English abstract
The study aimed to analyze the current state of Arabic language teaching in the tenth grade in the Sultanate of Oman according to Canale and Swain's model of communicative competence among Arabic language teachers, students, and the textbook. It also sought to explore the statistical differences between public and private school students in terms of communicative competence and linguistic identity, as well as the relationship between the two. A mixed-methods approach was employed with a sample of six male and female teachers and 130 female students.
To collect the study's data, the following tools were used: a content analysis card for the tenth-grade textbook Lughaty Al-Jameela based on the communicative competences (grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic), a classroom observation card to monitor the teaching practices of the tenth-grade teachers, and a communicative competence test along with a linguistic identity questionnaire.
The study revealed the following findings:
Grammatical competence was the most emphasized in the textbook content, followed by discourse competence, then sociolinguistic competence, and finally strategic competence.
Classroom observations showed limited application of communicative approach principles, with some principles applied in a few lessons. For example, group activities were rarely used, the use of language in real-life contexts was limited to expression lessons, and there were few open-ended questions encouraging language use. The teacher played a central role as the primary source of information through questions or lessons explanation.
The students' level of communicative competences and linguistic identity was moderate. The results indicated statistically significant differences between public and private school students in grammatical, sociolinguistic, and discourse competences, with the differences favoring public school students. Additionally, statistically significant differences in linguistic identity were found in favor of public school students.
The results revealed a weak correlation between overall communicative competences and linguistic identity, with a statistically significant correlation coefficient. For public schools, there was no significant correlation between overall competences and linguistic identity. However, in private schools, a moderate correlation was found between these variables with a statistically significant correlation coefficient.
In light of the results, a proposed framework was developed for educational content based on Canale and Swain's model, supporting linguistic identity. The study also made several recommendations, including the explicit inclusion of the Arabic language and linguistic identity in the priorities of Oman Vision 2040, relying on language teaching theories and models, including Canale and Swain’s communicative competence model, in designing Arabic language curricula, and developing an Arabic language assessment system linked to the development of students' communicative competences at various educational levels.
