Thesis title: Teaching the variation. Proficiency test to measure the language skills of Italian-speaking students for the levels B1 and B2
This research focuses on designing a language proficiency test in Arabic as a foreign language. The test measures the intermediate language levels of B1 and B2, according to the CEFR standard, among native Italian speakers. There is a clear need for an Arabic language test that measures the learner's actual proficiency in Arabic language. Therefore, this research measures the language proficiency of Italian learners at the intermediate levels B1 and B2 using Formal Spoken Arabic for listening comprehension and oral production, and Modern Standard Arabic in written production and reading comprehension skills. Two experimental tests were designed and implemented, and the results were monitored and analyzed. The study concluded that Arabic language learners need access to tests that measure real language skills, to produce Arabic speakers who are able to communicate suitably and understand the mechanisms of how the language works. In studies and instruction of the Arabic language, we need to rethink the variety of the language that we teach to learners, and assess their competence in using this variety. This in turn facilitates the issues of teaching and assessment.