Bilingualism

1
Bilingualism

• And Arabic

2
Introduction

• Concerned about how many Arab parents do not
  speak to their children in Arabic. 
• Arabic in particular is of concern, since Arabic
  is the language of the Quran.
• Arab parents are fortunate to be bilingual, yet
  many Arab parents are depriving their children
  from this gift of bilingualism. 
• It is not enough that a child understands spoken
  Arabic, they need to speak it, read it, and write
  it.

3
Bilingualism

• Benefits
• Being a fluent bilingual speaker has many
  benefits.
• Children who are fluent in Arabic do well in
  Quran and Islamic studies.
• Children who do well in Quran and Islamic studies
  are more likely to be Muslim leaders in the
  community.

4
Bilingualism

• Language development
• The development of communication skills begins in
  infancy, before the emergence of the first word
• The earlier a child learns a language,
  the stronger the language becomes a part of that
  child.

5
Bilingualism

• The optimal period is between the ages of 0-3.
• Critical period for native-like language skills
  ends gradually at around six or seven years of
  age.

6
Arabic and Islam

• Arabic is very important to Muslims.  It is the
  language of the Quran.
• Arabic has to be a foundation for Islamic
  education. Knowledge is obtained by first
  learning the tools of knowledge language,
  reasoning and the ability to articulate.

7
Arabic and Islam

• At a minimum Muslims should learn to read Arabic,
  even if they don't understand it (at first).
• The next step after Arabic and Qur'an is the
  study of Hadith, followed by fiqh. 

8
Arabic and Islam

• Arabic is widely used throughout the Muslim
  world.
• Most of the world's Muslims do not speak Arabic
  as their native language but can read the scripts
  and recite the words of religious texts.

9
Arabic and Islam

• If the goal at Islamic schools is to produce
  future Muslim leaders and scholars, then they
  need to get really serious about teaching Arabic,
  and do everything they can to ensure that the
  children learn and love the Arabic language.
• Muslim Schools need to make Arabic a primary
  subject and move it to the center of their
  curriculum.

10
Arabic and Islam

• Schools should have more contests in Arabic
  besides spelling Bee, such as Calligraphy,
  Essays,
• Make Arabic a more prominent language at the
  school, for example teachers to practice speaking
  Arabic (Fus-ha) with each other.
• Have Arabic stories, books, movies, plays, etc.
  in school.
• Expose children more to Arabic through Islamic
  exhibits, Islamic Art, Islamic calligraphy, etc.

11
Arabic and Islam

• Parents need to do their part at home to teach
  children Arabic.
• The school alone can not teach children Arabic.

12
Arabic and Islam

• Arabs are blessed with the Quran in their
  language. They have a responsibility to preserve
  and teach the Arabic language to others.
• Arab parents should also help non-Arab parents in
  school, with the Arabic language.

13
Importance of Arabic

• Parents need to be educated on the importance of
  teaching their children Arabic in particular.
• It is not enough that children can read Arabic,
  they also need to understand what they're
  reading. 

14
Importance of Arabic

• Explain to your child the importance of learning
  Arabic to Muslims.  
• Teach your child to be proud of the Arabic
  language, and tell him/her about the origin of
  Arabic.

15
Importance of Arabic

• Tell your child stats on how many people in the
  world speak Arabic.
• Arabic ranks sixth in the world's league table of
  languages, with an estimated 180 million native
  speakers.

16
Importance of Arabic
17
Importance of Arabic

• Give examples of words in English which originate
  from Arabic, due to the expansion of
  Arabs/Muslims/Christians in the world.
• Children may think they don't speak Arabic but
  there are more words of Arabic origin in English
  than one might expect

18
Is Arabic difficult?

• YES - and no. Learning another language certainly
  takes time and practice, but there are not many
  irregularities in the Arabic grammar.
• Arabic is much less complicated than Latin, and
  probably simpler than German, too.

19
Is It Too Late?

• No, Never!
• Only speak Arabic to your child.
• Repeat what child says, in Arabic.
• Require your child to speak Arabic, at least for
  basic conversation.
• Do not turn learning Arabic into something
  inflexible or onerous.
• Praise endlessly!

20
Summary

• You will be doing your child a great favor by
  teaching him/her Arabic.
• Being fluent in another language is a valuable
  asset in our multicultural society
• Each parent should stick to his or her native
  language.
• Give your child a bilingual environment.
• Dont ever give up! Be persistent and Stick with
  it. No exceptions.

21
Arabic Resources

• See Slide Notes