British professor rubbishes false fears on learning Arabic

Abu Dhabi: A British professor has called on foreigners to rubbish rumours and fears about learning Arabic because it is an easy language to master.

Dr Leslie McLaughlin, from institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies in University of Exeter, addressed a lecture entitled Arabic Language and Education: A Vision for Future Development yesterday at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR).

Dr McLaughlin spoke about 10 rumours that stop foreigners from learning Arabic or make it hard for them. He said: "Many fears not to learn Arabic are based on rumours of how hard the language is, not able to pronounce it properly, difficult script and huge vocabulary.

He said Arabic language teachers don't use the simplicity of the language that is based on logic. McLaughlin told Gulf News after his lecture that it is not about expatriates who don't want to learn Arabic, it's about the big misunderstanding about it.

"People are afraid of the language and think it could take years to speak.

"Apprehension about the language, limited number of institutes that teach Arabic properly, and as the Arab population is small there is no opportunity to speak Arabic with UAE nationals," he explained.

Dr McLaughlin said many expatriates don't realise that learning Arabic is helpful and opens doors, and it is easy. He is a specialist in this field for 40 years. "In the beginning I thought it's not easy because of the way I was taught but the deeper you get into it the more clear it becomes. You find out it's simple and structured and very easy to learn."

He feels it is an exaggeration to say the language could die out because of satellite TV. About 400 scholars, teachers and Arabic language specialists took part in the conference that was opened by Dr Hanif Hassan, Minister of Education. Dr Hassan said: "The strategic vision of the ministry of education focuses on developing Arabic teaching programmes for all stages to preserve the language and make it in line with modern science, literature, and arts."

Preserving identity

Dr Majid Al Nuaimi, Bahrain Minister of Education told Gulf News Arabic teaching programmes are meant to preserve national identity, and "we have to look to novel methods to teach children."

"The teacher's role is very vital to make students love the language. That's why [teachers] have to be trained. In Bahrain we opened a college to train teachers."