Mosaic of Tongues: Multilingual Learning for the Arabic-Speaking World

Mosaic of Tongues explores multilingual education in Arabic-speaking communities and beyond, blending personal narratives with research to illuminate bilingual pathways, identity in the diaspora, code-switching, and innovative classroom strategies. It highlights the role of families and communities in language preservation while showcasing the cognitive, cultural, and social benefits of multilingualism. Both practical and inspiring, this volume offers educators strategies, parents guidance, researchers valuable studies, and cultural enthusiasts stories of diversity and belonging. By weaving together voices from across the globe, it envisions a more inclusive, connected future where linguistic diversity is celebrated as a source of strength and creativity.

📚Contents

• Foreword — Stavros Yiannouka, CEO, World Innovation Summit for Education
• Unraveling the Mosaic: A Journey into Multilingual Learning in the Arabic-speaking World — Carine Allaf, Fabrice Jaumont, Selma Talha-Jebril
• The pathway to bilingualism in the Middle East: Stories from the borderland — Majd Sarah
• Negotiating language and identity: A reflection on the self-identification of European Arabs in the diaspora — Janaan Farhat
• The social motivations for code-switching among Jordanian speakers — Issam Albdairat
• Pedagogical translanguaging in kindergarten classrooms in the UAE: Reflections on co-teaching to facilitate Arabic and English medium education in the early years — Anna Marie Dillon
• Language status and usage in multilingual Algeria — Mehdi Lazar
• Bilingualism in Arabic language training sets — Zeynep Ertürk
• Multilingualism in Northern Ireland: The challenges and opportunities of introducing Arabic in schools — Rym Akhonzada
• The role of parents and the community in preserving the Arabic language: The case of Qatar Reads — Hanieh Khataee, Fatema M. Al-Malki, Logan Cochrane
• Arabic dual immersion programs in public schools in the USA — Robert Slater, Gregg Roberts, Carine Allaf
• “Mama, are you speaking Spanish?” Experience of parents developing their children's standard and colloquial Arabic — Aishah Alfadhalah
• Unveiling the shared heritage of Arabic and Amazigh — Mohamed Foula
• Learning Arabic outside the Arab world: A language of identity that opens doors of opportunity — Sarab Al Ani
• Arabic in the digital era: Reaching a new concept of language — Hossameddine Abouzahr
• Voices of home: A multilingual journey — Marina Chamma
• The language I knew without knowing — Hakim Benbadra
• Arabic for all, why my language is taboo in France?—An interview with Nabil Wakim — Fabrice Jaumont
• The history and development of the teaching of the Arabic language to students of Arab origin in Florence and Tuscany — Haifa Alsakkaf
• Linguistic consciousness-raising: A reflection on critical thinking and mainstreaming gender vocabulary in the Arabic language — Munirah Eskander
• Mosaic of Languages: Shaping the Future of Education in the Arabic-speaking World — Carine Allaf, Fabrice Jaumont, Selma Talha-Jebril

🌍 Endorsements

“A must-read for educators, parents, and policymakers—this book charts a new frontier for Arabic as a global language.”
— Dr. Mahmoud Al-Batal, Professor Emeritus of Arabic, University of Texas

“A fascinating mosaic of research and personal accounts—Arabic educators will be inspired to cultivate multilingual, compassionate citizens.”
— Dr. Laila Familiar, NYU Abu Dhabi

👉 Mosaic of Tongues is more than a book—it’s a call to embrace the transformative power of language in shaping inclusive and globally connected societies.

Fabrice Jaumont is a scholar-practitioner, award-winning author, non-profit leader, and education advisor based in New York. He is President of the Center for the Advancement of Languages, Education, and Communities, a nonprofit publishing organization based in New York and Paris. He has published nine books on bilingualism and education, philanthropy, and higher education, including The Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education is in Two Languages and Conversations on Bilingualism.

Carine Allaf is the Senior Programs Advisor for QFI programs. Although she works across all programming, she focuses primarily on our international programs, elementary Arabic immersion schools, monitoring and evaluation, and research. Carine has worked in the education, development, and non-profit fields for over 15 years as a teacher, scholar, and practitioner in the United States and the Arab world. Carine holds a Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Selma Talha Jebril is the Research, Policy, and Partnership Manager at Qatar Foundation. Before joining the Qatar Foundation, Selma was a Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist at IIE. Selma also worked with Chemonics International and Search for Common Ground on projects implemented in the Middle East and North Africa. Selma is originally from Morocco and holds a master's degree in sustainable development, international policy, and management from SIT Graduate Institute and a bachelor's degree in international relations and Trade from Université de Cergy-Pontoise (France).