Arabic writing for occupational purposes (AWOP) : strategies of teaching writing

• Main Author: Al-Humidi, Hamed
• Other Authors: Agius, D. A.
• Published: University of Leeds 2003
• Subjects: 808
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.514006

This thesis is concerned with the Teaching of Arabic Writing for Occupational Purposes (TAWOP). Its main purpose is to develop an effective and practical approach to TAWOP in the context of Kuwait. Three research instruments were employed: questionnaire, observation and interviews. A structured questionnaire was given to the participants, all of whom were employed in various occupational fields in Kuwait, in order to measure a number of factors believed to affect the approach to the teaching of writing. Task observation was used to discover how the different writing strategies under study worked in practice. Semistructured interviews were conducted with the participants who performed the observed tasks, and also with teachers of Arabic, in order to determine the most effective strategies that could be used in TAWOP. This research provides sufficient evidence to suggest that combining two well understood approaches to the teaching of writing, known as the product and process approaches, will best fulfil the needs of learners of Arabic for occupational purposes, who are required to perform a variety of writing tasks in the workplace addressed to different readers, and using many different language aspects. This thesis consists of nine chapters. Chapter One presents the main aims of the study, and explains why it is significant. Chapter Two provides a description of the area of the study. Chapter Three discusses the concept of Language for Specific Purposes (LSP), considers its historical background, its definition and its various types, and explains the importance of taking the learner's needs into consideration. In Chapter Four we review the literature related to the teaching of writing. Chapter Five presents the proposed model of the study. Chapter Six discusses the methodology related to the research instruments used in the fieldwork. A full description is given of the aims, population, design and implementation of the research. The results of the questionnaire are analysed in detail in Chapter Seven, and in Chapter Eight the results of the observation sessions and the interviews are analyesd and interpreted. Finally, Chapter Nine summarises the main findings of the study, considers their implications, and makes recommendations for future research