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Five Teaching Tips For Your First Day of Arabic Class

Apr 29, 2024

By Rachid Rhenifel

The first day of class can be challenging for teachers to plan. First impressions can spark students’ interests or intimidate them, and that first day sets the tone for following classes.

Below, Rachid Rhenifel with OneWorld Now! shares five tips for the first day of class based on his 15 years of experience an Arabic educator:

  1. Start your class with an ice breaker. This gets students talking right away and eases any anxiety or tension in the classroom.
  2. When introducing vocabulary words or speaking in the target language, incorporate visual elements (body parts, movement, signing) to aid comprehension. For example, when saying “marhaba,” wave at your students!
  3. Remember that you are accountable for every word you introduce. Don’t introduce too many words at once, or else you run the risk of overwhelming or confusing your students.
  4. Over the course of the class (or week, semester, year), teacher talking time should be less and less. The more students can speak, the more they will learn.
  5. Always assess yourself at the end of a class. How did my lesson go versus how I expected it to go? If I give this lesson again, what would I do again? What would I change?
Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

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Share your tips and best practices for the first day of class.

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Rachid Rhenifel

Rachid is originally from the city of Fez, in Morocco, where he graduated with a degree in Linguistics. Rachid moved to the U.S. in 1998 and joined OneWorld Now! in 2002. He has been teaching Arabic with OWN for 15 years and continued to develop the Arabic curriculum for OWN’s Global Leadership Program, STARTALK Summer Language & Leadership Camp, and study abroad programs. In addition, Rachid has presented at numerous STARTALK conferences on teaching Arabic. Outside of OneWorld Now!, Rachid loves to run, cook, and spend time with his daughter.

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