New centre to support Arabic language learning soon

Abu Dhabi: A research centre to support Arabic language learning will be established at an Abu Dhabi-based university by the end of the 2013-2014 academic year, a senior education official said in the capital.

The new centre will conduct specialised studies and projects to determine how the educational system can support Arabic language skills among pupils, as well as develop resources and pedagogies to enhance the teaching of the language at schools, Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, director-general at the Abu Dhabi Educational Council (Adec), told Gulf News.

“Today, children find it easier to learn the English language because there are so many resources available, including online games, applications and a variety of books. Arabic language learning is not yet supported in the same manner, and this is what our collaboration with the university will hope to achieve,” he said.

Dr Al Khaili did not, however, name the university as he said that discussions on the initiative are still ongoing.

The official was speaking on the sidelines of the first Adec forum on Arabic learning practices, which saw more than 750 kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers in attendance. Speakers at the event recounted their own experiences with teaching the language, and also highlighted the best ways to convey material to children.

Dr Karima Al Mazroui, curriculum division manager at the Adec, said that teachers need to change the way pupils approach language learning.

“We have been working to train teachers to use the new technologies available, and this forum will allow them to discuss these techniques with one another,” she said.

The official explained that till date, many teachers have had to develop their own Arabic teaching resources, including classroom games and readers. At the same time, the Adec has also distributed resources like Arabic Scrabble and numerous illustrated storybooks to public schools across the emirate.

Nouran Zaghloun, a kindergarten teacher at a public school in Al Gharbia, said children often do not excel in Arabic because they tend to use more colloquial language when speaking with their peers and families.

“We correct their grammar and language usage during the few hours while they are in school, but they tend not to apply these lessons in their daily lives,” she explained.

Another challenge arises because pupils come from different language backgrounds.

“As a result, we must often translate the word into its many regional variants when teaching small children,” said Ameenah Mahmoud, a Grade 2 teacher.