Ahsan tariqa litta allum allugha Al Arabiya hiya muayashat ash'ab Al Arabi.
Translation: "The best way to learn the Arabic language is to live with the Arab people."This cliche does not hold much water in this part of the world.
Sheila, born in Saudi Arabia to expatriate parents, learned Arabic in a Dhahran grade school. She later moved to the UAE, got married and now has two sons, who are learning Arabic as part of their elementary curriculum.
Now in her mid-30s, Sheila still cannot converse in simple Arabic. Her two sons get A grades in their Arabic classes. But she admits: "They don't know anything. There's no incentive or need to learn. They can write Arabic words but they don't know what they mean. I think it's true for a lot of schools here."
Many of those who have lived in this country for 15 years or more still struggle to speak a single grammatically correct phrase in Arabic.
Chulwoo Shin, a software engineer from South Korea, has a simple explanation. "One has to feel the need to learn a new language and learn it by heart. Otherwise, learning by rote memorisation becomes a bore."
Last year his company asked Shin to take up Arabic language lessons at the Korean Foreign Languages University in Seoul.
Later, he moved to Dubai to master the language and practise it among native speakers. While he strongly believes learning Arabic should not be made compulsory, he also thinks quality Arabic classes should be made more accessible to non-Arabs who come here.
"Arabic is somewhat difficult to learn. But so is German, Korean, Japanese, English or any tongue other than yours. Learning a new language requires devotion. But it is always an enriching experience?because you learn the way other people think."
He said that in South Korea, some government-funded institutions and major universities offer Korean language courses to foreigners for a minimal fee. Shin also believes multinational companies should encourage and financially support their employees to learn the language of the countries where they operate.
Cecil O'Brien, a Briton who works for an insurance company, agrees.
He cited a personal experience to dramatise the benefit of learning Arabic. "I go around the major Middle East cities a lot because of my work. At one point in Damascus, I was being unnecessarily delayed at the airport while other passengers in my flight were already boarding.
"I used the conversational Arabic I knew to talk to the immigration officials there. Then suddenly, there was a total change in their attitude. They were visibly amused, apologised profusely, had a little more chit-chat with me and allowed me to pass in time to catch my flight."
He thinks other companies operating here should require staff to take a mandatory basic Arabic class.
"At the minimum, companies should support staff who are willing to learn Arabic. I think those who stick to their own language and small circles are plain lazy or apathetic. They don't want to get more from their experience in the Gulf."
Graham Fuller, ex-spymaster of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), learned Arabic at Harvard, then in Lebanon and later in Saudi Arabia. "Languages interest me and Arabic is one of them," said Fuller, a Scottish American who was the former chairman of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA.
"Arabic is one of the world's major languages. It is the language of the Quran and the Islamic heritage. It is an important language." Fuller is the author of several books on political Islam.
Demography
But in multicultural Dubai anyone can get by with English.
Alexandra Lombard, a French flight attendant currently taking private Arabic language lessons, said: "People who come here from other places don't have much incentive to learn Arabic. But when you're a foreigner in another country and you will always be a foreigner outside your home country you should also try to understand the language of your hosts."
Margarita Castillo, a Venezuelan restaurateur who has been in Dubai for six years, agreed. Two years ago she started learning Arabic purely for the love of it. "I love languages and I find the Arabic language beautiful. I don't use it much here in Dubai since most people speak English. Sometimes I try to speak with people in Arabic. They say that it is very nice that I know the language, but they reply in English."
Margarita, who aims to work as a translator in her country, has already completed a test in spoken and written Arabic and hopes to pass a GCSE qualification. "Arabic is another window to the world."
"I don't see any logic in learning Arabic here when everyone else speaks English or sticks to their own small circles," says one Western expatriate who asked not to be named. "Why should I bother when many children of local families and other Arabs don't speak Arabic? English is the undisputed language of global trade."
But the UAE's unique demography is such that the Arabic speaking community is only about 30 per cent of the population.
K. Deb, a Dubai resident, said the learning of Arabic by non-Arab expatriate children in the UAE has hit some sort of a dead-end. Grade school pupils, many of whom were born in the country, study Arabic but find no value in it, she said.
"They become virtually unwelcome to live in the UAE after they reach the age of 18 the age when knowledge and the use of the local language become more meaningful."
Learn with love
Several ways have been suggested for encouraging an interest in Arabic among non-Arab expatriates here through schools, hospitals, workplaces and the Internet.
S. A. Fatima, an Indian expat parent who resides in Sharjah, said she supports compulsory learning of Arabic in schools. But she blamed unqualified teachers for the hostile stance many non-Arab youngsters have towards the language.
"Making it compulsory is good for expatriate pupils. They will then work hard and learn it sincerely. In my experience, however, most pupils are unable to understand, read, write and speak Arabic even after studying it for six or seven years."
This she blames on the emphasis on compliance instead of quality.
"There are virtually no standards for Arabic language in schools. The teachers just want to go through the motions of finishing the syllabus, and do not bother to check and correct the mistakes the pupils make."
To popularise the language, others have suggested the re-introduction of Arabic in the higher classes. While some welcomed the idea, others compared it with the compulsory teaching of Russian in East German high schools during the Cold War.
The idea of imposing Arabic on non-Arab employees does not sit well with the authorities either.
Mattar Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, said: "We are not in a position to compel employers to bring in only Arabic-speaking workers. We have a free and open market in the UAE."
While he encourages employers to hire Arabic-speaking workers to help preserve the UAE's official language, the minister said they cannot compel employers to send their non-Arab employees to Arabic language centres, which entails extra cost.
But he encourages employers to establish or support an Arabic training programme for their staff but on a voluntary basis. "A language can only be taught and learned following a path of love, respect and acceptance and not through coercion," said the minister.
Access
Arabic learning in the UAE is still in the "Wild West" stage due to lack of accreditation procedures for language learning centres. Some schools are affordable sometimes charging only Dh150 for a three-month course while others charge up to Dh150 for a 45-minute session.
The Rolls Royce of language learning is Berlitz, a German-American institute with over 400 centres worldwide.
"Although the English language remains the most in demand worldwide, Arabic is getting more popular," said Reem Koujou, Director of Berlitz in Dubai.
"Many students study Arabic because it helps them in their jobs. Whether businessmen or service staff, they need Arabic to deal with customers from the Arab world. It is always pleasant to engage in a conversation or greet people in their own language. It shows that we went out of our way to build bridges that we care."
The institute offers classical as well as colloquial courses: the classical Arabic fus-ha is the language of the Quran. It is also what you read in books, newspapers and is also used to write letters.
"To be able to study classical Arabic, a student has to start with the alphabet, long and short vowels, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary in addition to conversational sessions. Colloquial Arabic is the spoken language (slang) used every day and this varies slightly from country to country."
A big part of effective language learning is the approach, she said. As for the effectiveness of Web-based Arabic lessons, Koujou said: "I personally believe in student/teacher interaction."
Hospitality
Many hotels in Dubai have introduced short-term Arabic language training for their staff. Anecdotal evidence shows their Arab guests are happier when staff greet them in their own language.
Monica Fernandez, a 32-year-old Indian secretary working for a trading company in Fujairah, said: "If a UAE national can speak our language, whether it's English or Hindi, why can't we learn Arabic and speak their language too? Communication is a two-way street. The cultural interaction would be easier and more enjoyable if we meet each other halfway."
But she lamented the lack of good and readily accessible Arabic language centres in Fujairah.In Dubai, Majdi Abdul Hadi, a Sudanese Arabic teacher, holds seven classes a day at Infonet in Karama. Hadi, a professional translator, offers two courses a beginner's course and an advanced course (both only in spoken Arabic) that run for two months each.
About 80 per cent of his students are Indians. The others are Pakistanis, Europeans, Africans, Filipinos and Sri Lankans working in offices or field salesmen.
"Our courses enable the students to communicate with customers and people in other walks of life. But the courses are not advanced enough for them to understand the Arabic used in the media."
This would be possible, he said, only if students study continuously for at least a year. A. Sajeev, a secretary for an insurance company, had no knowledge of Arabic before he started attending the free language classes at the Discover Islam Centre in Karama. After the initial 40-hour course and with constant practice, he has now learned to read police reports submitted for claims processing to his company.
"I work in the non-motor claims department of my company and a lot of our customers are Arabs. If a vehicle is involved in an accident that damages a property, we adjust the claim according to the police reports, which are only rendered in Arabic. Learning the language not only helps me in my job but also in my interaction with other people here."
The number of Arabic learners is also rising at the Arabic Language Centre at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Baria Attiyah, the centre's director, said: "We have 800 students a year, and they range in profession from neuro-surgeons to bank managers, architects and housewives. The nationalities represented are English, German, Japanese, Indian, Pakistani, Italian, Swedish and Swiss.
"The classes are very mixed. It's very difficult to see a predominance of any particular nationality. We rarely have two people from the same country in one class, and each class has 12 students."
Former students are quite satisfied. "Someone told me how just being able to say a basic greeting, with a 'hello, how are you' in Arabic has made a world of difference," said Ataya.
"One former student told me of an incident in which he was sure his company was not getting a contract. But when he greeted the other party in Arabic, the man changed his mind and awarded him the contract."
It pays to learn Arabic.
Gulf News
