Bringing Arabic to U.S. / Canadian / U.K. High Schools.
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Growing Number of Organizations Seek to Introduce Arabic
Curriculum.
By: Akhtar H. Emon
President,
Arabic Language Institute Foundation (ALIF)
Rancho Palos Verdes,
California, 90275-4601,
USA.
INTRODUCTION:
-------------------------
We must make Arabic as prevalent in the United States as Spanish. Or at least as commonplace as French, and German. Therefore, the Arabic Language Institute Foundation (ALIF), a Los Angeles-based organization is committed to introducing the teaching of the Arabic language into public high schools.
The necessity for a greater number of Arabic speakers is obvious, given the amount of trade the United States, Canada, and U.K do with countries in the Middle East and that region’s growing economic importance in world trade. Many big companies have business over there, and all this requires knowledge of Arabic.
While many Arab nations have gone to great lengths to introduce English in their countries, the United States is still behind in following suit with Arabic. However, there are a growing number of colleges and universities that have included Arabic as part of their curriculum, including e.g, UCLA, California State University, U.C. Berkeley and the University of California at Santa Barbara on the West Coast. There are also a few high schools that teach Arabic, but they are only in regions that have high concentrations of Arab-Americans such as Michigan and California. The main goal of ALIF is to have Arabic offered in high schools in the same manner that Spanish, German and French languages are normal parts of the high school curriculum.
While we clearly acknowledge the importance of teaching Spanish, we must question why Arabic courses aren’t at least as prevalent as German and French, given the large number of countries where Arabic is the primary language. An estimated 1.2 billion people including 22 Arab countries revere Arabic, as opposed to roughly 100 million German speakers around the world.
The American educational system gives you an option of learning a language as a high school requirement. Students take two to four years of a foreign language in order to graduate. We should take advantage of the system to include Arabic as part of that repertoire.
BACKGROUND:
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According to the United States census, there are about 10 million people including Muslims (80%), interested in Arabic Language in the United States. Accordingly, the school systems should reflect that diversity in their curriculum.
As Arab nations gain more of a global presence, especially in non-oil related economic areas, knowing Arabic and understanding the Arab culture will be more valuable for American businesses seeking to tap that growing market.
In the Middle East a lot of jobs, especially in banks, require knowledge of Arabic. Europeans are closer to the Middle East and have been ahead in terms of teaching Arabic. While the U.S. has lagged in introducing Arabic and in recognizing its importance in future trade ties with the Middle East, European countries have not, partly a result of their proximity to the Middle East and also their shared history with the region resulting from Europe’s colonial past.
Europeans are more apt to learn new languages, since many European countries require their students to learn several languages. For example, schools in Switzerland teach German, English, French and Italian as part of normal curriculum.
Getting Arabic into American schools will be a more difficult task, but it could prove to be beneficial. Knowledge of Arabic will promote investments here since there are a lot of revenues from oil. The lack of knowledge has stagnated investments into this country.
CULTURAL
SENSITIVITY:
-------------------------------------
The U.S. has also been slow to react because of the dominance of English in international finance. Additionally, bias against Arabs continues to permeate American media and other influential groups. But as the Internet in Arabic script becomes more prominent in Arab countries, the use of Arabic will be more necessary to do business in the Near East.
If you want to do business or work for a corporation that does business in Arab countries, then it is helpful. Knowing another language puts you in a better position. Beyond a potential economic benefit, a growing number of organizations are promoting Arabic education as a way to permeate Muslim traditions and Arab culture in second and third generation Arab-Americans.
"It is important to have our children identify with their culture”, says Sakeena Mirza, the Research and Education Director for the Southern California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). “It will give them more self-confidence in their cultural heritage.”
THE ALIF PROJECT:
------------------------------
At this point, ALIF is only a dream, but ALIF is steadily gaining support among a greater number of Arab-American organizations. ALIF has already received support from Arabic and Muslim advocacy groups such as CAIR, the Arab American Business, Chambers of Commerce, and the Islamic Shura Councils of major cities. ALIF has also received support from several public and private universities such as UCLA, USC, California State University at Fullerton, Universities of Wisconsin, and Michigan, as well as major Universities
in Canada such as McGill, and various Universities in U.K.
To set up the ALIF program, it is estimated to cost between $3 to $4 million, depending on the project’s initial scope and reach. The money will be used to secure a facility, develop educational software, buy textbooks and train Arabic-proficient people to teach the language. The software would be used on the Internet to make it easier for instructors to teach and give them additional resources to tap.
Once funding is in place, we hope to enlist thousands of Arabic-speaking “weekend” teachers to make the program active. There are about 3,000 Islamic centers in the U.S and another 1,000 in Canada that have people who teach Arabic in the centers on the weekends. We are hoping to retrain this group to get them accredited and ready to teach in classrooms. We can also draw upon the strength of 300 Islamic organizations in U.K.
ALIF is already working with several Southern California high schools to get the program installed, though no classes are yet being taught. ALIF is encouraged by the initial interest in the program at some high schools, although a measurable demand by students will be necessary before the program can move forward. While this may be easy to achieve in areas where there are large concentrations of Arab-Americans such as Los Angeles and Detroit, it will be more difficult in other parts of the country.
"To get this going, community support is needed,” says CAIR’s Sakeena Mirza. “Not by an outside organization but by the community and the students”. It’s been a dilemma as we kick-off ALIF program. It’s like the chicken and the egg. You need the class for students to sign up, but you need students to sign up in order to get the class.
To foster this support, ALIF has launched a recruitment drive in which a mosque will “adopt” a high school, funding and providing an Arabic teacher. The retraining will be done by local universities that are interested in growing their Islamic studies programs.
Most of the universities we contacted, including UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, U of Michigan, UTA, USC and other schools, are excited about having students taught the Arabic language in high school. Once we get going, the program will be self-sufficient, due to potential revenues that will be generated by ALIF’s production of teaching materials, online education programs and by software sales.
SOURCES
OF FUNDING:
------------------------------------
To raise the necessary funds, we made proposals to The Ford Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation; all of them have turned us down. The effort will be a long one, and we must not be discouraged by the initial resistance we encountered. ALIF proposal was also sent to the King Faisal Foundation, which was set up by the former king of Saudi Arabia, and there was no positive response them.
So far, we have not had much luck, but we are still looking for grant money to start the program. ALIF is also trying to enlist other Arab and Muslim advocacy organizations to help contribute in this effort. As an example, the entire cost of ALIF's implementation could be written off by e.g, a Christian Arab Attorney Herbert Hafif of Claremont, California, Ray Irani of Occidental Petroleum, or the well-known Ralph Nader. Christian Arab Americans are very interested in Arabic language, and they are generally richer than Muslim Americans due to comparatively less discrimination in businesses and jobs.
On a national level, and despite their best intentions, CAIR has not made as much headway in the effort because its primary focus remains improving the image and perception of Islam and Arabs in the media and politics. However, in Southern California, the local CAIR chapter has started a new department to promote the education of Arabic in schools. It is looking to start a pilot program in an Anaheim school. If the program works, then the organization will expand it regionally, eventually hoping to involve CAIR’s national organization to take the program national. S. CA. CAIR's Executive Director Hussam Ayloush, and President Masoud Nassimi have been morally very supportive of ALIF project.
Already, there has been some success, although it has not been at the high school level. In Southern California, Arabic is recently being taught at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) and at Coastline Community College. At high schools the Arabic program does not have the proper resources to teach the classes at the moment. We have excellent instruction material available, but it is meant for colleges.
ALIF proposal can be viewed at the web-site www.IslamiCity.com/Education . IslamiCity's Shakeel Syed is working with ALIF, www.ArabAcademy.com and www.Harf.com and negotiating to offer the Arabic teaching at all levels (Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced) via downloading lessons through the internet. This approach will enable teaching of Arabic as a Distance Learning for students at High Schools, Colleges, and even individuals at home. Electronic teaching will be used as a supplement to live Arabic teachers and professors, to mitigate the shortage of Arabic teachers. The present cost is only $ 12 per month for all Arabic courses offered by www.ArabAcademy.com .
Initially Arabic Distance Learning services will be offered free or at a minimum cost in working with www.IslamiCity.com/Education . The drinking of Coffee became popular in U.S and Canada since it was offered for Free in the beginning when the Tea-drinking Europeans migrated here. Spanish as second language is more popular today as many youngsters e.g, can learn Spanish free from their Spanish nanny. How about Arabic ? You have to make Arabic much easier to learn by offering all sorts of options at a minimum or zero cost.
CONCLUSION:
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Similarly, about 30 years ago soccer was hardly known or played at public schools in North America. Today, soccer moms get to choose who will be the next U.S. President. The big automakers are competing to design cars in order to please the soccer moms. The AYSO organization deserves the credit. ALIF has a similar role to play for popularity of Arabic language like AYSO did the job for soccer in North America. We can do it in 30 years, and make Arabic as the "soul" second language, while reinforcing the spirituality in the west.
Arabic is the language of the Qur'an. In order to convey the message of Qur'an in North America and Europe, we have to first deliver its language. Knowledge of Arabic can then help the Western countries recover from the present tension. Shootings of the likes in Columbine High School in Colorado, and San Diego, California schools are the symptoms and the signs (Ayah) from Allah. High School students in North America and U.K. deserve better than the metal detectors to protect them. The whole system of education needs a moral shake-up. The Arabic Language Institute Foundation (ALIF), a Los Angeles-based organization is committed to this goal.
Very Sincerely,
Akhtar H. Emon
---------------------------
President,
Arabic Language Institute Foundation (ALIF),
6631,
El Rodeo Rd.
Rancho
Palos Verdes,
CA 90275
Note: Arabic
Language Institute Foundation (ALIF) is committed to promoting the
teaching of Arabic as a
second language in all Public High Schools, similar to
the teaching of other
languages such as Spanish, French, German, etc. being
currently taught in the
U.S, U.K, and Canada. Please
visit Web-site: www.IslamiCity.Com/Education
For ALIF Proposal in PowerPoint: http://www.islamicity.com/education/alif/default.htm
LEGEND:
------------ AYSO = American Youth Soccer Organization.
ALIF = Arabic Language Institute Foundation
APPENDIX – A
Introducing Partners in ALIF’s Objectives:
1. Arab Academy - General Information
----------------------------------------------------
http://www.arabacademy.com
The Arab Academy, which is a privately owned non-religious institution, offers online Arabic language courses for all age groups (children and adults) and all language levels (beginners to advanced). General Arabic courses as well as Arabic for Special purpose courses are available. General Arabic courses include courses in Modern Standard Arabic & Colloquial Arabic. Arabic for Special purpose courses include courses in Islamic Arabic (Quran, Sirah, Hadith & Stories of Prophets) as well as Business Arabic courses. Business Arabic courses are under construction.
The Arab Academy serves individuals and institutions. Individuals may subscribe to our courses and have the credit hours transferred to their schools or universities. Institutions are welcome to use our courses and start offering online Arabic courses to their students. Schools and universities with ongoing Arabic language programs may subscribe to our library, which is a resource center with online interactive activities.
The different plans offered by the Arab Academy's school,
university and library are found at:
http://www.arabacademy.com/registration_main_types_e.htm
The university's list of course offerings and fees is
available from:
http://www.arabacademy.com/main/online/registrar_e.shtml
The school's list of course offerings and fees is available
from:
http://www.arabacademy.com/school_courses_e.htm
The library's list of activities is available from:
http://www.arabacademy.com/Subscription_Resource_Center_e.htm
Our course requirements are available from:
http://www.arabacademy.com/course_requirements_e.htm
Our minimum system requirements are found at:
http://www.arabacademy.com/technical_requirements_e.htm
Our list of services is available from:
http://arabacademy.com/Services_e.htm
To get general information on the Arab Academy visit:
http://arabacademy.com/about_e.htm
To guide you to the following page which is a message from the founder to Educators:
http://arabacademy.com/welcome_academyeduc_e.htm
From that page, you will be able to download documents with detailed information on our programs.
For a list of FAQ go to:
http://arabacademy.com/overview_e.htm
Information about the Academy is found at:
http://arabacademy.com/schools_e.htm
Feedback of our students is found at:
http://arabacademy.com/main/Feedback_e.htm
Evaluation forms filled by our students is found at:
http://arabacademy.com/CGI-BIN/ADMIN/total_eval.pl
Professional Evaluations is found at:
http://arabacademy.com/main/Feedback_Teachers_e.htm
Please take a trial visit from:
http://arabacademy.com/demo_session_e.htm
To get information on how to be affiliated with us go to:
http://arabacademy.com/registration_main_partners_types_e.htm
Please contact Mrs. Sanaa Ghanem if you need further information:
Mrs. Sanaa Ghanem,
Director, www.ArabAcademy.com,
President, Edumagic
3, Alif El Nabataat Street
Garden City, Cairo, Egypt.
sanaa@edumagic.com
Sanaa@arabacademy.com
http://arabacademy.com/Ghanem.htm
Cell: + 2 012 218 0305
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Arab Academy - To Educators:
The following documents are for educators who are interested in the Arab Academy's
interactive curriculum and are wondering how and in what ways to incorporate
them into their programs:
I: Courses for adults:
----------------------------
1. Proposal:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/UnivDirector.doc
2. Curriculum of Standard Arabic Courses:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/CurricUniv_ar.doc
3. Curriculum of Islamic Arabic Courses:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/CurricUniv_islam.doc
4. User's Guide:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/UserGuideUniv.doc
II: Courses for children:
-------------------------------
1. Proposal:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/SchoolPr.doc
2. Curriculum:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/CurricSc.doc
3. User's Guide:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/UserGuideSc.doc
Subject: Arab Academy - Learn Arabic Online
By: Sanaa Ghanem
E-Learning is a new type of business that is booming like no other industry. According to John Chambers Cisco, the next big killer application for the internet is going to be education (EuroBusiness: July 2001). Without a doubt, E-learning has opened up new investment opportunities as a new type of consumer has emerged - a busy individual who needs to acquire new skills while maintaining a busy schedule.
Learning Languages online has been the new 'in' thing. English, Spanish, French, Korean, Chinese and Japanese sites have emerged. According to Dr. Nabil Ali, a renown Arabic language specialist "The language that does not have a presence on the Internet is one that is going to be obsolete in the next century". Arabic was not left out. EduMagic, a software company in Egypt, has developed the Arab Academy, which is a web site that specializes in teaching Arabic language and culture. "The Arab Academy is superior to most other web sites that teach foreign languages", said Indrani Ibrahim, a Spanish language teacher in Pennsylvania.
Arabic is a language that is of interest to at least 25% of the 7 million American Muslims in the US. It is an important major language in the whole world and is one of the UN's five languages. It is a language that is spoken by over 200 million Arabs living in 21 Arab countries. In spite of that, only 5,000 students study Arabic at American universities whereas three times as many students study Latin - not a living language! How could this be explained?
"I believe that the grassroots of the problem lie in Arabic not being easily accessible to students at school. It is not available as an option to satisfy Foreign Language Requirements at high school, whereas a large number of other languages are. Hence, students who study German or Spanish, continue with the same language at the college level. In order to promote the study of Arabic, we need to spread Arabic at high schools. The Arab Academy's online program could be the solution." Ghanem said. "The Arab Academy makes it possible for school children to be supervised by professionals in the field of teaching Arabic from Cairo, Egypt. It offers an interactive curriculum within a sophisticated online school system that allows student tracking and interaction between teachers and students."
"What is needed is to develop an awareness of the importance of Arabic as a language. As Arabic spreads in the US, this will promote tolerance and understanding between East and West", Ghanem said. This is a step that we hope Arab Americans would take. We need to have Arab families subscribe their children at the Arab Academy and ask their schools to accept the transfer of the credit hours. In response to the need to develop more respectability for Arabic, Akhtar Emon of Los Angeles has established ALIF, an organization that aims at spreading Arabic at high schools. "We need to have institutional support from Arab American organizations in the form of sponsorships of needy students", Emon said. The Internet has provided Arab Americans with the tools needed to promote Arabic, so will we be able to stand together and make our requests heard?
To support the Arab Academy's efforts, contact:
Sanaa
Ghanem
Director,
Arab Academy
3,
Alif El Nabataat Street
Garden
City,
Cairo, Egypt.
Cell:
+ 2 012 218 0305
sanaa@arabacademy.com
Attention: EDUCATORS:
The following documents have been prepared for educators who are interested in the Arab Academy's interactive curriculum and are wondering how, and in what ways to incorporate them into their programs:
To: Chairs, Directors, Coordinators, and Faculty of Arabic Language
Departments (College/University Level)
1. Proposal:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/UnivDirector.doc
2. Curriculum of Standard Arabic Courses:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/CurricUniv_ar.doc
3. Curriculum of Islamic Arabic Courses:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/CurricUniv_islam.doc
4. User's Guide:
http://arabacademy.com/download/Outline/UserGuideUniv.doc
Arab
Academy - the new wave in online Arabic Language Learning
The Arab Academy, which is the first and only professional site for learning
Arabic and Quran, offers affordable online courses with the click of your
computer mouse. The Arab Academy can help you maximize your Arabic language
competence -- quickly, affordably, and in the privacy of your home.
Give gifts that benefit the entire family for years to come!
FEATURES
-----------------
Certificates awarded to all graduates
Program for adults and one for children
Learn Modern Standard Arabic, Colloquial Arabic, Business Arabic
Learn Islamic Arabic: Quran, Hadith and Sirah
Quickly acquire a comprehensive working knowledge of Arabic Language
Courses for all language levels
Online Testing
Affordable courses, pay with your credit card as you advance
Never leave home to attend class or take exams
Ideal for stay-at-home Moms and parent/child tutoring
Study at your own pace, start same day as registration
No previous experience required
Standard discounts for family members and groups
Discount packages available when purchasing more than one course
Mutli-lingual: mirror site in English, French, German & Indonesian
COURSES
---------------
http://www.arabacademy.com/registration_main_types_e.htm
Online Arabic Language Courses, start for as little as $50
University: 2 year intensive study program
http://www.arabacademy.com/main/online/registrar_e.shtml
Islamic School: Arabic language courses for all school years
http://arabacademy.com/MAIN/ONLINE/registration_home_schooling_e.htm
Earn income for your organization -- so easily!
Arab Academy Affiliate Packages
Link your site to the Arab Academy and you will earn commission on 25%
commission on every purchase from students registered through you. If you
do not have a web site, you can still enroll as a partner/affiliate and sell
courses to your students through a special page that we will create for you.
To get information on how to be affiliated with us go to:
http://arabacademy.com/registration_main_partners_types_e.htm
Support Arabic Language Education
Link our website to yours.
Join ArabAcaemyNet
Stay informed through our read-only listserv announcing Arab Academy events,
special news items, chat forums with famous scholars and discounts.
http://arabacademy.com/MAIN/news_e.htm
Arab Academy - A Web Based Distance Learning School & University
Arab Academy
3 El-Bergas Street,
Garden City, Cairo
Egypt
TEL: +2 012 218 0305
EMAIL: info@arabacademy.com
WEB: www.arabacademy.com
Arabic Programs in the U.S. and Around the World
Programs (outside the Middle East)
|
Institution |
State |
URL |
email |
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Alabama, U of, at
Tuscaloosa |
AL |
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Samford U |
AL |
http://www.samford.edu/schools/artsci/wlc/criticallanguages/criticalpic.htm |
|
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U of South Alabama |
AL |
||
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Arkansas St. Univ. |
AR |
||
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U of Arkansas, Fayettville |
AR |
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American Grad Sch of Intl
Management |
AZ |
||
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Arizona SU (Tempe) |
AZ |
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Arizona, U of |
AZ |
||
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Mesa Comm. C. |
AZ |
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California SU, Fullerton |
CA |
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California, Berkeley, U of |
CA |
||
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California, L.A, U of |
CA |
||
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California, Santa Barbara |
CA |
||
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Defense Language Institute |
CA |
||
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Grossmont C |
CA |
||
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Monterey Institute of
International Studies |
CA |
http://www.miis.edu/lang-ilp-langs-arabic.html |
|
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Monterey Peninsula C |
CA |
|
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Riverside Comm C |
CA |
||
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San Diego City C |
CA |
||
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San Francisco St. Univ. |
CA |
||
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San Joaquin Delta C |
CA |
||
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Southern California, U of |
CA |
||
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Stanford U |
CA |
||
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University of the Pacific |
CA |
|
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Aurora, Comm C of |
CO |
|
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Colorado Sch of Mines |
CO |
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Denver, U of |
CO |
||
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US Air Force Academy |
CO |
||
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Connecticut, U of |
CT |
http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~wwwmcl/Programs/Undergraduate/uCR/uCR.htm |
ebenson@uconnvm.uconn.edu |
|
Hartford Seminary |
CT |
||
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Trinity College |
CT |
http://www.trincoll.edu/pub/academics/departments/modern_languages.html |
|
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Yale U |
CT |
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American University |
DC |
http://www.american.edu/academic.depts/cas/lfs/lfs_home.html |
|
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Catholic U of America |
DC |
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George Washington U |
DC |
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Georgetown U |
DC |
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Howard U |
DC |
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Johns Hopkins (SAIS) |
DC |
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Daytona Beach CC |
FL |
|