Arguments are made here that, in learning foreign languages, achieving independence at Level 2–3, particularly in reading, is a prerequisite for generating the power necessary for breaking away from the learning plateau characteristic of that level and continuing to Level 4 and beyond. Achieving such independence can, under the proper conditions, be realized through the effort of the learners themselves. The experiment in Independent Reading (IR) outlined below (which took place between 1970 and 1977) was based on several considerations. Important among these were (1) the centrality of reading in foreign language acquisition, (2) the nature of Arabic as a polyglossic language, (3) the bi-polar competence of the educated Arab as the model for the educated foreign learner, and (4) a suggested strategy for learning polyglossic Arabic. The course on independent reading was taught at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) as a part of a full-year program in Advanced Arabic to American graduates at the American University in Cairo. This chapter discusses that course within the following framework: (1) preliminary considerations, (2) the CASA program, and (3) a detailed description of the course itself.

Preliminary considerations

Centrality of reading in foreign language acquisition

Experience shows that adults seriously seeking to learn foreign languages to high levels of proficiency have had, as a rule, significant amounts of formal education, i.e., are either college graduates or undergraduates. For such people, the printed word will have become, at this stage of their development, of paramount importance in their pursuit of knowledge.