Blurb:

Chapter four delves into Israel's language policies, particularly regarding Arabic, tracing its legal recognition alongside Hebrew and subsequent marginalization. Despite legal mandates, Arabic needs to pay more attention to official communications, public services, and media, exacerbating inequality and exclusion for Arabic speakers. Discriminatory practices perpetuate Arabic's disempowerment, hindering its societal presence and cultural significance. The chapter explores Arabic language instruction in Israeli Jewish schools, focusing on the distinction between teaching Fuṣḥa (Modern Standard Arabic) and Ammiyya (colloquial Arabic). It discusses instructional goals, approaches, and challenges, emphasizing the sociopolitical context's impact and the dominance of a foreign language approach in teaching. The text discusses disparities in Arabic teacher training, highlighting separate tracks for teaching Fuṣḥa and Ammiyya, leading to inadequate language skills among teachers. It examines challenges in language assessment, focusing on standardized tests' impact on teaching methods. Additionally, it critiques the Arabic matriculation exam for its emphasis on grammar over oral skills and insufficient cultural content. The lack of focus on culture limits students' understanding and communication abilities with native speakers, perpetuating the perception of the status of Arabic as a foreign language.