Applied Linguistics in the Middle East and North Africa

Current practices and future directions

Editor

Atta Gebril | The American University in Cairo

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027205339 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027265791 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00

This volume offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of applied research efforts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This region has not received due attention in the literature and this publication provides a much-needed contribution to the existing body of knowledge. The editor recruited a number of renowned scholars who either work in the MENA countries or have experience doing research in this region to contribute to this project. The selection of chapters ensured representation of applied linguistics efforts in North Africa, the Levant, and the Gulf. The book looks into language research within social and educational MENA contexts. The final part of the book provides a forward-looking perspective about applied linguistics research and practices in the Middle East and North Africa. The book is primarily written for those interested in applied linguistics, particularly researchers, graduate students, and language professionals in the MNEA region.

[AILA Applied Linguistics Series, 15] 2017. ix, 390 pp.

Publishing status: Available
Published online on 21 July 2017

https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.15

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments | pp. ix–9

Chapter 1. Applied linguistics research in the Middle East and North Africa: An overview

Atta Gebril | pp. 1–8

Section I. Language in society

Chapter 2. When the president loses his voice, the people capture speech

Naima Boussofara | pp. 11–35

Chapter 3. Religion and identity in modern Egyptian public discourse

Reem Bassiouney | pp. 37–60

Chapter 4. English between Egyptians: Power and ownership of the English language in Egypt

Alexander M. Lewko | pp. 61–87

Chapter 5. The age of global English: Language use and identity construction in the United Arab Emirates

Laila S. Dahan | pp. 89–113

Chapter 6. The linguistic landscape of Cairo from the Rosetta Stone to the Ring Road billboards: Signs of their times

Marilyn Plumlee | pp. 115–160

Chapter 7. The ongoing rivalry between English and French in Lebanon

Kassim Shaaban | pp. 161–182

Section II. Language in education

Chapter 8. A Qatari case for authenticity in the investigation of reading abilities and strategies

Dudley W. Reynolds | pp. 185–202

Chapter 9. The development and validation of an Arabic language test in Saudi Arabia

Bjorn Norrbom and Abdulrahman Al-Shamrani | pp. 203–225

Chapter 10. A survey of English language proficiency requirements for admission to English-medium universities in Arabic-speaking countries

Deena Boraie, Elizabeth Arrigoni and Jonah Moos | pp. 227–247

Chapter 11. Student teachers’ computer-mediated narratives-in-interaction: Sharing notions of culture, teaching and language acquisition

Lori Fredricks | pp. 249–268

Chapter 12. Arabic language teacher education

Hanada Taha | pp. 269–287

Chapter 13. Corpora and the study of Arabic vocabulary

Ashraf Abdou | pp. 289–304

Section III. Future directions of applied linguistics in the MENA countries

Chapter 14. Whither Arabic? From possible worlds to possible futures

John Eisele | pp. 307–341

Chapter 15. A forward-looking conceptual framework for Arabic curriculum design and instructional methodology

Mahdi Alosh | pp. 343–361

Chapter 16. Applied linguistics in the MENA countries: A research agenda

Atta Gebril | pp. 363–375

Biographies | pp. 377–381

“Grounded in dynamic explorations of topics that have emerged in MENA societies and educational circles, Atta Gebril has put together a very timely and critical book. While the chapters present rich, local explorations, findings should be of interest to applied linguists in general. Authors report on a variety of investigations, including language use and interlanguaging on online social media interactions, linguistic resources employed to promote or suppress tolerant public discourse, as well as the impact of Arabic varieties and the prevalence of English on linguistic practices and educational attainment.”

Micheline Chalhoub-Deville, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

“This is a very interesting volume. It includes a range of highly topical subjects of relevance to applied linguistics, from the language associated with the fall of Ben Ali in Tunisia, religion and language in Egypt and global English in the Gulf, to the linguistic rivalry between English and French in Lebanon and the current and future states of the Arabic language. It also addresses applied-linguistic topics of specific relevance to the Arab world: multilingual reading tasks, student teacher narratives in computer-mediated discourse, the Standardized Test of Arabic Proficiency in Speakers of Other Languages (STAPSOL), English language proficiency assessments for English-medium Arab universities, corpora in investigating Arabic lexis, Arabic Language Teacher Education, Arabic curriculum design, and applied linguistics research in the MENA countries. The wide range of topics will appeal to specialists not only in applied linguistics, but also Arabic sociolinguistics, discourse analysis and dialectology. I recommend this work.”

James Dickens, University of Leeds

“ Applied Linguistics in the Middle East and North Africa is a most welcomed and timely addition to the research literature on language, society, culture, and identity in the Arab world. Its chapters treat significant aspects of the sociolinguistic diversity found in the region with regard to the topics of political discourse, religious identity, linguistic landscapes, the use of international languages other than Arabic, and, particularly, language in educational contexts. Representing a range of countries and methodologies, the volume builds judiciously on earlier research, documents the present, and looks toward the future of the many ways applied linguistics can deepen our understanding of a region of great political, cultural, and linguistic significance.”

Keith Walters, Portland State University

“This is a recommended read for researchers working on the MENA region, and scholars of Sociolinguistics and Didactics more generally will find individual chapters worthy of reflection and discussions.”

Camille Jacob, University of Portsmouth, on Linguist List 29.3384, 2018

“This edited volume illustrates the exciting and diverse research landscape of the region today and positions applied linguistics in and about MENA on the international stage. It makes a timely and important contribution to the field.”

Anne Nebel, Georgetown University, Qatar, in Applied Linguistics 40(1): 198–204, 2019

Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Order by:

Mohamad, Tamam

2023. The Status of Religion/Sect-Based Linguistic Variation in Tartus, Syria: Looking at the Nuances of Qaf as an Example. Languages 8:3 ► pp. 167 ff.

De Ruiter, Jan Jaap & Mona Farrag Attwa

2021. Allah, Allah, Allah: The Role of God in the Arab Version of The Voice. Religions 12:6 ► pp. 412 ff.

H. Ekkehard Wolff

2019. A History of African Linguistics,

[no author supplied]

2018. Publications Received. Language in Society 47:2 ► pp. 323 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 august 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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