Students and graduates refrain from speaking about the Arabic language… and educators confirm that strengthening “Arabic” begins with the family.

The Arabic language faces a major challenge represented by the reluctance of students and graduates to use it in various areas of life, starting from home, passing through schools and universities, and ending with practical life. Meanwhile, educators stressed that strengthening the Arabic language in the minds of children begins with the family, pointing out that the decline of the Arabic language due to… “English” is also linked to university admission and admission standards, and the reality of the labor market, which relies heavily on the English language.

In detail, the educators: Faisal Rashid, Khaled Mujahid, Jamal Al-Awadhi, Musaad Al-Hajri, Amna Wassef, Abeer Saeed, and Khawla Hassan, confirmed that the responsibility for the decline in the level of the Arabic language among the younger and younger Arab generations lies equally between educational curricula in private schools, And the family, pointing out that parents often do not encourage their children to study it, do not allocate enough time and effort to practice it, and consider speaking a foreign language This is evidence of urbanization and good education, and the expansion of private and university education has contributed to encouraging students to devote all their efforts to learning the English language because it is the language of study, at the expense of the Arabic language, which they did not find time for, in addition to the schools’ lack of interest in it compared to “English.” “And the subjects of mathematics and science, in addition to the fact that “English” is the main language in university education, and is included in the criteria for admission and admission to universities.

They reported that the lack of use of the Arabic language in schools, universities and academies resulted in a decline in its importance in the hearts of students, and many of them began to deal with it as a language of worship and prayer only, as the English language topped their daily interactions, whether educational or social, noting that many university students Sometimes it is difficult for them to parse a simple sentence or differentiate between an adverb and an adverb, as they have forgotten what they studied during the general education stage, and consequently their language diminishes, and they expect The importance of the Arabic language in education has diminished from what it is now, after the decision to adopt the English language and mathematics and science subjects as criteria for university admission, which will result in additional harm to the Arabic language, greater marginalization of it, and students’ interest in it will decline, given that it will not affect university admission.

Software development

The teachers: Muhammad Shaheen, Muhammad Ghaleb, Ibrahim Kanawati, Alia Al-Maskari, Abeer Atef, and Sawsan Ayyad pointed out that the majority of private schools, according to inspection reports issued by responsible educational authorities, need to develop comprehensive programs that support the Arabic language at various educational levels to grant Students are given opportunities to practice it in different contexts, develop their confidence and proficiency in language skills, and the lesson plans include some links to integrate elements of the Arabic language, and the history and heritage of the Emirates into the subjects taught in the language. Arabic, and launching comprehensive programs that support the Arabic language to provide students with opportunities for linguistic interaction in various forms, and to enhance opportunities sufficiently to emphasize the importance of the Arabic language in the school community, pointing out that many schools offer superficial opportunities to enhance students’ knowledge and skills in the Arabic language and the history and heritage of the UAE.

Community practices

In turn, the expert in curricula and teaching methods, Azza Abdullah, pointed out that the practices carried out by the language’s children lead to the decline of the language academically. Many parents believe that their children’s understanding of the dialect they speak is evidence of their mastery of the Arabic language, and in return they seek to teach their children the languages. Foreign students at a very young age, in a professional manner, whether by enrolling them in language education centers affiliated with embassies and consulates in their country, or enrolling them in international schools from the age of pre-kindergarten.

She added: “According to a United Nations report issued in 2021, the main reason for the disappearance of languages ​​globally is that about 40% of people do not obtain education in their mother tongue in the world.”

She pointed out that teaching methods also need to be changed and developed to keep pace with modern methods of teaching languages, especially English, mathematics and science, in order to attract students. This is due to the schools themselves and the budgets allocated to developing and training Arabic language teachers, and providing advanced learning resources for them, compared to what is allocated to the subjects. The other often has tools that attract the student to it, compared to methods of teaching the Arabic language.

Demand from young people

The specialist in education affairs, Dr. Walid Salem, said that a significant percentage of the younger generations are learning English as their main language, whether in study, at work, or in their homes, which has led to their weakness in the mother tongue.

He attributed the reason why the English language topped the interest of large segments of the current generations at the expense of the Arabic language, to the expansion of private education and private universities that depend on the English language, and the desire of many of them to obtain job opportunities, which requires obtaining a distinguished education and a sound English language, in addition to that Parents often do not encourage their children to study it, do not allocate sufficient time and effort to it, do not sense danger either, and consider speaking English as evidence of civilization and good education.

Jobs

The graduates: Muhammad Al-Salami, Faisal Abdullah, Adel Al-Hammadi, Khaled Al-Balushi, Aida Hassan, Zeina Al-Amiri, Tahani Matar, and Doha Al-Omari, confirmed that “English” has become one of the requirements for success in life. The student who masters it will have a much better practical future than the student who does not. He is proficient in it, pointing out that the labor market does not recognize the Arabic language, and only accepts those who are fluent in English, in addition to that all the jobs offered on official websites – for bodies Governmental, semi-governmental and private ministries, and their accounts on the employment site “LinkedIn”, are in English only, and even jobs based on proficiency in the Arabic language, despite their scarcity, require the applicant to be proficient in “English” reading and writing, while the majority of jobs do not require knowledge of the Arabic language. It does not refer to this matter at all.

Societal analysis

While citizens and residents, on their accounts on social networking sites, attributed the problem of the decline of the Arabic language in society to the adoption of foreign curricula in private schools, calling for the need for private schools to take into account the Arabic language as a basic language in teaching subjects, and also an overlapping subject in all subjects. Other teaching.

They pointed out that the biggest dilemma facing some private schools in the current period is the weak ability of students to read and write in Arabic, which has caused the production of young graduates who are Arab in appearance and foreign in tongue, whose external appearance is Arab and whose behavior and actions are foreign.

They emphasized that overcoming these challenges begins with the family, as it is capable of enhancing the status of the Arabic language among its children, while taking into account the children’s interest in learning another language that suits the needs of the labor market.

10 axes

The “Report on the Status and Future of the Arabic Language” identified 10 axes to determine the status of the Arabic language and ways to develop methods of using it, in a way that enhances its future existence.

The report was completed by 23 researchers from the UAE and various Arab countries, and 50 experts in the field of the Arabic language working in major government institutions, universities and technology companies contributed to it. It dealt with studying the reality of linguistic legislation in the Arab Code of Laws, in addition to monitoring the institutional entities concerned with the Arabic language, and presenting a comprehensive picture of the reality of the Arabic language in Arab societies and its future, from the perspective of the prevailing discourse in the contemporary Arab written, visual and audio media, and demonstrating the importance of the media language and its role. The influential and effective person in shaping Arabic, the reality of Arabic publishing and the uses of the Arabic language in contemporary Arabic novels, the reality of Arabic and the dominance of technology and its entry into the folds of our contemporary existence.

The topics of the report, which is part of the UAE’s commitment to its cultural identity and its role as an active contributor to the cultural identity of our region, from the sixth to the tenth, included the relationship of the Arabic language to translation and the challenges of terminology, diagnosing the reality of the Arabic language and its future in its Arab societies, and the positions of Arab university students and their beliefs about the language. Arabic and their relationship with it, and school curricula in teaching the Arabic language, in addition to describing the reality of the Arabic language, and the challenges that hinder its spread.

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“National” discusses the consolidation of “Arabic”

The Federal National Council confirmed that the Council’s Education, Culture, Youth, Sports and Media Affairs Committee is discussing the issue of the government’s policy in enhancing the role and status of the Arabic language as an official language of the state and an essential component of the national identity, noting that the committee discussed, last week, the challenges of the Arabic language in the education sector, And proposals that would contribute to solving these challenges in the educational process in schools and universities, and stressing the importance of cooperation with governmental and private institutions concerned with promoting the use of the Arabic language in national identity and society in general.

Curriculum expert Azza Abdullah:

. The main reason for the disappearance of languages ​​globally is that about 40% of people do not receive education in their mother tongue.

Educators:

. Private schools need to develop programs that support the Arabic language at various educational levels to give students opportunities to practice it.

Alumni:

. “English” has become a requirement of the labor market.

. 10 axes to determine the state of the Arabic language, and ways to develop its use, in a way that enhances its future presence.