the old teaching methods,” said Bushra.

Other than Arabic, the Mohammad Bin Rashid Initiative for Smart Learning also focuses on maths and science.