Education specialist calls for Arabic language test

Abu Dhabi: An education specialist has called for a need to find a trustworthy test for the Arabic language similar to TOEFL.

Dr Maha Beykwa, in charge of Cultural Affairs in Arabic Language and Civilisation Centre at the Arab World Institution in Paris, was speaking yesterday on the second day of a conference titled "Arabic Language and Education: A Vision for Future Development" at Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research [ECSSR] in Abu Dhabi.

She said, "The increasing population of French citizens of Arab origin, and the interest to learn Arabic from French and European citizens has urged our institution to develop our teaching programmes."

On the other hand, "Arabic learners lose their interest in learning the language when they don't get a trustworthy certificate that proves their knowledge," Dr Beykwa said.

She believes that, "it is very important for students to know their level since the interest to learn the language is rising."

Arabic teachers are trying to support it "but we need Arab support too" Dr Beykwa said. "Most of my students change their mind after a year or two when they realise that the language is not used properly in its country, they prefer to learn Chinese because they can use it in China."

The closing remarks of the conference were read out by Abdullah Hussain, CEO of ECSSR, on behalf of Dr Jamal Al Suwaidi director of ECSSR. He noted that the general environment does not encourage learning Arabic and there is a big gap between the methods of teaching foreign languages and those used to teach Arabic.