CCI Faculty member Dr. Sana Tibi was recently invited to speak at the 4th webinar hosted by the World Bank and Queen Rania Foundation. The talk was part of a series of webinars geared towards advancing Arabic language teaching and learning to reduce learning poverty in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The title of the webinar is: Assessments to Support Early Grade Arabic Language Learning. Dr. Tibi presented alongside other panelists such as the Education Manager of the MENA region and UNICEF Education Specialists.
Dr. Tibi stated that conversations like this “will raise awareness and disseminate knowledge about the importance of targeting literacy skills”. She noted that the biggest challenge researchers face is the wide range of differences among children with reading disability some of which could be attributed to comorbidity, the coexistence of more than one disability. For example, certain conditions like ADHD and anxiety disorders can co-occur with reading comprehension difficulties. Another challenge, noted by Dr. Tibi, that is specific to research on Arabic language and literacy, is the lack of standardized assessment and screening tools.
She emphasized the need for both early literacy screening measures and formative assessments in order to identify children who struggle with literacy acquisition and to design appropriate interventions as early as possible. Dr. Tibi added that “Content and pedagogical knowledge about literacy assessment is still in its infancy in some parts of the world, and therefore concerted efforts should take place”. She underscored the need for developing “digital screening literacy tools and standardized literacy tools in Arabic, a language spoken by over 20 million people around the world.”
“It is an honor to be invited by these international organizations and affords me the opportunity to disseminate my research and spread awareness,” said Dr. Tibi. “I hope to continue doing research and collaboration with colleagues across disciplines. Multidisciplinary endeavors, such as this one, are also important for spreading awareness and education across cultures, languages, and nationalities.”
To view the full recording of the event, visit https://www.qrf.org/en/assessments-support-early-grade-arabic-language-learning-0