This study examined the impact of Arabic diglossia on children’s emotional intelligence, emotional force, and expressing emotions among children. The participants were 250 Israelis who spoke Palestinian Arabic from fifth and seventh grades. Children were examined for their Trait EI performance, emotional intensity scale, and expressing feelings of episodes in SpA (Spoken Arabic) and StA (Standard Arabic). Findings revealed an advantage in Trait Emotional Intelligence in SpA compared to StA across ages. The results showed that SpA phrases were perceived as more charged emotionally than in StA. As to the grade level, no difference was observed between ages. Finally, the results indicated that children produced many more SpA items than StA for expressing their feelings. The findings highlight the importance of the diglossic Arabic language form to social-emotional skills, primarily based on SpA, a language form in which they can express themselves easily and might have particular emotional connotations. The theoretical and pedagogical implications of these results were discussed in the context of diglossia and social-emotional skills.

Authors:
Abeer Asli-Badarneh, The Arab Academic College of Education-Haifa, Israel

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Abeer Asli-Badarneh is a University Postgraduate Student at The Arab Academic College of Education-Haifa in Israel

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