Mechanisms of Scientific Simplification in Arabic Grammar: A Descriptive-Analytical Study of the Arabic Language Textbook at the Primary Education Level

Abstract

The transmission of knowledge from the teacher to the learner requires lowering it from the scholarly level to the learner’s level. This principle constitutes the foundation upon which the teaching of sciences and knowledge is based, since Arabic grammar as a science differs from Arabic grammar as a teaching subject. Therefore, gradual instruction, moving from the simple to the complex and from generalities to details, is of utmost necessity so that knowledge may be properly organized and structured in the learner’s mind. This study seeks to uncover the mechanisms of scientific simplification employed in Arabic grammar through an analysis of the grammar lessons prescribed at the three stages of primary education, as presented in the Arabic Language Textbook (Second Generation Curriculum).

This study addresses the following research problem: What mechanisms did the designers of the Arabic language curriculum for primary education adopt in presenting Arabic grammar lessons? Among its most important findings is that distinguishing between Arabic grammar as a science and Arabic grammar as a teaching subject is an urgent necessity, since the perception of Arabic grammar as difficult and complex stems primarily from confusion between these two concepts. In addition, the use and repetition of simple examples in teaching Arabic grammar constitute a mechanism of scientific simplification and are not related to any deficiency in the language itself or to the inability of grammarians to devise examples illustrating grammatical rules. Furthermore, highlighting grammatical disagreements while teaching Arabic grammar especially during the early stages of learning tends to distract learners rather than broaden their knowledge and develop their acquired competencies.

Based on these findings, the study recommends abandoning the mechanism of “modification” in knowledge transmission in general and grammatical instruction in particular. It also recommends expanding the use of the mechanism of “presenting grammatical knowledge in familiar contexts” so that it encompasses all lessons included in the Arabic language curriculum at both the primary and middle-school levels, while postponing the study of grammatical rules in their formal sense until the secondary level.