ATCS – About Us

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Alta Schwartz

The Arabic Teachers Council of the South is an umbrella organization for K16 Arabic teachers and stakeholders interested in Arabic language and culture. Our mission is to strengthen the capacity of Arabic educators, build community, expand programming, and pave new paths for 21st century Arabic assessment, curriculum, experiential learning, and pedagogy.

The ATCS is a community of educators from K12 schools, universities, and organizations in the southern U.S. states who are engaged in the instruction of the Arabic language, its dialects, and its multi-faceted cultures. The ATCS offers a community of support for these educators, provides professional development opportunities, and hosts cultural events.

For example, the ATCS organized and provided one online ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Workshop in Winter 2021 and another in Summer 2021. Federally-funded scholarships, such as the Critical Language Scholarship and the Boren Award, utilize the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) to measure student and program success. In addition, the ACTFL OPI is recommended as a standard assessment tool for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE) and is accepted in all 37 states that participate in the Seal of Biliteracy initiative.

A total of 25 Arabic instructors from the southern U.S. and beyond were able to attend the trainings free of charge. Dr. Ghazi Abuhakema, Certified ACTFL OPI Trainer and Professor at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, facilitated the trainings. By offering these workshops, the ATCS has elevated the capacity of its Arabic language instructors by introducing them to the ACTFL rating scale, the structure of the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), and techniques of administering and rating the OPI, including applications in the language classroom. Participants observed and conducted live practice interviews across all proficiency levels (Novice through Superior). The trainings not only provided participants the resources and confidence to assess students using researched methods, it also introduced them to a cohort of supportive Arabic instructors and a community of practice.

The online workshops fulfilled the first half of the ACTFL training required for OPI tester certification. Many of the participants plan to receive the second half of the training to become ACTFL Certified OPI Testers.

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