Learning Arabic to feel at home

Many come in (classes) to learn Arabic for business and cultural reasons but

Arabic is also a beautiful language to learn on its own, says Safa Alhaddad, a

teacher two decades into schooling. By Jay Jayaraj

Twice a week, Vimala Ragunathan, 34, and her seven-year-old son, Eoshren Nathan, spend time together going over the minor’s Arabic lessons from school. They spell and read, and sometimes learn something new from each other during the interactive sessions.

Over weekends, learning is spiced up by special projects between them. They play spell-and-match games with alphabet cutouts and photos.

“It’s been good ever since I took up Arabic lessons in August. It’s something that was made compulsory for some employees by my company and I have been studying online for three months now.

“I can say it’s been very helpful for me not only at work and the social circle but also with my son. Going through his Arabic school homework and guiding him brings hope to me.

“Our sessions together do not only mean that I’m checking his homework but also learning as I’m able to understand his lessons and teach him. Of course, he writes better than me,” quips the Malaysian accountant.

This must come as relief for Vimala as she was admittedly helpless during Eoshren’s year one at school when she could not guide him on Arabic homework, forcing them to drop the subject during year two.

“The Arabic subject has been made compulsory in year three and it’s excellent and timely because I can actually teach him now and Eoshren enjoys studying together, too. He is showing keen interest in the subject and even thinks it’s easier than French.

“It has created a symbiotic situation between us and that keeps me on track,” says Vimala, who spends four hours a week on her own lessons which includes live, interactive sessions and time spent on homework that go into her quota.

Otherwise, her manager’s regular report on her lesson progress never fails to keep her on track.

Taking up Arabic lessons together has also created a healthy competition between British, Ian Almond, 44, and his Turkish wife, Adile Aslan Almond, 30. The couple, who love learning and adapting to new things together have only been in Qatar for three months but they are quick to indulge themselves in Arabic lessons at Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre, Fanar.

Ian is well on his third level while Adile is in the beginners’ class for both spoken and written Arabic. Ian is interested in Arabic and Islamic studies, and has been studying the language on and off since 2000.

“I love how it’s written, the lines and curves. I’m really happy that I can read and write, and I’m also happy to live here. It’s very nice and refreshing to learn the language of a country we plan to live in for three to five years,” says Ian, who teaches English literature at Georgetown University.

Adile feels that Arabic is very much related to Turkish. They are many common words and learning Arabic will help in her Turkish studies in the future.

“I would like to be able to speak and write Arabic properly, and since we’re in Qatar, it’s a useful tool to have when speaking to people who speak little English. Fanar is a good place to come to because it’s very affordable as compared to some language centres, and with that it can reach out to lower income earners, too,” she says.

“Learning together with my husband has created a healthy competition between us. Of course, he’s the more disciplined one, who allocates half an hour a day for studying. We both just love learning so that makes it easier and we don’t need outside motivation,” says Adile.

Speaking the local language helps to bridge the gap and sometimes close a deal. Learning how to speak a language is about saying something nice to people without having to study so much.

Federica Chiericato, 35, an Italian, admits to being talkative by nature and speaking Arabic helps her to continue talking in both social and business settings.

“It doesn’t matter if I can’t Agreeted and spoken to in their own language and picking up spoken Arabic has enabled me to do just that. It’s practical. Nothing fancy, just a few greetings and basic dialogue makes a whole difference during interactions with people,” she says.

`Federica is now in the second level of spoken class at Fanar. She had earlier opted for the reading and writing lessons but found it too complicated to follow, making her revert to spoken class after a few weeks.

For Filipino sisters Olie Ularte-Jumawid, 36, and Desiree Ularte, 28, the new-found ability to read road signs and billboards in Arabic is fascinating and liberating.

 “Before this, all these words and signs were alien to us but now they stand out and it makes sense. That’s really helpful and wonderful. We plan to continue with our classes and proceed to higher levels gradually.

“Knowing the local language helps in terms of first impressions and getting into the business and social network. At this point, I may not fully grasp the conversations around me but I can pick up bits and understand dialogues,” says Olie, who is an executive secretary.

For Siti Aisyah, being a Muslim and having read the Quran from a young age, makes her a good reader. She even read Arabic grammar between the ages of seven and 12. But there is a sneaky problem in that. The 30-year-old Singaporean can’t understand her Arabic texts. After seven years of living and working in Qatar, Siti has finally, decided to go back to school for a refresher with the main goal of understanding words and texts.

Currently, she is at the first level grammar class at Fanar but wants to enroll herself in the spoken class soon.

“From my time in Doha, I’ve learnt select Arabic words in various dialects but now it’s time to seal the real deal. I feel more responsible to learn, read, write and speak the language in its true form. I want to understand,” she says.

Safa Alhaddad, 45, has been teaching Arabic for about two decades. The Qatar-born Palestinian with Canadian citizenship teaches both children and adults. Currently, she is teaching Arabic at Fanar and Islamic studies at the American School.

Teaching Arabic to students who have no background in Arabic, Safa says, is much easier than to teach those who have some bit of various Arabic dialects.

“Many who know a bit of Arabic may have wrong grammatical concepts so you have to erase that and put in the correct knowledge while those, who have no background at all start from a clean slate,” she says.

She explains that most adult students who take up Arabic are usually above 25 with a need to have basic understanding in spoken or written Arabic for work purposes. It takes about a year for most students to fluently speak and understand Arabic.

However, Safa adds, it takes three to four years to be able to fully grasp the mechanics of the language in terms of reading and writing. As in learning any new language, constant practice is crucial in progress. Watching news in Arabic as well as television shows with subtitles help to familiarise with the language faster.

Safa admits that she loves teaching adults as the sessions are more interactive and educational both ways.

“Adults have more experiences and they ask more specific questions during a session. In return, I also learn of their needs, and improve on what I can give as a teacher.

“Many come in to learn Arabic for business and cultural reasons but Arabic is also a beautiful language to learn on it own,” says Safa.