Reading literacy in Arabic: What challenges 1st grade teachers face

Abstract

The reading level of Arab students in Israel is a source of concern for educators and scholars. Arabic is a diglossic language: there are significant linguistic differences between spoken and standard Arabic. Research reports that diglossia affects students' reading literacy in Arabic. The aim of the present study was to examine how teachers conceptualize the difficulties they encounter while teaching reading, and their perceptions of the factors causing reading difficulties in Arabic. Interviews were carried out with 20 1st grade teachers engaged in the teaching of reading. Content analysis of the data showed that teachers described differently difficulties which are related to the characteristics of Arabic and those related to personal or contextual factors. They ascribed a great importance to letter-sound recognition in the preparation of the young students in kindergartens and stressed the significance of an ongoing practice at home as a channel to master reading literacy in Arabic.