Summit reviews status report of Arabic curricula

FOCUS ON CHALLENGES, ADVANTAGES OF TEACHING ARABIC IN SCHOOLS

The Arabic Language Summit, organised by the Ministry of Culture and Youth in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre of the Department of Culture Abu Dhabi, reviewed ‘Curriculum Status Report’ in a special session. The session discussed the results of the case study report on Arabic language teaching in schools from primary to secondary level.

Moderated by Dr Maisa Rashid Ghadeer, writer and discourse analysis specialist and former member of the Federal National Council, the session hosted Dr. Khalil Al Shaikh, director of the Department of Arabic Language Education and Research at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre; Dr. Hanada Taha, professor of Arabic Language at Zayed University; and Dr. Mahmoud Al Batal, professor in the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages at the American University of Beirut. The speakers explored the advantages and challenges of teaching Arabic in schools in the stages covered by the report.

Pillar of cultural identity

The session discussed the results of the report to develop the education process from the point of view of specialists and experts and highlighted pioneering experiences in teaching Arabic in Arab and non-Arab regions with a view to empower the language as a pillar of the cultural identity.

In his speech, Dr. Khalil Al Shaikh stressed that reading is a window for language learning, but in the current system schools, have not succeeded in making reading a habit outside the curriculum.

He pointed out the need to review the reasons for the weakness of students’ linguistic aptitude in Arabic as compared to other languages and find ways to support and develop it. He further added that the responsibility is shared between the school system and the family system, stressing that the latter comes in the first place pointing out to the need to make Arabic a language of life in the true sense of the word and not just limited to curricula and texts.

Dr. Hanada Taha commented on the issue of not teaching Arabic in kindergarten: “We must pay more attention to promoting the Arabic language among the new generations and finding a mother tongue for the child.” She stressed that the time available to teach Arabic in schools is not enough to enable students to speak during a 45-minute session.

Dr. Mahmoud Al Batal pointed out that there is a problem in the curricula as it is not relevant to students.