The Linguistic Shift of the Learner between Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic: Approaches to its Pedagogical Implementation in the Moroccan Context

Abstract

This study addresses a central issue: the interplay between the colloquial dialect and Standard Arabic, and explores ways to leverage the former to enhance learners’ acquisition of the latter. This interplay is conceptualized as a linguistic shift, signifying the transition from the colloquial dialect commonly used in the learner’s everyday social life to Standard Arabic, which is primarily employed in formal educational settings. Adopting an descriptive analytical approach, the study examines three interrelated concerns: (1) enhancing the learner’s communicative competence in Standard Arabic, (2) addressing diglossia by utilizing the resources of the colloquial dialect acquired through social interaction, and (3) improving reading proficiency by drawing on the learner’s existing linguistic and communicative repertoire within their native dialectal system. One of the study’s key findings is the need to move beyond the notion of a conflict between Standard Arabic and the colloquial dialect. This shift in perspective would enable educational policymakers to reassess the pathways for teaching normative Arabic to children, and would encourage linguists and curriculum developers to propose a scientifically grounded framework for constructing a linguistic, pedagogical, and affective bridge comprising shared vocabulary, structures, and communicative functions between the two varieties. This bridge would be built upon an informed understanding of local linguistic features within the Moroccan context.