Advanced Moroccan Arabic (Darija): An OER Multimedia Textbook

In an effort to promote the creation and sharing of educational content available as Open Educational Resources (OER), the course development team at the University of Hawai’i and the University of Arizona converted the original two Moroccan Arabic courses designed for the Flagship Program into two OER textbooks: Beginning Moroccan Arabic and Culture and Advanced Moroccan Arabic and Culture. These two OER courses are offered as exported Moodle courses, primarily designed for installation in a Moodle course system. The Moroccan Arabic and Culture OER Multimedia Textbooks aim to provide both beginning and advanced learners of Moroccan Arabic with curated authentic and interactive multimedia resources in Moroccan Darija, and contextualized learning experiences for developing region-specific communicative skills and cultural awareness. The downloadable file can be imported into a Moodle course system, or other Learning Management Systems (LMS).Advanced Moroccan Arabic and Culture contains seven modules and two Lessons under each module. Each Module starts with an overview that provides a brief summary of the learning objectives in that particular module. Each of the lessons focuses on a subtopic related to the module theme. Each lesson contains two types of activities: vocabulary learning through Quizlet digital flashcards and listening comprehension activities based on authentic videos using H5P. Once installed, course instructors can further customize the course content by adding assessments or other activities. See below for an overview of the Modules, Lessons and their corresponding themes in each course. Advanced Moroccan Arabic 1- Complex Greetings and Introductions 1.1 Complex Greetings and Introductions 1.2 Expressing Aspirations and Interests in Introductions 2- Building Social Relations 2.1 Making Conversation and Sharing Experiences 2.2 Future Plans 3- Foods and Celebrations 3.1 Family Celebrations (e.g., weddings) 3.2 Religious Celebrations (e.g., Ramadan, Eid) 4- Shopping and Cost of Living 4.1 Shopping for Special Occasions 4.2 Credit and Cost of Living in Morocco 5- Hotel Reservations and Housing 5.1 Hotel Reservations 5.2 Renting an Apartment 6- Health 6.1 Health Emergencies and Special Pharmacies 6.2 Alternative / Integrative Medicine in Morocco 7- Professional Life 7.1 Work Environment and Meeting Etiquette 7.2 Internships and Volunteering Installation Instructions For Moodle (for information on installation in other LMSs, please visit: https://thelanguageflagship.tech/mbl-arabic/) 1. Ask your institution’s Moodle administrator to create a course in Moodle; 2. Use Moodle’s Import function to import the downloaded content into your course (see gear icon on main course page); 3. Edit course content and course settings to suit your needs. As an example, if you wish to create additional activities or assessments in each lesson or module, you will need to use the “Add an activity of resource” function where you see fit. 4. Enroll users and run the course.This course was created with support from The Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center. The development of this course was funded under a grant from the Institute of International Education (IIE), acting as the administrative agent of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO) for The Language Flagship. The Language Flagship is a national initiative to change the way Americans learn languages through a groundbreaking approach to language education through a network of programs at institutions of higher education across the United States. The Language Flagship graduates students who will take their place among the next generation of global professionals, commanding a superior level of proficiency in one of ten languages critical to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness