Our Methods & Resources
Teaching Proficiency through Reading & Storytelling (TPRS)
Over the past year, Alif Institute has incorporated a new method for teaching conversational Arabic. This method is known as TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling). Founded by Blaine Ray in the late 1980’s and based on Stephen Krashen’s Language Acquisition Theory, it has been hailed as the most natural and fun way to learn a language.
It involves providing students with a steady exposure to the language in a way that is both compelling and completely understandable. It involves zero memorization, zero drills, zero textbooks, and zero desks.
Students arrange their chairs in a semicircle around the teacher, as he engages them in simple, conversations in Arabic, using understandable words and phrases. These are real conversations about students’ lives, allowing them to learn about each other – all in Arabic. These conversations are supplemented by silly, make-believe stories that infuse the language with a memorable, entertaining experience.
After being used dozens of times, words and phrases naturally begin to ‘stick’ in students long-term memories, removing the need for short-term memorization techniques. We hope you come take advantage of one of our upcoming workshops or visit a class to experience how easily a language (even a ‘hard’ one like Arabic!) can be ‘picked up’ by a beginner!