How one teacher inspires a love of the Arabic language as the United Nations celebrates the 11th Arabic Language Day
Dubai: Exactly 50 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly announced that it would adopt Arabic as the sixth official language. Thirty-nine years later, in 2012, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization established United Nations Arabic Language Day on the anniversary of the adoption of the Arabic language by the World Organization.
“It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, used daily by more than 400 million people,” says the UNESCO website. However, Arabic – a language that is thousands of years old and has a wealth of written works that include poetry, literature, law, science and philosophy – is unfortunately in decline as a written and oral language, according to some experts.
Among those who believe in this belief is Syrian educational consultant and children’s book author Nahla Al-Maliki. Through her Instagram page, Al-Maliki aspires to motivate the younger generation of Arab children to read and speak their mother tongue.
Syrian educational consultant and children’s book author Nahla Al-Maliki. (supplied)
“The Arabic language is beautiful and eloquent. The Arabic language is an identity and a heritage. I think it is a very important part of my identity, and more than anything else, I want to make sure that my children and other children in the world feel connected to this identity,” she told Arab News from Dubai, where she lives. With her husband and two children.
Al-Maliki was born and raised in Jeddah, where she was able to stay in touch with her mother tongue by communicating in Arabic throughout the 1990s.
“Saudi Arabia is different from other places,” she said. “It still maintains that comfortable home environment between families and community social life.
“Actually, if we were to relate it to the language, I think that really helped me thrive. I went to Arabic schools, and the people around me all spoke Arabic. Of course, my family at home spoke Arabic all the time. With my friends and my social circle, it was all In the arabic language”.
Whether at home or at school, the Arabic language should be taught with innovation, fun and creativity, says educator Nahla Al-Maliki. (stock struggle)
Al-Maliki said that she comes from a family that values languages, noting that her brothers speak three languages: Italian, German, and French.
After living in Saudi Arabia, Al-Maliki pursued her postgraduate studies in Beirut, earning a master’s degree in English language teaching from the University of Manchester and the University of Cambridge.
Her role as an educational consultant includes training teachers, conducting inspections and audits at universities, and writing textbooks.
About seven years after settling in Dubai, a global melting pot of languages and cultures, she began to notice that her four-year-old son was moving away from speaking Arabic.
“We ended up putting my son in a British curriculum school. Suddenly, a major transformation occurred. It was easier and more comfortable for him to speak English. You fall into this trap as a parent and think, “I’ll speak to them in English.” “But it wasn’t going well,” Al-Maliki said.
“I enjoyed reading books with my children very much. We used to comment on certain characters and lines and keep repeating them throughout the day. It is unfortunate that it was all in English.”
This amazing personal experience was a major motivation for Al-Maliki to help parents struggling through social media. “I wanted to spread hope,” she said.
Since September 2023, Al-Maliki has been uploading brief but structured and useful videos to guide parents, as well as Arabic language lovers, to instill a love of reading and speaking Arabic.
“I wanted to give them not practical advice, but practical philosophies, in a non-preachy, non-guilt way, that they could follow as a way of life,” she said.
In some of her videos, she discusses misconceptions about teaching Arabic, access to high-quality Arabic children’s books, and the joy of reading.
There are several reasons why Al-Maliki believes that Arabic is spoken less socially, especially in major Gulf cities which tend to have a higher density of expatriates than in the Levant region.
She says real change must start with the places where children spend most of their time: at home and at school. The way Arabic is taught in classrooms requires a facelift, introducing innovation, fun and creativity – in other words, a modern mindset.
“I don’t want to blame the teachers, because they are very careful and put in a lot of effort. But there are some basic tools that they still don’t know anything about,” Al-Maliki said.
“They have been teaching the Arabic language in the same way for more than 60 to 70 years. There is no shame in wondering and contemplating, because this generation is not like the one before it, and things are always changing.”
Al-Maliki recommends implementing “contextual learning,” meaning “bringing students’ lives into the classroom and thinking about their interests. It is important to read stories in the classroom that engage students.”
“In English class, they would talk about where they traveled last summer or about their favorite football player. But in Arabic, it is very abstract and dry. This line of thinking, in Al-Maliki’s opinion, can be applied to children’s story books written in Arabic.” Arabic.
“The key element of children’s books in English is that when you pick them up, you enjoy the words, the rhyme, the pictures, the laughter,” she said. “While in Arabic, most of our books are about the moral of the story.
“There are some good books out there, but the majority still underestimate a child’s ability to imagine, create and analyze their own stories. It’s not fun, and I wanted to be part of that change.”
To address this insidious problem, Al-Maliki plans to release her first children’s book in 2024, focusing on a central character who goes through various events.
Al-Maliki says it is important for children at home to speak Arabic, listen to Arabic music, and watch Arabic cartoons to ensure that Arabic is truly their mother tongue.
“It really starts at home. If you want to sum it all up, it’s all about parents making focusing on the Arabic language a priority.
“There also has to be a shift in the mindset of thinking, ‘It’s impossible to speak Arabic.’ Every little bit counts, even if you start by reading with them for five minutes a day and then increase it as you go; I think that’s very important.”
She added: “Just because the majority of films and books around us are in English, it does not mean that we cannot speak Arabic. If you look at all the other expat communities, like the French or the Chinese or the Germans, you will find that they still speak their language. Why are we the only ones who aren’t?
There are also some geopolitical factors to consider in this linguistic issue. Due to instability in many Middle Eastern countries, large numbers of Arabic-speaking people migrate, especially to Europe and North America, which may affect how often they use their mother tongue and their harmony with their customs.
Al-Maliki also points to the class dynamics of preserving the mother tongue. “When you speak English or French with your children, it gives you a level of status,” she said.
“You’re educated and better than some. It gives the implication that maybe you have a different passport or nationality. It’s this idea of status and that English or a second language will open up all these horizons for you.”
Despite the obstacles, there is hope. Al-Maliki says that her videos were well received by her followers, some of whom were not even from the Arab world. She hopes to one day create a larger platform that gives the community more tangible tools on how to support their children.
She also feels that some changes are beginning to occur, thanks to the initiatives launched in the fields of publishing and design in the Arab world that seek to preserve the beauty of the Arabic language.
“When you speak Arabic, you adopt a different body language. You speak differently, you stand differently. You use different expressions. When we lose that, we lose the culture, the jokes, the music and the traditions,” Al-Maliki said.
“There is a generation of people, parents and teachers right now who are waking up to this issue and realizing that language is an important part of identity.”
As the United Nations celebrates the 11th Arabic Language Day, it is important to recognize the individuals who are dedicated to instilling a passion for the Arabic language in others. One such teacher who has made a significant impact in this regard is Ms. Aisha Ahmed. Through her innovative teaching methods and unwavering dedication, she has inspired countless students to appreciate and embrace the beauty of the Arabic language. Her commitment to fostering a love for the language not only enriches the lives of her students, but also contributes to the preservation and promotion of Arabic culture and heritage. As we commemorate this special day, it is essential to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of educators like Ms. Ahmed who continue to inspire and educate the next generation of Arabic language enthusiasts.