DSG’s three-part Education Policy Series continued on Monday with a panel discussion in Arabic on "The Great Arabic Debate."
Conducted in Arabic with simultaneous translation, the forum was moderated by Kareem Shaheen of The National, which is co-sponsoring the Education Policy Series with the Dubai School of Government.
Jameela Al Muhairi, Chief of the Dubai School Inspections Bureau of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), began the discussion by relating her experiences with regard to inspections focused on Arabic instruction. She asserted that most private schools have a very low standard of Arabic language instruction, primarily because of weak Arabic teachers, a lot of time wasted during the classes, etc. Ms. Al Muhairi stressed that much greater importance is being placed on Arabic now, with more focus on inspections accordingly.
Dr. Latifa Alnajjar, Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at UAE University, criticized the common practice of teachers "spoonfeeding" information to students, which then results in students at the university level being unable to think critically or write properly. She emphasized the importance of learning proven methods of language instruction from other countries and applying the same methods to Arabic within the UAE.
Ms. Lina Wright, Head of the Arabic Department at Wellington International School, described three types of students that she has observed as a teacher—Arabs, non-Arabs and "visitors." She categorized non-Arabs as students who come from mixed family backgrounds (half Arab) or non-Arabs who reside in the UAE for an extended period of time. "Visitors," however, are students who are in the UAE only for a short period of time (a few years). She believes the first category must follow the classical way of learning Arabic. However, she stressed that the remaining two categories of students need a different type of curricula that would suit their needs. This would involve learning more colloquial Arabic rather than classical Arabic (fus’ha) so that learning the language becomes enjoyable and useful in daily life. She also explained some of her own experiences at Wellington, where they have continued to use the MOE curriculum but have "beautified" it based on the needs of the students by providing visual presentations, brochures, magazine cutouts and other learning materials that students can relate to.
Dr. Karima Almazroui, Assistant Professor of Education at UAE University, discussed her experiences in the pilot Madares Al Ghad (Schools of Tomorrow) schools, where changes have been implemented to the Arabic curriculum to make it more student-centered and focused on critical thinking. In addition to implementing a new curriculum, the Ministry of Education also trained teachers based on the new curriculum. However, Dr. Almazroui found in later evaluations that many teachers chose not to teach the new curriculum, but instead returned to the rote memorization style of learning. According to Dr. Almazroui, this demonstrated the lack of qualifications on part of the teachers who were unable to adapt to new styles of teaching. However, the responsibility remains with the Ministry to provide better and continuous teacher training.
The evening’s final speaker was Mr. Robert Lakos, a parent of two teenagers in private schools in Dubai. Having studied Arabic himself and lived in Dubai for many years, Mr. Lakos believes that the quality of Arabic instruction for second language Arabic speakers is weak and unsophisticated. He asserted that it could be improved significantly if students were taught less classical Arabic (fus'ha), but learned more colloquial Arabic and about the culture of the country and region instead. This could be done if the curriculum focused more on basic phrases that are used on a daily basis, Arabic music, TV shows and movies, street signs, and other cultural artifacts. |