Learning to Read in an “Estranged” Language: Arabic Diglossia, Child Literacy, and the Case for Mother Tongue-Based Education

Abstract

Reading proficiency of Arab students is amongst the lowest globally. Research in applied linguistics confirms the pervasive impact of Arabic language diglossia—that is the linguistic distance between the language of education, Standard Arabic (StA), and the vernacular mother tongue, Spoken Arabic (SpA)—on the acquisition of various basic literacy skills. This multidisciplinary paper argues that the current approach to education in Arab countries is not working and proposes to refocus on Mother Tongue-Based education. In a novel analysis, the paper examines through the lens of diglossia StA vocabulary in various educational materials designed to teach initial literacy to young children, including the new kindergarten Arabic textbook by the Ministry of Education of Egypt. The analysis shows that more than half the vocabulary used to teach basic reading skills, such as phonics and decoding, is unfamiliar to children, i.e., distant from their spoken language variety. A commonly proposed solution to the unfamiliarity of preschool-aged children with the language of literacy instruction is to expand their oral exposure to StA, through read-aloud and screen time, such that it is not a new language when they enter school. Drawing on findings from the fields of Arabic linguistics, Early Childhood Education, MotherTongue-Based education, and children’s literature, this paper discusses problems with this approach and deems it unimplementable. Using new survey data, the paper confirms the poor culture of reading to children in StA. It further outlines research demonstrating the limited role of screen time in developing language. Recognizing that children enter school with limited to no knowledge of StA, the paper presents evidence-based arguments for why adopting Mother Tongue-Based education—where SpA is the language of literacy instruction during the initial years of schooling—is the better pedagogical approach to teaching literacy and should be a steppingstone to learning StA.