v-Arabic : Virtual Arabic
v-tivity : virtual activity
Realia: Real life authentic items
Virtual Realia
Digitized objects and items from the target culture which are brought into the classroom as examples or aids and used to stimulate spoken or written language production.
Language Realia
Realia is a term used in education to refer to certain real-life objects. In education, realia are objects from real life used in classroom instruction.
In education, realia include objects used by educators to help students to understand better other cultures and real life situations. A teacher of a foreign language often employs realia to strengthen students' associations between words for everyday objects and the objects themselves.
In foreign language instruction, the term realia has a broader meaning, which includes photos of objects from a country where the target language is spoken.
Wikipedia
The following is a selection of caricature that address the topic of the Economic situation of the Arab World. It’s a good revision for your Economic vocabulary.
These caricatures are either insulting or complimentary, can serve a political purpose or be drawn solely for entertainment.
What message is being communicated with these caricatures?
Discuss and share your thoughts for every caricature in the comments section
قد يكون أول شىء يخطر على بالك وانت تسمع جملة “الاستثمار الأمريكى” هو ساندوتش الهامبرجر الذى تقدمه سلسلة محلات ماكدونلدز الأمريكية، او البيتزا التي تقدمها بيتزا هت، او الدجاج من KFC او كنتاكى… وغيرها من شركات المطاعم العملاقة.
وكثيرون لا يتذكرون ان أهم الاستثمارات هي ايضا فى مجال الأسلحة والنفط…والاستثمارات هي في الاتجاه المعاكس ايضا. عربية باتجاه اميركا.
فقد زار وفد من المستثمرين المصريين بورصة نيويورك الاسبوع الماضي فى أول دعوة توجهها البورصة لبنوك استثمار من منطقة الشرق الأوسط.
تمخض عن هذه الزيارة افتتاح أول مكتب تمثيل لبنك استثمار من منطقة الشرق الأوسط فى السوق الأمريكية.
اذا قد تكون المسألة اكثر تعقيدا من الهامبرجر والبيتزا.
ولكن هذا هو بالتحديد ما يراه المواطن العادي في بلده اينما كان.
هذا هو الاستثمار المرئي. فهل يمانع؟
Key Vocabulary
استثمار / استثمارات : investment
خطر على باله : something came to his mind, occured to him
سلسة : chain
محل / محلات : shop
عملاق : gigantic , mega-
مجال / مجالات : filed, area
أسلحة / سلاح : weapon
بورصة / بورصات : Stock exchange
تمخض / يتمخض : to bring fourth, to bring about
مواطن : citizen
بالتحديد : exactly, precisely
مانع / يمانع : to object
Activity:
Listen to the podcast - only the first half.
Read the transcript of the introduction (above)
Answer the following questions:
What is the main gist of the news podcast?
According to the podcast, what is the first thing (s) that comes to your mind when you hear about “American Investments” in the Arab World?
What are the other main American investments in the Arab world?
What does the public think about American investments in Egypt? (the interviews are in colloquial Egyptian).
Name at least one opinion for and against.
What does the broadcaster mean by ( هذا هو الاستثمار المرئي) ?
According to the podcast and interviews, are there any alternatives to Pizza Hut and other fast-food pro
How do the Arabs feel about these alternatives?
Find out more
BBC Xtra is the flagship daily 2 hour live magazine programme on BBC Arabic, driving social and human interest issues onto the main news agenda of the Arabic Service. In a fast, energetic and relaxed style, BBC Xtra tackles difficult and controversial social affairs, as well as arts, literature and sports. BBC Xtra has a strong interactive element, where listeners contribute with their viewpoints on all topics by phone, SMS and e-mails.
