ARABIC LANGUAGE TEACHERS THEORETICAL ORIENTATION TO READING Lama

ARABIC LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ THEORETICAL ORIENTATION TO READING Lama Bergstrand Othman Special Education Program, University of Wisconsin-Stout Methodology Purpose Results 3 • Instrument: Investigating Arabic language teachers’ theoretical orientations toward reading (Phonics, skill, and whole language orientations). PHONICS SKILLS WHOLE LANGUAGE • • Teachers Theoretical Orientation to Reading (TORP). Whole language related questions. Percentages of teachers identifying different areas as related to the Whole Language Approach. 70% • Participants and Procedures: • • • Teachers Grades 7 -12 Teachers Grades 4 -6 Teachers Grades 1 -3 60% 50% Teachers completed all items on the TORP (N= 215). Female teachers (n=150). Male teachers (n=65). Teachers at grades 1 -3 (80). Teachers at grades 4 -6 (51). Teachers at grades 7 -12 (84). 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Whole-part instruction A democratic relationship between students and curriculum The belief that students are responsible for their own learning Reading of literature rather than a focus on basal texts Questions Results 1 Conclusion 1. Are there significant differences in the number of Arabic language teachers who hold a phonics orientation versus a skill orientation versus a whole language orientation to reading? 2. Is there a relationship between grade level and teachers' theoretical orientations to reading? Do teachers who hold a whole language orientation to reading tend to be teaching at secondary grade levels? • Significantly more teachers reflected a phonics orientation to reading than teachers reflecting skill or whole language orientations to reading. Frequencies and Chi-square: • Teachers reading orientations interacted with the grade level they taught. Teachers who preferred less formal and less explicit instruction tended to be teaching at higher grade levels. • Teachers’ whole language conceptualization is related to the instructional formality rather than the broader view of classroom organization. Phonics Skill Whole language Total n=170 n=38 n=7 215 Reading Orientation Chi-square df Asymp. Significance 209. 088 2 p < 0. 001 3. Exploratory Question: Do Arabic language teachers identify the whole language approach with: • Whole-part instruction? • Democratic relationship between students and teachers? • Democratic relationship between students and curriculum? • Centrality of constructing meaning from the text using different cues? • Students as being responsible for their own learning? • Teachers as co-learners? • Reading of literature rather than focusing on basal texts? Results 2 Recommendations and Limitations • Teachers reading orientations interacted with the grade level they taught. • Further investigation of Jordanian teachers’ classroom instructional practices and their relation to the different theoretical orientations to reading is needed. • In the exploratory question, only one item reflected on one area of the suggested component of whole language approach. Therefore, this does not guarantee the distinction between teachers’ belief that these areas are related or unrelated to whole language on the one hand, or their belief in these areas in and of themselves on the other hand. Grade 1 -3 Grade 4 -6 Grade 7 -12 Phonics 2. 1* n=80 1. 2 n=48 -3. 0* n=42 Skill -3. 8* n=0 -2. 0* n=3 5. 2* n=35 Whole Language -1. 6 n=0 -1. 3 n=0 2. 6* n=7