Mandatory Arabic Classes Coming To Some Texas Schools

Some Students at Mansfield ISD schools could soon be learning Arabic as a required language. The school district wants students at select schools to take Arabic language and culture classes as part of a federally funded grant.

The Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant was awarded to Mansfield ISD last summer by the U.S. Department of Education.

As part of the five-year $1.3 Million grant, Arabic classes would be mandatory at Cross Timbers Intermediate School and Kenneth Davis Elementary School. The program would also be optional for students at T. A. Howard Middle School and Summit High School.

http://visiontoamerica.org/story/mandat ... hools.html

I had to take French in the Chicago public schools. It really came in handy in Papeete last year, and New Caledonia more recently. So what's the difference? Were going to the Dubai World Cup next month and I wish I knew a little of the language. Now i'm gonna look like a tourist.


Since all our business is done over there we really should be teaching our kids Chinese.

The Mansfield school district is already backing away from this. And from my link below, it doesn't sound like learning Arabic would be mandatory (maybe learning some Arab history as part of other nation's history would). Students are required to take 2 years of a foreign language, and the district also offers Russian and Chinese.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/02/08/2832573/mansfield-backs-away-from-arabic.html

The Mansfield school district has backed off plans to implement an Arabic studies program after almost 200 people showed up with questions at a parents meeting at Cross Timbers Intermediate School on Monday night.

Arabic culture was to be integrated into the curriculum in elementary and intermediate schools, then offered as a language credit in the middle and high schools. Davis, Cross Timbers and Howard are feeder schools to Summit High School.

The Mansfield district also offers Chinese and Russian, among other languages. Students may begin taking language classes in middle school to fulfill their high school requirement of two years of foreign language.

Under the program, students attending Howard Middle School would be able to choose Arabic or opt for another language

Might be a good idea. We will need soldiers who know Arabic for a long time.

But isn't Arabic a group of languages? Can someone who learns Moroccan Arabic speak easily with a Yemeni Arab? Which version will they be teaching?

SS109 wrote: Might be a good idea. We will need soldiers who know Arabic for a long time.

But isn't Arabic a group of languages? Can someone who learns Moroccan Arabic speak easily with a Yemeni Arab? Which version will they be teaching?

They are basically the same. We used many of the same words in Baharain and Qatar as we did in the UAE. You know words like "taxi"...."restrooms?....."yes"..."no"... and "get away" where all interchagable in those countries

Yeah, it would be terrible if we had some kids who joined the military who could actually act as translators in a part of the world that we seem doomed to be involved in for the next millennia... Oh the horror....

SS109 wrote: Might be a good idea. We will need soldiers who know Arabic for a long time.

But isn't Arabic a group of languages? Can someone who learns Moroccan Arabic speak easily with a Yemeni Arab? Which version will they be teaching?

The languages are similar, but there are dialects and distinctive phrasing that readily distinguishes one Arab from another. There is more than one word (4) for yes (nam, iowa are two I know) and not all Arabs use the same words. There are also dialects. As my Egyptian friend Hani told me, in some cases, the dialects can be so profound that they sound like another language. Similarities exist in German. For example classic German vs Bavarian German or for that matter Swebish German are so far apart that communication is virtually impossible. Southerners in the US can have quite a way of speaking, but we can still understand one another mostly.

Knowing one or more foreign languages is great as they offer a window into cultures. However, which language studies, ought to be left to choice rather than dictated. BTW, the Military offers its own language schools and gives its soldiers a choice in what they take.

Interesting point with regard to travel in the ME. While you can get a visitor visa to Bahrain and some UAE states, you need a sponsor everywhere else but Kuwait. Qatar in not open to tourism, nor is it a regular stop to anywhere.

Vice Lord wrote: They are basically the same. We used many of the same words in Baharain and Qatar as we did in the UAE. You know words like "taxi"...."restrooms?....."yes"..."no"... and "get away" where all interchagable in those countries

Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE all speak "Khaleeji" (Gulf Arabic). You will NOT use the same words in Egypt, or Morocco. Similarly, an Arab from the Levant will not understand a Bedouin from Yemen. I'd not that Classical (Quran) Arabic is a completely different animal, all-together. Even modern native-speaking students miss out on the subtle poetry found in the Quran (just as a modern American might not understand the King James version). Chances are, language classes won't cover the Quran that much. It might be mentioned to the extent that it helps you understand the culture -- but the language is completely different.

As someone who has taken Arabic - let me say a few things:

a) I think it is productive to learn another language and culture.
b) Arabic is spoken by nearly a billion people, if you put together MENA (Middle East and North Africa).
c) Arabic might be more practical today than say - German, for example
(sorry Rockdoc - although I'd note that there's some excellent science that's printed in German - so German is very useful for scholarship).

HOWEVER -
You're not going to have fluent speakers from a high school program - even if it's 3-4 years long.

I studied "Modern Standard" Arabic (Al Jazeera uses this version). I lived in Arabia - and spoke Arabic wherever and whenever I could (although English is widely used and understood). After 2 years of effort, I have the vocabulary of a 5-year old.

This program is not going to solve the problem of not having enough linguists - although it likely will help, some.

I'd note that just a couple hundred miles south of the school district, the USAF has one of the largest language schools in the country - where they teach Arabs English (in preparation for military training in the US)

Thanks Bailey Bud. Frankly, if I had a choice, I'd choose Spanish for a third language rather than German. With one of the Romance languages you suddenly have inroads to 4 others with relative ease.

Good points on the Arabic. You certainly tried harder than I in learning the language. I gave up because of my hearing problem. Arabic has so many subtle differences that are very significant for proper communication.

Way, way back in the day when I was in jr high and high school we had a mandatory foreign language requirement but yes, you picked the language. (We could even take Portugese). I chose French, which made sense living so close to Eastern Canada at the time. I agree that it's definitely beneficial to learn other languages and about other cultures as well - it will certainly make those kids more marketable when it comes time to go to college and then into the work force. We were actually able to become quite fluent in the high school French program I took, but we had an awesome teacher and it was pretty intense. I have a feeling French was a lot easier than Arabic, Chinese or Japanese. There also were dialect issues, even with French. Parisian French, which is what we learned, was a lot different from the French spoken in Quebec.

My dad worked for an international company and one of his co-workers was from Brussels and spoke 7 languages fluently. I was always a bit envious, thought that was pretty cool. Of course, in Europe, multiple languages are certainly necessary.