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English is our children's preferred language, complain Arab parents

Abu Dhabi - Nasima Mohammed told Khaleej Times that her 10-year-old daughter has almost forgotten Arabic, despite being the main language spoken at home.

 Arab parents in the UAE are finding it frustrating to educate their children in the mother tongue, Arabic. Parents increasingly claim that the kids have adopted English as their preferred language - even at home - and are urging private schools to put a greater emphasis on Arabic classes.
Nasima Mohammed told Khaleej Times that her 10-year-old daughter has almost forgotten Arabic, despite being the main language spoken at home. The mother of two pointed out that even when she speaks to her daughter in Arabic, the child - enrolled at an American curriculum private school - only responds in English.
"I am worried about her future. How can my child maintain her true identity and culture?" Nasima said. "I really feel that Arabic could become a foreign language if the children's skills in reading, speaking and writing doesn't improve."
Father of three Omar Kareem said his children have embraced English as their primary mode of communication as well, and thus finds it difficult to communicate with them. He wants stricter instruction in Arabic at schools. "The school report does not include their Arabic grades; it only focuses on other subjects like mathematics, which is important, but Arabic must be a priority," Kareem said.
The busy dad said he tried enrolling his children in Arabic classes. However, it proved to be too expensive. "I cannot afford classes that cost around Dh100 per hour for three children. This would end up costing around Dh15,000 a year."
ADEC's Private Schools and Quality Assurance Sector official told Khaleej Times that private schools in the Capital are following the Ministry of Education (MoE) programmes and children in various private schools will be tested in Arabic next month.
"To ensure that proper teaching and learning is taking place in Arabic at private schools, students in Grades 5-7-9 and 11 in selected private schools sit for the EMSA Arabic language test in March."
Leaving kids with nannies spoiling their Arabic?
Maha Jayousi, Director of Studies, The Arabic Language Center for Children, highlighted that parents who rely on nannies to take care of little ones, are also to blame. "The kids are left with nannies who speak a foreign language, and find it difficult to maintain their Arabic," she said.
She noted that more parents are now enrolling their children in Arabic classes outside schools, especially during school holidays. "The children learn classical Arabic in schools, which can be harder to use in daily lives, so in these classes the focus is more on everyday, spoken Arabic.
"Parents are frustrated because children are forgetting their roots. So they must communicate with their children in Arabic as much as possible."
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com