The Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) took part in the International Workshop on the “Framework of Reference for Teaching Arabic to Non-Arabic Speakers: Authoring, Teaching and Training.” The Workshop was held by the Arabic Language Education Center for the Gulf States in Sharjah, in cooperation with several organizations, ministries, institutions, universities and centers active in the field of Arabic.

Dr. Majdi Hajj Ibrahim, in his capacity as Head of the Center of Arabic for non-Arabic Speakers, represented ICESCO in this workshop, held on Saturday 19 February 2022, via videoconference. In his opening remark, the ICESCO official noted that there is a need for an Arab framework of reference for teaching Arabic for non-Arabic speakers, similar to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. He added that this framework should be the adopted standard guideline for designing Arabic curricula and teaching tools for different levels, creating and implementing lesson plans, exam evaluation, teacher training, addressing learners’ needs and assessing their levels in placement tests.

The Workshop aims to introduce the general rationale for the framework of reference for teaching Arabic for non-Arabic speakers while taking into account the specificities of Arabic as well as its culture, skills and elements; and be on par with the international frameworks of reference for teaching world foreign languages. The Workshop brought together more than 350 participants from different parts of the globe.