By Anisa Abeytia

The Arabic language holds a special place in the hearts of Muslims around the world.  Even if they are not Arabs, parents would like to give their children the gift of Arabic, but the task seem insurmountable to the non Arab. It is a doable task, when you have the right program and the discipline to implement it and stick to it. Just like with learning any other foreign language, you have to practice, practice and practice. However, unlike other languages, Standard Arabic or Fusha, is not spoken anywhere in the world. Arabs speak dialects or corrupted versions of  Standard Arabic. This can be a real drawback to any student of Arabic because you can not go somewhere and learn by immersing yourself in the language. This would be the easiest way to learn. I took years of Spanish, but it was not until I went to a Spanish speaking country that I learned to speak. I could not do this with Arabic.

The added difficulty is when you hear a language spoken incorrectly it becomes more of a challenge to learn the language correctly.  This is why heritage speakers of a language find it more difficult to learn the proper grammar of their parent’s native language than a non-native speaker. They grew up learning all of the mistakes and it is difficult to stop making those mistakes (we will discuss this further in a bit). This is not to say that the dialects do not have their place, they just are not useful when learning Arabic. 

I have been disappointed in the willingness of native Arabic speakers to exclusively speak their dialect at home. There are very few places where Arabic is spoken, not even in schools  are children learning Standard Arabic. This is a pity and now Fusha is listed as a dying language. Many people believe that they can speak it, but most can not.  As the saying goes, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” As such, it is so important for those who are interested and love the Arabic language, to use it and teach it to their children or find a way for their children to learn it.

In this article I will share with you the many ways that have and have not worked for my family and I.  We are not a completely non native Arabic speaking family, my husband is an Arab and a professor of the Arabic language. So he speaks Standard Arabic to the children. He has been our greatest resource. My one suggestion here would be, if you do not have an Arabic speaker in the family, you might want to find someone willing to answer questions. Here is an example why you might want to do that. One day I decided to look up the word plant. I wanted to say “look at all the lovely plants,” meaning green things that grow out of the ground. When my husband came home I decided to impress him with my new found vocabulary. After I said it, he look outside very confused. So I said it again, he still looked confused. Then he said ,” I don’t see any factories.”

Hear It

Believe it or not, the first step in learning a language, especially for children, is hearing it. Priming the ear for the way words are pronounced and the way sentences are put together is stage one. When a child repeatedly hears a word mispronounced (galboon for heart instead of qalboon), the child will then learn that as the propper pronunciation. As that child grows, it will be more of a challenge for him or her to pronounce words correctly. The other added hurdle is that the child does not hear the propper way a sentence is put together. Listening to people speak is a child’s first grammar lesson. This becomes very important when the child is introduced to formal grammar. They will not hear the mistakes, they will first have to unlearn their mistakes and then learn the correct way. They will have to do double work and it is a formula that is currently not working because Arab youth, world wide, are speaking more English.

This first step is the easiest. There are well made Arabic movies for children, CD’s for the computer and books on tape-not to mention the Quran. These all can be used to prepare the child’s ear.  The bookseller Noor Art (www.noorart.com) carries various sets of books on tapes and children’s songs in Arabic. We used these as well as the Jump Start series in Arabic. When purchasing videos and DVDS, the rule is, the older it is, the better the language will be. All the Disney movies are in Egyptian with the exception of Bionicle 1.  The makers of Al Jara also have wonderful movies.

We have a friend who wanted his son to learn Arabic. They are from India. My husband gave them a tape and told him to watch it as a family for 15 minutes each day. The father then bought the whole series and after five years, that little boy was speaking perfect Arabic. What is the name of the series you ask- Al Ibnu Bar. However, the important thing was the consistency. Children love to watch TV, why not make it a gateway to learning Arabic. We did not do this with our five year old daughter and as a result, she understands, but does not speak Arabic. It was a crucial step-so now we have to go back a redo it.

For those of you that can read Arabic, read to your children. Read to them for 20 minutes a day. If you have older children that read Arabic, have them read to their younger siblings. There are so many wonderful children’s Arabic books available. Even if you do not read Arabic, have those books at home for your child to look at.

Say It

When learning Arabic, this is the most difficult step for many adults, not so with children. They learn so much faster than we do.  I learned along with my children from birth, so my vocabulary was always at their level. I had to push myself to speak, but children will do this on their own if they are exposed to enough of the language. If you can find a group to do this with great, if not, do not worry. You just need to provide ways for your child’s vocabulary to expand (this is where reading comes in). You do not need a big group to learn with, as a mater of fact, it may be a hindrance.

When we were first learning Arabic, we lived on a farm in California. The Muslim community was small. We spoke Arabic at home and the children were learning very well. After seven years, we decided that it would be a good idea to move to a larger community where we could find more Arabic speakers. That way our children would have other people to speak to. Well, it did not turn out that way. There is no better way to end a conversation than to speak to someone in Fusha, it is like they are in school taking a test. We lost so much vocabulary. Then we decided to move to the Middle East and lost some more. It is sad to say that we had more opportunities to learn and speak Standard Arabic on a farm in rural America.

As your child speaks more and if you can not find a group, you may want to consider a tutor. If you have other children in the house learning, this may not be necessary.

Read It

I have found that the best age to start to teach a child to read in Arabic is between the ages of 6-7.  You can do it at a younger age, but at ages 6 or 7, it becomes so much easier. The book that I use to teach reading is out of print, unfortunately. It is similar to the book I use for English, Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I learned to read from this book, as did my children.  Fortunately, this teaching style is available on line from Al- Assas Institute (www.alassas.net).  My seven year old is using this program. I found it is the easiest and most cost effective way to teach reading and writing. I have no idea how many workbooks I have bought and never used.  Al-Assas uses a very simple approach that works.

Whatever method you select, your child will need to practice reading to get the hang of it. Make sure that they have a library of books that interest them. If you have one other family to work with, you can share a library to reduce the cost and have more books available.

Write It

Unlike English, Arabic sound like it is spelt, so if a child listened to correctly spoken Arabic, it will be much easier for them to write. The child will just need to learn how the letters are connected to make simple sentences. If you do not want to go the rout of Al Assas, then you can use workbooks or a tutor.  Noor Art carries many workbooks. Also, this homeschooling site also carries many ideas and tips on learning Arabic: http://talibiddeenjr.wordpress.com/category/arabic/worksheets/

Just like in English, learning to write in any language requires practice.

Adding Spice to Language

Once your child has mastered Standard Arabic, let them branch out into the various dialects. Dialects are the living, breathing language and add spice to a language. There are so many dialects. You might even ask your child to do a study of different regional dialects. Dialects have a place, but have your child learn them after or if that is what you speak at home, use the techniques I described in Hear It.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?section=diversions&xfile=data/diversions/2009/february/diversions_february11.xml

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/home-schooling-a-way-to-beat-rising-fees-1.39124

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091114/PERSONALFINANCE/711139903&SearchID=73387260008055

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/at-home-with-his-education-1.143452

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091007/OPINION/710069885&SearchID=73387260491470

Being a part of a homeschooling network in Dubai or anywhere greatly reduces the isolation factor and allows the kids to interact with peers. Over the past couple of months as a part of NEHA my children have greatly benefited from the organized activities. Although they each have extra curricular activities (ice skating, drama, gymnastics, baseball etc, they always look forward to the outings. With other homeschooling kids they’ve, played at the park, explored Dubai through walking, the metro and by abra, visited the Sharjah Wildlife Center and created and participated in clubs. Those enrolled in the k12 program also have weekly optional activities. My eldest have had the opportunity to listen to a children’s book author, explore behind the scenes of the hospitality industry, travel back in time at the Abu Dhabi Heritage village and much more.  Over the years and in various groups not affiliated  with any school they have: visited a planetarium, 2 dairies, Capri Sonne, had workshops at the Islamic Civilization Museum in Sharjah, had public speaking opportunities, participated in charity events the list goes on. But most importantly they’ve had fun learning every step of the way.  I find that homeschooling gives us the freedom to explore in ways that are different to what a traditional school has to offer. We are looking forward to what the rest of the school year has to bring, making new friends and cultivating relationships with the old.

A few days ago I glanced at the calendar and realised that we have just passed the one month mark. WOW!! It has really been a rough month and the challenges are immense; yet, it’s so gratifying.

My children are at 3 very different levels although they are so close in age. My daughter is 5 and is learning to read using “Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons”. She loves being read to, and has an extra large mouth which I’m hoping to downsize soon (positively).

Then, there’s the 3 year old who seems more interested in learning through other avenues (still figuring out what that is). One day he does all that he needs to for the day, the next day he is totally zoned out and that makes life as a homeschooling mom a real challenge.

Then there’s my playful 2-year-old, always wanting more of me than I have to give! Some days (like today), he was part of the group; that made school a breeze. Other days I need to get him distracted so that I can work with the other two.

The most important part of homeschooling for us is to plan. There are tons of info on the internet to assist with planning, but bear in mind that you need to look at what works for you and your children.

Sometimes everything only gets done a day or two later, but then I know that I might need to focus on time management more seriously.

Another factor that throws me off my bearings is that as a homeschooler, you always need to explain why you choose not to send the kids to school.

I am slowly learning how to tackle my challenges, because that’s exactly what it is: A CHALLENGE. Thus far, it been difficult because it is the start of a new lifestyle altogether, and it should be expected.

The truth is I love having to share this time with my children, and I know if I had to be back home in South Africa life would be too busy to share this lovely experience.

I pray everyday that God gives me the strength to carry on. I am sure that it is a positive move to homeschool and if for any reason I need to send the kids back to school, I know that I had a heart-to-heart learning experience with them!

This writing will suppose that mom is at home, schooling, and dad is at work most of the time. This is not true for all homeschooling families, but for the sake of clarity one scenario was selected rather than trying to cover all the bases all of the time.

If mom is at home all day with the children, speaking her language, but dad is only there a fraction of the time (evenings and weekends there are so many other things that also needs doing) to speak his language, how will the children ever pick it up?

Some of the easier things to do are the following:

• Be consistent: dad should only converse in his language when he’s there
• Try to get DVDs (movies and documentaries) in dad’s language rather than the obiquitous English
• Spend dad’s time on enjoyable, but learnful, topics. For toddlers this could be picture dictionaries, nursery rhymes, things that build vocabulary. For older kids this could be discussing something they’ve learned from mom in her language, with dad in his language. This can include anything, ranging from mathematics (names of geometrical forms) through natural sciences (organs of the human body, aspects of ecology, behaviour of penguins) to technology (how escalators work, robotics, architectural challenges of Burj Dubai)

One important thing to bear in mind is that dad will probably want to see more results in a shorter period of time. Let the children write him letters or e-mail in his language, so he can see that they’re using it. Let them memorise his favourite poem, or learn a song that he likes, to encourage him that the time spent pays off. With mom around more of the time, she has more opportunity to see and hear their progress; if dad is around less, show him the progress!

The current favourite in our house is using Microsoft Powerpoint as stand-in dad. Having toddler / junior primary aged children, many of their language arts includes picture dictionaries and nursery rhymes. When we’re covering a new topic (unit study), we choose a few poems, songs, nursery rhymes, even short stories written in dad’s language to work with. In Ms Powerpoint we create a slide per verse, typing the words in a large font (for the early reader) and add colourful pictures (for everyone) so that the entire piece of literature has its own presentation. Then using the “record narration” functionality, dad reads this, and we save it as a powerpoint show.

During the day we then play some of these presentations, and the boys love it! They sometimes watch the same one over and over. The combination of good literature, eye-catching images and DAD’S VOICE is wonderful. Though it usually takes one whole evening to complete a new batch of literature, it pays off with the repeated use, and they enjoy learning.

Similarly, using images from the web, we create presentations for the vocabulary around a certain topic. One picture with the matching word per slide, using between 10 and 20 slides at a time, works well for us. This will differ for children of other ages and depend on their attention span. (Don’t let them become bored before the presentation is over; if it ends while they still want more, they’ll be enthusiastic about the next one.) Again, with a number of presentations ready, dad spends part of an evening reading (recording) the words.

For many days the children can listen to “dad reading” while he is at the office! And mom gets time to powder her nose…

Two very good things happened: Firstly, new members and guests joined in, to the joy of all! There was time to answer specific questions, discuss concerns about homeschooling in the UAE, and meet more homeschoolers.

The second very good aspect was that all business on the agenda was productively addressed, and within time limit! Nothing like a group with a mission…

So, if you were wondering, it’s happening! Homeschoolers in the UAE are supporting one another.

This one looks more at the pros and cons and what is most likely to give you that ‘extra nudge’ or keep you homeschooling once you have taken the plunge.

I hope I can help encourage you in your decision-making.  There comes a point in many parents’ lives when they seriously consider homeschooling as an option for a child/children in the family.

Very often there is an unhappy event that acts as an impetus to address the status quo. Perhaps there has been bullying, withdrawn behaviour, or something just isn’t right.  The usual response is to approach the school and try working with the school to resolve the issue, but sometimes parents find out that there are no easy solutions even if the school is doing their best and may wish to be more proactive. Or perhaps, your child has asked to be homeschooled and you are weighing it up. The other scenario is that you are starting out without ever having been a school parent.

I am sure this will ring true for many homeschoolers and I have tried to paint as honest a picture as I can, with an emphasis on home education in the UAE.

 Benefits:

• More time to enjoy children. You will find that it’s a bit like school holidays – you can set your own routines around your own plans and schedules. There are not too many other people to consider. You may decide you would like to go to the beach, meet up with some friends or relatives who are visiting or have a day of games, or a lazy day watching TV and vegging out (perhaps because of illness). Some routines that may change are when the children get up in the morning – it may be a couple of hours later. Meals may be more leisurely.  If one parent works late, you may find you are now able to have family meals together.  In hot countries, there are siestas and your schedule may include quiet times and unstructured times.  In the Arab world, things seem to come alive in the evenings and it may be easier for children to cope with late nights if they are able to get up later.

The downside to lack of routine is that children and parents’ clocks may differ so that there is disorder and that may make it difficult to achieve weekly goals. Also, if the family wishes to mix with the school children, they may adopt a school- type day anyway so that the children are free in the afternoons to play with school friends. Holidays become ‘learning experiences’ as all learning merges into everyday life, but what you will find is that children who aren’t told what to do every minute of the day are seldom bored and are much more self-directed. So the informality may not be a disadvantage after all, as this is what most educators strive for but seldom achieve.

• You will find you have more time and that to meet the same standards as school you spend less time on subjects. This is not at all surprising as one-to-one teaching is more effective and geared toward the individual. If we include doing homework after a tiring day at school, this is a real bargain! An example of this is how my daughter passed the eleven-plus exam in the UK (a selective schools exam). We did on average 2 hours of structured learning a day, with an extra hour in the year she took her exam for going through passed papers. If you compare what her counterparts were doing (a full day of school plus tutors) we definitely took the short cut.

The downside to this is that you may end up exhausted, especially if you are apprehensive and unconfident and try and do too much. This might be a result of setting your standards to high and imagining that school offers more than it does or expecting that you as the parents will be the bedrock of your children’s education. Some schools fail to live up to even fairly mediocre expectations and do not produce happy, confident, self-motivated individuals.  Although schools need to be valued for the job they do in our society, they are certainly not above criticism and it is worth reading John Holt or other books on home-education to see that there are many ways of doing things, other than the traditional way. Home-educating parents can be the main teachers in their children’s lives but they can also be facilitators, advisors, counsellors, motivators and act as a resource for ideas. Sometimes these non-teacher roles are far more important and free the parent to invest in themselves and their own learning process while enjoying the progress their children are making. 

• You may be able to follow dreams or ambitions to travel the world/go where the opportunities are. If school is in your home then home is where children feel secure and you can become more mobile. You don’t have to work within the confines of school terms. Your life may turn out to be more exciting than the next renovation or TV series, not that these aren’t important! Experiencing different points of view, languages, traditions and cultures is an education in itself. The UAE is one of the few countries where people can celebrate Ramadan, Diwali and Christmas, believers and non- believers alike.

The downside is that in your pursuit of cosmopolitanism you may lose your roots or more likely feel a loss of cultural identity. Your children may miss out on being part of one community and experience developing friendships that form early and continue into adulthood. They may miss out on relationships with grandparents and other relatives who can form a support base for the family.  Chances are if you are here as an expat, you have already considered these issues and they will not be an additional consideration unless you are questioning whether to move back home. Many people find ways to keep their roots by sharing their experiences with their children, rituals, celebrations, using the internet to stay in touch, mixing with other expats from the same country and learning about the language and/or religion of their culture. There is some research on this and these children are often referred to as ‘third culture kids’, or TCK because they form a third culture with other TCK, different from their passport countries and that of their adopted country.  Amongst other advantages, they are multilingual and are able to get on with a diverse group of people as a result of their international perspective.

• Home-education in the UAE is an exceptionally liberating experience.  There is very little red tape involved (unless you are UAE National, for whom, mostly, home-education is not an option, I believe). But for the rest of us, there are no educational authorities checking up on us/nannying us and for the most part no nosey neighbours ready to turn you in for apparent truancy. People are very accepting of cultural diversity and different choices on the whole. (They have to be!) That means that the only considerations are what is right for your family. GCSE’S? A-Levels, IB?, US High-School Diploma, Vocational Training, Focusing on developing special talents, Real Individualised Learning programs, packaged curricula, the next Venus/Serena Williams?

Downside: K-12 is the only recognised homeschooling program in the UAE which helps with integrating back into the system. If that is your aim, however, there have been cases where children have gone back in to the UAE school system, having used a different curriculum. So, individual schools will need to be consulted regarding this. It must be pointed out that UAE laws are subject to a great deal of rapid change and predictions regarding the continued legality of homeschooling cannot be made.

• You may find that you end up with highly motivated and independent children able to pursue and enjoy learning.  This will only happen as you are able to step back and let them make more decisions regarding their own learning, bearing in mind that this happens at different times for different children and some children need more parental input than others.

This is not always the case with special needs children, or parents who follow a very structured approach that does not lead the child to take more responsibility but leads to dependence on the parent. Also, certain pre-packaged curricula are very demanding on both the parent and the child. This approach will require the parent to have some ‘time off’ or respite and allowances will have to be made for a natural time of teenage rebellion. But this is really the extreme of home-education. Most parents follow a mix of approaches and adapt as they go along.

• You may find that you spend less money. As expat schools are all private and also mostly commercially-driven enterprises, you may find you have more money at the end of the month. Your school fees have helped to cover admin costs, teachers’ salaries, maintenance of facilities and, of course, profits. At home, your money goes directly to your children’s needs and only the activities they pursue whether it’s gymnastics, martial arts, singing or music lessons or private tutoring in some cases, with the added bonus that you don’t have to be competing with school children for afternoon time-slots and so can nab that highly sought-after Arabic teacher!

Downside Many expat partners (usually the mothers) are here on their husband’s work visas and are not working. Still, some may be working. Giving up one partner’s income may be the price tag of homeschooling, especially if there is more than one child and hours are not flexible ( this is usually the case here as jobs are more traditional – banking sector, tourism, commercial sector and construction industry being the biggest employers). Where children are in high school, it may be possible to work, if they are able to encourage each other and are self-motivated. Sometimes a maid may be put in charge of their care as an added safeguard.

The other point to be considered is whether the working spouse’s company provides an educational allowance as part of his package.  Sometimes this can be transferred to home- education. You may have to negotiate, document and keep receipts but it has been done!

• You may find that you have enough material to teach your children without trying too hard. The internet is awash with free worksheets and information. There are online bookshops and specialist homeschooling supply stores. There is this website and there are the people behind the website.  There are all the people in your lives who have skills and experiences they may be willing to share with you and there is a good private library in the Mall of the Emirates, the Old Library, as well as a few public libraries. We also have amazing bookshops here, especially Kinokuniya in Dubai Mall, Magrudy’s and the Bookworm in Jumeirah.

Downside If you are from the USA, Canada, Western Europe, or other countries with integrated on-line libraries and have homeschooled there, it will take some adjustment as if you want specialist books, you will usually need to buy them. There is, however, a big second-hand market for books (Satwa and various charities being the first port of call) and there are people coming and going on a regular basis, so you may be in luck.

• You may find that housework is not an issue. Some expats have full-time maids and it may be worth considering having someone come in twice a week so that housework is taken care of. For other expats, however, having a maid would not be an option and they consider taking care of their home to be something that falls squarely on their own shoulders. Fortunately, this is a fabulous opportunity to establish routines and teach children real life skills in the ‘real world’ by delegating different household tasks to children based on age and ability. What better way to prepare them for the future!

Downside Sometimes your house will look like a classroom and a lot of the time it will look like a playroom. Other times it will look like a library or an art studio. Your house is being used to bring happiness to the people in it.  You can always make sure that things are tidied away afterwards and keep one room neat for guests.

• You may find that your lifestyle changes and levels of personal fulfilment increase.

Sure, there are charities and good causes, shopping at the mall, meeting friends for coffee, Manipedi’s, the Parents Teachers Association (or the Northern Emirates Homeschooling Association), bake sales and gym, but there could be more, if those things don’t always appeal. All of these aspects can be incorporated into a homeschooling lifestyle. You may become interested in educational philosophy, languages or crafts, go for swims with the kids, mix with other homeschooling families and generally enrich your life and redefine it.

Downside If you don’t receive support and don’t develop your own interests, you may become resentful and this may sour your experience. Schools do offer a central meeting point for parents and a sense of belonging. In homeschooling, these have to be developed and similar efforts are required but the central point will be your family. Charity begins at home!

• You may find that socialisation (and socialising) is not an issue.  You might also have found that socialisation (and socialising) was an issue in school. Socialisation is about learning the rules that help people to fit into different contexts and behave appropriately. It does not make sense that this can only happen in school (and sadly it doesn’t always happen in there) – meeting people in different circumstances of everyday life is a much more thorough and appropriate testing ground.

Socialising is about making friends and getting along with others and can happen in a wide variety of contexts. Some children, like adults need a constant buzz of people around them but many children enjoy the company of others but also enjoy having time alone, to read and think and observe their world.  These moments are often missing in school.  In fact, some children learn best on their own and find other people to be distracting when they are tackling something difficult. It doesn’t mean they are anti-social but that their schooling needs are different and home education may be ideal for this kind of child. The extrovert child can enjoy home education if you can involve them in lots of group activities, team sports and arrange social gatherings.

Downside There will be times when you feel isolated, especially if you are on the move (or intend to be). Your children might miss their school friends or homeschooling buddies on the other side of the world. But this in itself need not be distressing. There are homeschoolers all over the world now, interests, activities and sports that make it easy to integrate and it is a problem all of us have to face when we leave home or move into a new environment, so you will be developing necessary life skills.

Most beneficial of all, is to get involved in your local homeschooling organisation and offer to host workshops and share skills. In my experience, this is the best way to make new friends for you and your family.