Abstract:

Research has extensively investigated teaching a second or a foreign language, and has highlighted several key factors that are essential for efficient teaching, including exposure to and meaningful interaction in the target language, a rich and enjoyable classroom experience, qualified teachers, and emotional and social factors of positive attitudes towards the target language. Moreover, a curriculum of teaching a target language must involve transcultural learning, and must be sensitive to the cultural, social, educational, and linguistic settings and needs of the students. The present study explores the perception of the way the target language is taught in Israel by teachers of Hebrew as a second language to Arabic-speaking students, and Arabic as a foreign language to Hebrew-speaking students. Forty-six teachers (23 Arabs and 23 Jews) completed a questionnaire that included both open-ended and Likert-scale items investigating their attitudes towards teaching a target language, their qualifications, their perception of the curriculum and the motivation of their students. The research provides an opportunity to see how two populations in the same country, under the same education legislation, rules and procedures, experienced teaching a target language, and provides suggestions for modifications to the educational policy on second and foreign language acquisition in Israel.

Keywords:

Arabic, Hebrew, second language teaching, foreign language teaching, policy.