‘Juma Tez Barish Thee’ It’s raining scripts

1. ‘Juma Tez Barish Thee’It’s raining scripts Naeema B. Hann Leeds Metropolitan University n.hann@leedsmet.ac.uk

2. This session • Overview of right to left script features • Creating experiences to convince students of the value of learning the script • Gap between materials and students’ needs • Encouraging students to write more and more often • Your comments and questions

3. Languages with Right To left Scripts : an overview World statistics • Arabic – 280 million native speakers • Arabic – fifth most spoken language in the world • 60 – 70 million native speakers of Persian • 104 million speakers - 60 to70 million native speakers of Urdu + diasporas all over the world. • Urdu speakers can communicate with more people – Urdu gives access to Hindi, Punjabi • Urdu-Hindi the fourth most spoken language in world, twentieth if we look at native speaker figures UK statistics • Urdu most widely spoken • Arabic fifth most spoken

4. Right To left Scripts : an overview • Arabic – 28 letters, Persian – 32 letters, Urdu - 36 letters and no capital letters • For most of the script, only consonants are written • Special signs for short vowels but these are rarely used • Many letters have the same root shape and are differentiated by dots above or below the shape • Cursive script – letters change shape as they join each other in a word. Shape depends on position in word but consistent otherwise. • Most letters have 4 forms – independent, initial, medial, final. • Written as it sounds but ‘s’ can be represented by more than one letter

5. Key to right-to-left scripts • Letter families e.g. b ب t ت th ث • Non-connectors cannot join up with letters which follow Urdu ا رد و Nor can their families

6. Enabling students to read and write right-to-left • Getting students to value the script • Using authentic sources • Relate to their lives eg. emails • Success • Explicit teaching - Letter families - Non-connecters • Establishing Script Directions - Total Physical Response - Visual reminders

7. Reading: Initial sounds Decoding groups of sounds (words) Sentences Meaning Writing Reproducing sounds as shapes standard shapes for each sound decodeable by others copying? Meaning Acquiring Writing (Literacy) Skills: Stages

8. Beginners Initial Sounds objects around the room brainstorm - learners name objects match initial sounds to pictures match initial sounds to letters of alphabet - extension - learners bring in pictures for each letter family Post beginners beginning to write single clause sentences story bag - packs of pictures, learners weave story Jigsaw texts differentiation? story bag - packs of objects + words on card noticing for learners at earlier stage Strategies for 2 sets of learners

9. Encouraging students to write more and more often Meaning • Models of narratives - cartoon strips - audio and video narratives - songs • Purpose e.g. sense of audience Mechanics • Practice with word recognition • Practice with writing/ copying • Google transliteration http://www.google.com/transliterate/Urdu

10. Gap between materials and students’ needs Why do adults learn Arabic, Persian, Urdu ? • To communicate with family and friends • Number of native speakers • It’s cool • Access to another culture in own neighbourhood • For work • Gives access to other languages • Travel

11. The gap …… What do materials offer? • Greetings, introductions • Where are you from? • Around the house • Daily routine • Weather • Eating out Safe topics ….. What learners need .. • Where’s the bank/ toilet? • ‘I am going to be late’ • Religion • Politics • Swear words • Persuasive language/ romance ……

12. From song to script mera Joota hai Japapni

18. ……. to scriptAfter listening to and singing the song Beginners: • Jigsaw text with options for substitution and transformation • Sing each others’ songs as a group A2, A2+ • Transform song to change items of clothing, nationality etc. • Sing each others’ songs as a group

19. Acknowledgements My and my students’ deepest gratitude goes to Hitomi Masuhara and Professor Brian Tomlinson, the gurus of materials development.

20. Some Resources • The 100 Word Exercise Book. G-and-W publishing, 47 High Street, Chinnor, Oxfordshire OX9 4DJ. www.g-and-w.co.uk • Mixed-ability Teaching in Language Learning, includes photocopiable materials. Susan Ainslie and Susan Purcell. CILT publications. www.cilt.org.uk • Elementary Communication Games. Jill and Charles Hadfield. Forest Books. Used versions available on internet, just google Jill Hadfield. • For resources specific to Urdu, Arabic or Persian, please email n.hann@leedsmet.ac.uk

21. Bibliography • Alawiye, I. 2001. Gateway to Arabic: A Foundation Course inReading and Writing Arabic. Middlesex, Anglo-Arabic Graphics Ltd. • Hashmi, M. 1986. Urdu Kaisay Parhai Jaey ? (How to teach Urdu?). Bradford. Directorate of Educational Services. • Hedge, T. 2009. Writing. Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. OUP pp.299 - 322 • McPake, J., I. Sachdev; T.Carroll, T. Birks and A. Mukadam. 2008.Community Languages in Higher Education: Towards Realising the Potential. Routes into languages and HEFCE. • Masuhara, H. 2007. Materials for Developing Reading skills. Ed. B. Tomlinson. Developing Materials For Language Teaching. Continuum pp.107-129. • Nabi,R. ,A. Rodgers, B.Street. 2009. Hidden Literacies. Bury St.Edmonds.Uppingham Press. • Nation, P. 2007. Materials for Teaching Vocabulary. Ed. B. Tomlinson. Developing Materials For Language Teaching. Continuum pp.107-129. • Mirdeghan, Mahenaz. 2010. Persian, Urdu and Pashto: A comparative orthographic analysis. Writing Systems Research 2 (1) 9 – 24. • Sassoon, R. 1995. The acquisition of a second writing system. Oxford. Intellect. • Tomlinson, B. 2007. Developing Principled Frameworks for Materials Development . Ed. B. Tomlinson. Developing Materials For Language Teaching. Continuum pp.107-129. • Wightwick, J. and Gaafar, M. (1990) Mastering Arabic. London, MacMillan.