Aligning MYP Arabic with CEFR standards (AFR)

This guide maps MYP Arabic onto the Arabic Framework of Reference (AFR) used in Qatar Foundation schools, which is built directly on the Council of Europe CEFR concept and scales. Twenty-nine Arabic scales across listening, speaking, reading and writing carry a can-do descriptor for every grade, on a first-language track (B1.1 → B2.2 in Grades 6–10) and an additional-language track (A1.1 → A2.3).

AFR (CEFR) standards mapped: 290
Standards with a free lesson: 290
MYP criteria used: 4

Open the full alignment table Browse Arabic · اللغة العربية lessons

Why AFR (CEFR) and MYP fit together

The four AFR skills line up with MYP language criteria one to one: listening with Criterion A, reading with Criterion B, speaking with Criterion C and writing with Criterion D.
CEFR can-do descriptors describe what a learner can do with the language, which is exactly the evidence MYP criteria ask teachers to judge.
Each CEFR sub-level (B1.1, B1.2, B1.3 …) gives a clear year-on-year step, so MYP 1–5 has a defensible vertical progression in Arabic.
Two tracks let the same MYP unit be assessed with Language & Literature criteria for first-language students and Language Acquisition criteria for students newer to Arabic.

How each MYP criterion is matched to AFR (CEFR)

Criterion A: Listening · الاستماع (comprehending spoken and visual text)

يفهم الطالب النصوص المسموعة والمرئية، ويستخلص المعلومات الصريحة والضمنية، ويحلّل الأفكار والاتجاهات. Students comprehend spoken and visual Arabic text, identify explicit and implicit information, and analyse ideas, tone and purpose.

Matched to 70 AFR (CEFR) standards and 10 free lessons.

ندوة عن التطوّع · A panel on volunteering وثائقي عن الصقّارة والتراث · A documentary on falconry and heritage خطبة عن قيمة الجوار · A speech on the value of neighbourliness كلمة في طابور الصباح · A talk at morning assembly

Criterion B: Reading · القراءة (comprehending written and visual text)

يقرأ الطالب نصوصًا متنوّعة بوعي، ويحدّد البنية والحجّة والأسلوب، ويقارن بين وجهات النظر. Students read a range of Arabic texts, identify structure, argument and style, and compare perspectives.

Matched to 60 AFR (CEFR) standards and 20 free lessons.

نصّ معلوماتي عن الشعاب المرجانية · Informational text on coral reefs إعلان ومخطّط رحلة · An advert and a trip plan علامات الترقيم والشكل · Punctuation and vowelling أدوات الربط في النص · Cohesive devices in a text

Criterion C: Speaking · التحدث (communicating in response)

يتحدّث الطالب بالعربية الفصيحة في مواقف متنوّعة، ويحاور ويعرض ويقنع بلغة مناسبة للسياق. Students speak in Modern Standard Arabic across contexts: presenting, discussing, negotiating and persuading appropriately.

Matched to 90 AFR (CEFR) standards and 10 free lessons.

نتعاون لتنظيم معرض · Cooperating to run an exhibition أقدّم مشروعي أمام الصف · Presenting my project مناظرة: الرياضة في الحرارة · Debate: sport in the heat خطاب إقناعي عن القراءة · A persuasive speech on reading

Criterion D: Writing · الكتابة (using language in spoken and written form)

يكتب الطالب نصوصًا مترابطة ودقيقة إملائيًّا ونحويًّا، ويوظّف المفردات والأساليب البلاغية بما يناسب الغرض والجمهور. Students write coherent, accurate Arabic, using vocabulary, grammar and rhetorical devices suited to purpose and audience.

Matched to 70 AFR (CEFR) standards and 20 free lessons.

كتابة تقرير مهني ومذكّرة · Writing a professional report and memo مقال مقارن بين نصّين · A comparative essay on two texts علامات الترقيم والشكل · Punctuation and vowelling أدوات الربط في النص · Cohesive devices in a text

AFR (CEFR) strands mapped to MYP criteria

AFR (CEFR) strand	Standards	MYP criteria assessed
L1 · الاستيعاب السمعي العام (Overall listening comprehension)	10	Criterion A
L2 · فهم حديث المتحاورين (Understanding conversation between others)	10	Criterion A
L3 · الاستماع ضمن جمهور حاضر (Listening as a member of a live audience)	10	Criterion A
L4 · الاستماع إلى الإعلانات والتعليمات (Listening to announcements and instructions)	10	Criterion A
L5 · الاستماع إلى المواد الصوتية والمسجّلة (Listening to audio media and recordings)	10	Criterion A
L6 · متابعة التلفاز والأفلام والفيديو (Watching television, film and video)	10	Criterion A
L7 · تحديد القرائن واستنتاج المعنى (Identifying cues and inferring meaning)	10	Criterion A
R1 · الاستيعاب القرائي العام (Overall reading comprehension)	10	Criterion B
R2 · قراءة المراسلات (Reading correspondence)	10	Criterion B
R3 · القراءة السريعة للتوجّه (Reading for orientation)	10	Criterion B
R4 · القراءة للمعلومة والحجّة (Reading for information and argument)	10	Criterion B
R5 · قراءة التعليمات (Reading instructions)	10	Criterion B
R6 · القراءة الحرّة للمتعة (Reading as a leisure activity)	10	Criterion B
S1 · الإنتاج الشفوي العام (Overall spoken production)	10	Criterion C
S2 · الحديث المتّصل: وصف الخبرة (Sustained monologue: describing experience)	10	Criterion C
S3 · الحديث المتّصل: عرض حجّة (Sustained monologue: putting a case)	10	Criterion C
S4 · مخاطبة الجمهور (Addressing audiences)	10	Criterion C
S5 · التفاعل الشفوي العام (Overall spoken interaction)	10	Criterion C
S6 · المحادثة (Conversation)	10	Criterion C
S7 · المناقشة غير الرسمية مع الأقران (Informal discussion with peers)	10	Criterion C
S8 · التعاون لتحقيق هدف (Goal-oriented cooperation)	10	Criterion C
S9 · تبادل المعلومات (Information exchange)	10	Criterion C
W1 · الإنتاج الكتابي العام (Overall written production)	10	Criterion D
W2 · الكتابة الإبداعية (Creative writing)	10	Criterion D
W3 · التقارير والمقالات (Reports and essays)	10	Criterion D
W4 · التفاعل الكتابي العام (Overall written interaction)	10	Criterion D
W5 · المراسلات (Correspondence)	10	Criterion D
W6 · المذكّرات والرسائل والنماذج (Notes, messages and forms)	10	Criterion D
W7 · معالجة النص وتلخيصه (Processing and summarising text)	10	Criterion D

Grade to MYP year mapping

School grade	MYP year
Grade 6	MYP 1
Grade 7	MYP 2
Grade 8	MYP 3
Grade 9	MYP 4
Grade 10	MYP 5

Use the alignment in your planning

Every lesson lists its AFR (CEFR) codes and the MYP criteria it assesses, so a unit planner can be built straight from the library. Teachers can also generate a full MYP unit or lesson plan — statement of inquiry, global context, ATL skills, command terms and criteria — with Inquira, the free MYP planning assistant. Families following the library at home can start with the homeschool guide.

How the tracks map to grades

On the first-language track, Grade 6 works at B1.1, Grade 7 at B1.2, Grade 8 at B1.3, Grade 9 at B2.1 and Grade 10 at B2.2 — matching the AFR grade column for Arabic as a first language.

On the additional-language track, Grade 6 works at A1.1 and reaches A2.3 by Grade 10, so beginners join at any grade and still see a complete skills progression.

Fully bilingual by design

Every lesson shows its Arabic content in Modern Standard Arabic, right-to-left, alongside an English version of the objectives, tasks and explanations, so students, parents and non-Arabic-speaking teachers can all follow the same lesson.

Reading passages come with CEFR level variants rather than Lexile bands, so the same text can be read at A2, B1 or B2 without losing the ideas in it.

Culturally grounded content

Texts and tasks draw on Qatari and wider Arab life: family and neighbourly duty, desert and marine environments, heritage crafts, Arabic poetry and proverbs, volunteering, sport, science in Arabic and life in a multilingual community.

Religious and cultural references are handled respectfully and descriptively, and the internal diversity of Arabic-speaking communities and dialects is treated as a strength alongside Modern Standard Arabic.

Questions teachers ask about this alignment

Does Arabic use MYP Language Acquisition or Language & Literature criteria?

Both, depending on the track. First-language Arabic is assessed with Language & Literature Criteria A–D; Arabic as an additional language is assessed with Language Acquisition Criteria A–D. The four skills sit under the same lettered criteria in EduLib, so a department can run both tracks from one map.

Do CEFR levels replace MYP achievement levels?

No. The CEFR level describes the difficulty of the language demand; the MYP 1–8 achievement level describes how well the student met the criterion at that demand. The map uses the CEFR level to set the task and the MYP criterion to judge the response.

How is every descriptor covered?

Each grade-and-track descriptor is linked to at least one free EduLib lesson, so a department can show complete coverage of the framework for Grades 6–10 in the curriculum map.