Running head: APPLYING WOOD BURNING ART IN ARABIC CLASS

Applying Wood-Burning Art in Arabic Class Dareen Alsulami & Abrar Hatem IST- 5003-001 12-3-2012 Dr. Matthew Berland

APPLYING WOOD BURNING ART IN ARABIC CLASS

Applying Wood-Burning Art in Arabic Class "With a subject matter as broad as life itself, the arts easily relate to aspects of almost everything else that is taught." -Charles Fowler Learning a second language can be difficult task to accomplish. Integrating art domains as Wood Burning in teaching foreign language such as Arabic could significantly assist students in learning how to write various Arabic vocabularies and remember them. The art of burning wood or Pyrography (Greek word means "writing with fire") is an ancient art what can be defined as drawing or writing into the surface of wood. The artist of this kind of art burns lines onto a piece of wood in several shapes by using a soldering iron tool. Wood burning art can enhance students' learning through providing them with skills such as focusing and creativity (Nevanen, Juvonen & Ruismki, 2012). Indeed, the purpose of this study is to transmit the value of utilizing wood burning art in teaching American undergraduates how to write Arabic vocabulary and remember them easily. 1. The Hypothesis The research is based on addressing these two questions: 1- How the activity is learned and applied the Constructionism theory? 2-How Wood Burning Art affects learning Arabic vocabulary? 2. Literature review The study Teaching a Second Language through Art" by Vazquez (2012) is supporting what this article is aiming to prove; wood burning art can be an effective tool for learning a second language. Furthermore, the study Using Modern Art to Teach Language and Culture to ESL

APPLYING WOOD BURNING ART IN ARABIC CLASS

Students" by Watt (2004) explained that when learners engage art in foreign language classes, their language abilities will be developed. 3. Methodology 3.1. Participants:

The interview was conducted in the art lab at the University of the Incarnate Word. The participant were two females: participant A is teaching Arabic Language class as an elective course at University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and participant B is an American student who is taking Arabic class in UTSA and a friend of participant A. The participant A utilized wood burning art in her Arabic classes for motivating students enjoy writing in Arabic. 3.2. Materials: The tools that have been used in the wood burning process are: a piece of wood to write on it, an electronic wood-burning pen to write on the wood, and pattern transfer paper for writing or drawing into the surface of the wood.
3.3. Procedure: The two researchers met with the participants over the weekend at the art lab. The participant A was not able to invite the researchers in one of her classes at the art lab in UTSA where she is practicing writing Arabic vocabulary with her students by wood-burning art. Both participants kindly hosted the researchers and took them in a tour around the art lap. After that, one of the researchers started setting up the recorder of her phone. On the other side of the lab, the other researcher assisted the participants to get ready to be recorded. Next, the researcher started

APPLYING WOOD BURNING ART IN ARABIC CLASS

recording the participants while the other researcher was observing the process of wood-burning and taking notes.

3.4. Data Analysis: The research study is qualitative analysis based on cognitive ethnography research method that considering both observation and interviewing to deduce the best findings. 4. Result Participant B started writing the word "water" in Arabic and the writing consisted of three Arabic letters on the wood by using the pattern transfer paper, while the wood-burning pen warming up. After that, she wrote on the wood with the wood-burning pen. First, when she started writing the first letter, she seemed uncontrolled, and she rewrote the first letter several times. Although, in the beginning she struggled, in the end, she was able to finish the word fluently. In fact, B enjoyed the process and after finishing writing, she started ornamenting the word. Participant A showed us the diverse usage of wood-burning art and she mentioned that she used it in her Arabic classes for writing Arabic vocabulary. In addition, learning wood-burning art in the classroom provides students with several skills. First, creativity which helps students to extend their horizons in learning Arabic vocabulary differently and realize the different ways of writing words in Arabic. Furthermore, learning new language can be difficult and may lead to frustration. Utilizing wood-burning art can teach students how to be patient since it requires focusing and accuracy. Thus, the students will never give up learning and keep motivated. 5. Discussion The results were positive. Indeed all the results support and prove the purpose of this article: wood burning art can effectively help students learning how to write Arabic vocabulary in easy

APPLYING WOOD BURNING ART IN ARABIC CLASS

and enjoyable way. The wood-burning art applied the construcionism theory through writing and drawing what they learned on a piece of wood. The constructionism theory of Papert supports the concept of "Learning by doing." The modules of constructionism include different roles of educators and students. Students have to build their knowledge by practicing what they learn in the class. Moreover, students need to share their thoughts and actively collaborate with each other. On the other hand, educators in constructionism will work as facilitators who support students' learning path (Harel & Papert, 1991). Indeed, wood-burning art has applied the major concept of constructionism "learning by doing." The students were able to build their knowledge about the Arabic vocabulary through practicing writing the word on the wood. Moreover, wood-burning art gives the students the opportunity to inquire learning new Arabic words and remembering them by writing the words in creative way. Additionally, wood-burning art facilitates the social interactions among students. It allows students to look at each other wood pieces which can assist students remembering new words and working together to increase the number of Arabic words that can improve their Arabic language. 6. Conclusion In short, the wood-burning art in Arabic class helps students to build creativity, patience, and focus. In other words, the students can improve their skills through wood-burning art. The purpose of teaching is to give the students a good education. Thus, learning this kind of activity in class is significant for build learning skills. Likewise, using wood-burning art to teach Arabic vocabulary is a benefit that can applied to the constructionism theory. In addition, wood-burning art helps students to be motivated; as a result, the students will find learning Arabic vocabulary fun and engaging. Thats mean students will be excited to learn and attend classes. Furthermore,

APPLYING WOOD BURNING ART IN ARABIC CLASS

using wood-burning art in Arabic class is encouraging the students to learn more and focus on their classes as students naturally like doing fun activities in class. The research suggests there is a clear benefit to learning wood-burning art in class, based on the improved learning skills of students. Also, it shows the effect of learning that kind of art for the way of teaching new language. Thus, wood-burning art in Arabic class is beneficial to develop the students memory, while encouraging them to love and be excited about learning a different language. In the future, researchers can do more effective work if they get more participants to show the effect of learning wood-burning art in Arabic classes for students.

APPLYING WOOD BURNING ART IN ARABIC CLASS

References Harel, I. & Papert, S. (1991). Constructionism. (p.3). Norwood, NY: Ablex Publishing Corporation. Nevanen, S., Juvonen, A., & Ruismki, H. (2012). Art education as multiprofessional collaboration. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 13(1). http://www.ijea.org/v13n1/. Vazquez, D. (2012). Teaching a Second Language through Art. In Teaching a Second Language through Art. ( Unit 81.04.12). http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/4/81.04.12.x.html#top Watt, D. (2004). Using Modern Art to Teach Language and Culture to ESL Students. The Internet TESL Journal, 10. http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Watt-ModernArt.html