Mahmoud Al-Batal
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Batal is the Associate Director of NMELRC for Teacher Development.
Dr. Al-Batal is associate professor of Arabic in the Department of
Middle Eastern Studies and director of the Center for Arabic Study
Abroad (CASA) at The University of Texas at Austin. CASA is a
consortium of 29 American universities that provides advanced training
in Arabic language and culture at the American University in Cairo,
Egypt, and at the University of Damascus, Syria. Currently, he is also
involved in developing "Aswaat Arabiyya," a Web-based project for
Arabic listening materials. He is also the coauthor of the "Al-Kitaab"
Arabic textbook series (with Kristen Brustad and Abbas Al-Tonsi) and
has written a number of articles on aspects of teaching Arabic as a
Foreign Language. Al-Batal previously served as CASA executive director
in Cairo (1985-1987), as director of the Arabic School at Middlebury
College (1991-1998) and as director of the Emory College Language
Center (2000-2004). He is the recipient of the MLA/ADFL 2004 Award for
Distinguished Service to the Profession. He holds a B.A. in Arabic
language and literature from the Lebanese University, and an M.A. and
Ph.D. in Arabic linguistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
PUBLICATIONS
- The Teaching of Arabic as a Foreign Language: Issues and Directions
(edited volume). Al-cArabiyya Monograph Series No:2, Salt Lake City:
The American Association of Teachers of Arabic, University of Utah,
1995.
- Alif Baa, Introduction to Arabic Sounds and Letters (with
DVDs, Second Edition) with Kristen Brustad and Abbas Al-Tonsi.
Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2004.
- Al-Kitaab fii tacallum al-cArabiyya, Volume II (with DVDs,
Second Edition) with Kristen Brustad & Abbas Al-Tonsi. Washington,
D.C.: Georgetown University Press, January 2006.
- Al-kitaab Al-Asaasii fii Tacliimm Al-cArabiyya li-Ghayr
Al-NaaTiqiin bi-haa, Part II "The Basic Book for Teaching Arabic to
Non-Native Speakers," with El-Sacid Badawi and Mohammad Hamasah. The
Arab League Education, Science and Culture Organization (ALESCO),
Tunis, Tunisia, 1987.
- "Playing with Words: Teaching Vocabulary in the Arabic
Language Curriculum," forthcoming in A Handbook for Arabic Language
teaching Professionals in the 21st Century, edited by Kassem wahba,
Zeinab Taha, and Elizabeth England, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, INC., Publishers, Fall 2005.
- "The Future of the Teaching and Learning of Arabic: A View
from the U.S," with Kirk Belnap,. forthcoming in A Handbook for Arabic
Language teaching Professionals in the 21st Century, edited by Kassem
wahba, Zeinab Taha, and Elizabeth England, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, INC., Publishers, Fall 2005.
- "Identity and Language Tension in Lebanon: The Arabic of Local
News at LBCI," in Language Contact and Language Conflict: Variations on
a Sociolinguistic Theme, edited by Aleya Rouchdy. London: Rutledge
Curzon Press, 2002.
- "Cross-Cultural Pragmatics: Strategy Use in Egyptian Arabic
and American English Refusals," with Gayle Nelson, Joan Carson &
Waguida El-Bakary. Applied Linguistics, 23/2: pp 163-189, 2002.
- "Directness vs. Indirectness: Egyptian Arabic and US English
Communication Style," with Gayle Nelson & Waguida El-Bakary.
International Journal of International Relations, 26, pp 39-57, 2002.
- "Arabic and English Compliment Responses: Potential for
Pragmatic Failure" with Gayle Nelson & Erin Echols. Applied
Linguistics, Vol.17, pp. 411-432, 1996.
- "Egyptian and American Compliments: Focus on Second Language
Learners" with Gayle Nelson & Waguida El-Bakry in Speech Acts
Across Cultures, edited by Susan Gass & Joyce Neu. Berlin: Mouton
de Gruyter, 1995.
- "Issues in the Teaching of the Productive Skills in Arabic," in The Teaching of Arabic as a Foreign Language: Issues and Directions, edited by Mahmoud Al-Batal. Salt Lake City: The American Association of the Teachers of Arabic, 1995.