Dubai: English has largely replaced other languages as the global language of the twenty-first century. Children in the Gulf are often pressured to learn English from an early age, and many of them speak the language almost fluently and without any accent. If you just Google "English schools in Saudi Arabia", you will be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of results.
However, some teachers worry that teaching them to be equally fluent in Standard Arabic has come in the middle of the Arabic world's race for English speakers.
According to the CIA, only 73 percent of Egyptians and 68 percent of Moroccans can read and write, despite the fact that most Gulf countries have adult literacy rates of over 94 percent.
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Some people think that speaking Arabic is no longer necessary to get a job, but Dr. Hanada Taha Thomure calls this a myth. "You will need Arabic. You will run into a situation where you will need to use the language at some point on the job,"
Thoumure, an Arabic professor with extensive experience, says it is still very relevant. "If you walk the streets of Cairo, Beirut, or any other Arab nation, you can hear the language being spoken. I believe policies are the root of our problems."
In addition to being a professor and member of the university's board of trustees, Thomure is the director of the Zay Center, a cutting-edge new research center at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.
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On 18 December, which has been designated by the United Nations as World Arabic Language Day, the Za'i Center opened its doors. The center intends to look at how the language is taught around the world, pinpoint the most effective methods of instruction, and offer resources to assist teachers.
It is the first organization to research how Arabic is taught around the world and aims to establish itself as the first recognized institution for Arabic language education by the year 2026.
The institute will oversee the development of new Kids Arabic language programs and offer translations of materials and scholarly publications available only in English.
The Za'i Center is described in a statement by Abu Dhabi's Media Office as part of "Abu Dhabi's vision to preserve and develop the Arabic language".
Thaumure explained that the center was a grassroots initiative that stood apart for using state-of-the-art teaching techniques. The Zai program provides engaging activities for students and parents to engage mentors so that their children can develop their Arabic at home from a young age. Teachers will find their soon-to-be-launched digital platform to be a valuable resource.
The Zai Center represents the first direct strategic reorientation of Zayed University towards an emphasis on applied research.
Our goal is to provide guidance on the most effective methods of teaching Arabic. The program aims to help decision makers implement the best laws and policies that will affect how people view Arabic, according to Thomre.
We will work with other researchers in various fields to support the teaching and learning of the Arabic language and to ensure that parents, teachers and policy makers have the appropriate and necessary tools to engage with the language.
“We have learned that Arabic is not always taught in the most effective ways. It is important to identify children with learning difficulties as early as possible. So is intervention.
To help students succeed at a young age, we address how you'll be able to explore, hone, and test cognitive and memory skills like no one else has using this avant-garde strategy.
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“You want people to realize how important the language is, how beautiful it is, and how valuable it is economically in terms of prospects and employment opportunities. Your mother tongue is what you speak at home, even if you are bilingual
You miss the subtleties of speaking someone else's language, she said. You can ignore some phrases in songs or dialects. Every language is unique.
If you don't learn your native language, you will lose it. We do this because we weave together verses, expressions and sayings of the Qur'an.
The Zai Center will work with researchers in various fields to develop resources that will aid and inspire future generations of Arabic speakers.
In collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, the center also plans to develop the first Children's Arabic Corpus, which will help identify the most frequently used Arabic words and standardize vocabulary.
The centre has already entered into partnerships with a number of organisations and groups, including the Queen Rania Foundation, the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, the Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashed Global Initiatives, and the Arab Thought Foundation.
For many governments, supporting and promoting Arabic is a top priority. The King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language was founded by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture in 2020 with the goals of highlighting the Arabic language's status, energising its regional and global role, and enhancing its value as a means of expressing the rich linguistic diversity of Arab and Islamic culture.
The academy will support Arabic language applications, products, and research in the Kingdom and the Arab and Islamic worlds as part of its efforts to strengthen the Arab cultural identity.
"The King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language bears a name dear to all of us, in appreciation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques — may God protect him — and for his sincere efforts to serve Arab culture, his keenness on the Arabic language, and his support for all efforts made to preserve," said Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia's minister of culture. He added that the academy will be a global institution to support the Arabic language and its contemporary app
The creation of initiatives to improve and preserve the Arabic language is a national duty, according to Noura Al-Kaabi, the UAE's minister of culture and youth and chair of the board of trustees at Zayed University. She made these remarks in December.
A clear lack of direction for teaching Arabic was noted in the Status and Future of the Arabic Language report from the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, which was published in September of this year.
By 2026, Al-Kaabi stated, "Our goal is to position the Zai Centre as a global leader in this field and the first accreditation body for Arabic language education."