Arabic Language and culture
The project consists of weekly encounters to be carried out regularly during the entire school year, based on the school’s timetable and internal organization. The beneficiaries of this project are primary school students in particolare those in the fourth and fifth grades. It is an opportunity to open the entire class to all differences and the promotion of dialogue and comparison between cultures and languages, for all the class students and at all levels. The project involves a path of workshop activities that can be applied for the teaching of a language using an intercultural approach. This approach is not specific to Arabic and can be used in teaching any other language.
Among the proposed activities there are listening and oral comprehension activities, conversations, language games, nursery rhymes, songs, graphic-pictorial activities, writing and artistic writing exercises, dramatizations. Multimedia material, music, cards, illustrated books, bilingual texts will be used. Work in small groups and in pairs is also used to stimulate research and sharing, with the supervision and mediation of the teachers.
The Arabic language teachers of the project are all mother tongue with many years of experience, and are trained and supervised by the professors from the FORLILPSI department of the University of Florence. Professor Rossella Certini and Professor Emiliano Macinai are involved, as teachers of General and Social Pedagogy, together with Dr. Christian Distefano, PhD student in Educational Sciences and Psychology.
Our Teachers
Meriem Afarfar
Since her arrival in Italy from Marocco in 2008, Meriem has always been active in mediation, translation and the teaching of Arabic language at different levels. She has worked for many private and public institutions and particolar with minors. She is also well prepared in the field of professionale training and civics in multicultural contexts especially in regards to juridical aspects.
Hafida Bouchida
Hafida graduated in Arabic literature and human sciences in Casablanca, Morocco. She is a teacher of Arabic language and culture both in Morocco and in Italy. She is also a teacher and coordinator of adult training courses organized by the Nosotras association in Florence and the Free University of Scandicci. She was also the director of Arabic schools in Scandicci and Impruneta.
Samia Guendouz
Originally from Algeria, Samia has been working since many years as a teacher of Arabic language and as a linguistic and cultural mediator for children and families of Arab origin. She was also the principal of Al-Shuruk school for Arabic language from 2006 till 2008 and later of the schools in Campi Bisenzio and in Sesto Fiorntino.
Shirin Taha
Shirin is from Egypt and holds a bachelor’s degree in Law. She has been living in Italy since the early 2000’s. Besides being passionate about sports and in particolar water sports she dedicates time to handicrafts like the delicate work of Sirma, which is a particolar type of embroidery with golden threads.
Natali Zorkot
Born in Abidjan but originally from Lebanon, Natalie used to work as a teacher of the French language before coming to Italy where she started helping out with the teaching of the Arabic language to children of families or Arab background. She also taught at the school for Arabic in Sesto Fiorentino where she lives.
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