Dr Salwa Mohamed

Why study…

Arabic is one of the oldest languages still in widespread use today. It is the largest member of the Semitic language family, which also includes languages like Hebrew and Aramaic.It is either the official language or one of the official languages of 27 countries. It is spoken by around 300 million. There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world for whom Arabic is important. Its graceful script, magnificent style and rich vocabulary give the language a unique character and flavour. Arabic is also one of the six UN official languages.

In the British Council 2017 report ‘Languages for the Future’, Arabic is one of the top five languages the UK will need most following Brexit based on extensive analysis of economic, geopolitical, cultural and educational factors.

Subject areas

Arabic Language and Culture

My areas of research include language pedagogy, particularly the role of assessment in improving students’ engagement and learning; the integration of culture in the foreign language classroom; curriculum design and materials development.

Publications:

• Morley, J. and S. Mohamed (2016) “A lexical spreadsheet for learners of Arabic.” In Learning and teaching for right to left scripted languages: realities and possibilities. Proceedings of the BAAL/Cambridge University Press Applied Linguistics Seminar. Leeds Metropolitan University, June 2014, p. 81-94.
• Mohammed, S. (2020) An evaluation of culture teaching and learning in a Uniwide Language Program: Teachers and students’ perspectives. Language Learning in Higher Education, 10 (2): 357-380.
• Mohamed, S. and F. Long (2021) Assessment and feedback strategies that foster students’ engagement in the language classroom. International Journal of Education and Teaching 1 (1): 13-18.
• Mohamed, S. (2021) “The development of an Arabic curriculum framework based on a compilation of salient features from CEFR levels’ descriptors.” The Language Learning Journal Published online May 2021 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09571736.2021.1923781 
• Mohamed, S. (2021) An Analysis and levelling of Reading texts across Arabic Textbooks based on the CEFR proficiency levels. In Trends and Developments for the Future of Language Education in Higher Education, edited by Catherine Xiang. Pennsylvania: IGI Global.
• Mohamed, S. (Forthcoming) “The application of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages to a bilingual written corpus: possibilities and challenges.” In Palfreyman, David M. (ed.) Bilingual writers and corpus analysis. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.

Conference presentations:

• Conference on the Teaching of Arabic, British Council, London, UK, March 2008. ‘Introducing Arabic in primary education’.
• BAAL/Cambridge University Press Applied Linguistics Seminar, Leeds Beckett University, UK, 2014. ‘Consolidation and reference of new vocabulary using a dynamic “lexical spreadsheet” in Learning and teaching for right to left scripted languages: realities and possibilities’.
• 2nd Annual Arabic Language Teaching & Learning in UK Higher Education Conference King’s College, London, UK, 4^th April 2019. ‘Validating authentic samples of Arabic students’ written work based on the CEFR (A1-C2)’.
• CELT Festival of Learning and teaching, Manchester Metropolitan University, Uk, 12^th-21^st June 2019. ‘An Evaluation of Culture Teaching and Learning in MMU Uniwide Language Programs: Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives’.
• 21st annual conference of the Association of University Language Communities in the UK & Ireland (AULC), Maynooth University, Ireland, 9th-10th January 2020. ‘The analysis of three main Arabic textbook series for their compatibility with the CEFR’.
• 21st Association of University Language Communities’ (AULC) annual conference, Maynooth University, Ireland, 9th-10th January 2020. ‘Moving to assessment for learning on a university-wide language programme’.
• 22nd Association of University Language Communities’ (AULC) annual conference, Leeds University, UK, 29^th-31^st March 2021. ‘A strategy for inclusive assessment for online block teaching’.
• 3rd Annual Arabic Language Teaching & Learning in UK Higher Education Conference, University of Exeter, 8-9 April 2021. ‘Designing an Arabic curriculum framework based on a compilation of CEFR levels’ salient features’.
• UTA Learning and Teaching Festival and EuroSoTL Connect, Manchester Metropolitan University, 15th-18th June 2021. ‘Students’ perception of engagement strategies in online interaction’ with Tim Leigh.
• BATA Inaugural International Conference, University of Leeds, UK 24-25 June 2021.  ‘An analysis of proficiency standards of the reading content in Arabic textbooks: implications for curriculum design and teaching’.
• Experimental Arabic Linguistics (EXAL) 2022 Conference, Zayed University, UAE 14-15 March 2022. ‘Use of the CEFR to assess Arabic L1 competence and plurilingual competence: theoretical perspectives and methodological considerations.’
• 23rd Association of University Language Communities’ (AULC) annual conference, University of Nottingham, UK 25-27 April 2022. ‘Critical assessment of input reading texts: raising language teachers’ awareness.’