The Effectiveness of a Digital Literacy-Integrated Syllabus for Arabic-speaking Courses in Teacher Education Universities in China

Abstract

As digital literacy becomes crucial in modern education, its integration into language education is necessary to prepare preservice teachers to meet 21st-century challenges. This study evaluates the impact of a digital literacy-integrated syllabus for Arabic-speaking courses on the digital literacy and Arabic language acquisition of Chinese preservice teachers in China. This paper presents a Phase 3 evaluation of the Design and Developmental Research (DDR) approach. A one-group pretest and posttest design was employed, with 32 Chinese preservice teachers pursuing Arabic language education at three teacher education universities in Yunnan, Ningxia, and Gansu provinces in China. The participants engaged in 2-week online lessons based on a developed syllabus. This syllabus, designed during Phase 2 design and development of DDR, explicitly included digital literacy objectives and teacher-student interaction strategies and learning activities. It was adapted from Yunnan Normal University's syllabus for an Arabic-speaking course. Qualitative data were collected through individual online interviews with five randomly selected participants after completing the 2-week lessons. Quantitative results showed significant improvements in digital literacy across technical, cognitive, attitudinal, and social-emotional domains. Additionally, the findings indicated that the syllabus enhanced preservice teachers' engagement and interest in learning to speak and understand Arabic. However, addressing challenges in the implementation is important to maximize its benefits. These findings contribute to the growing field of technology-enhanced Arabic language education for preservice teachers in China.