Eclectic Enthusiasms: I've Been Learning Arabic [Very Slowly]

Over the last three to four years, I have had the absolute pleasure of teaching many of the Saudi Arabian students (as well as students from other Arabic-speaking countries) who have attended the Old Dominion University English Language Center where I am employed as a faculty/administrative coordinator. During this period of time, I have had the opportunity to form strong [and, I hope, lifelong] friendships with a quite a few of these students. I can confidently say that I have learned quite a lot about the culture, and although I still wouldn't consider myself an expert, I definitely have a very strong basic understanding, and it is difficult for me to adequately express the sense of respect that I have for this culture and for those who I consider my "Saudi family."

Many of my Saudi students see me as a mother, sister, and friend; I definitely feel a similar closeness to them. Five years ago I knew really nothing about the Arabs or the Middle East aside from what I had seen in mainstream media, which offers an extremely limited, inaccurate, and stereotypical depiction of the beautifully rich and diverse culture. Part of the reason why I believe I have been able to develop a strong rapport with my Saudi students is because of my interest and efforts in learning not only about the culture, but how to communicate in Arabic.

Naturally, my interactions with my students/friends piqued my interest in learning the Arabic language.

Being fluent in Spanish, I feel motivated to learn another of the world's major languages, especially one that is in such high demand as Arabic. Also, I've had a fascination with learning about Arabic language, music, and dance for the last 8 years or so (a remnant interest from my belly dancing days).

In my opinion, one cannot truly understand a culture unless he or she develops some level of proficiency in the language of that culture. Language is culture, and culture is language. We perceive our world through a cultural lens, and our social interactions and interpretations of reality are shaped by the language that we use to communicate and engage with each other and with our world.

I clearly remember the first words I ever learned in Arabic. Ironically, they were, "DON'T SPEAK ARABIC!" (!لا يتكلم العربية)

I'm not sure if it was Abdulrahman Arhama or Bader Alrandi from Kuwait who taught me these words so that I could use them in class. It was the fall of 2009 and we had just gotten about 40 students from Kuwait, so we started having problems with students speaking Arabic in class. Over the next couple of years, I learned just a few words here and there, such as shurkan, afwaan, yalla, walla, and ya shabob.

It wasn't until late 2011 that I really decided that I wanted to start learning the language. Two of my earliest memories of learning some words in Arabic around this time were with a good friend of mine, Abdulaziz Alshahrani. The first memory was when we were on the way to Mr. D's farm, which is located in Elberon, VA. I learned how to say kharoof, which means lamb or sheep. My second memory with Abdulaziz teaching me a few words was one night when we were at Mazzika, and he taught me how to say "I want to learn how to speak more Arabic."

It's ironic, because at the time, Azooz barely spoke any English at all. Now, he is an academic student at VCU, and his English is about a million times better than my Arabic is now.

About one year later, around October 2012, I met my student/friend Abdulrhman Althgafei. He is the one who taught me how to read and write, and he has been the one person to really make an effort to sit down and teach me. He has been an amazing teacher, and I have been a terrible student.

Here are a few snapshots of some things I have learned over the last 18 months or so...

OCTOBER 2012

NOVEMBER 2012

JANUARY 2013

MARCH 2013

<<<Then there was a long break when I didn't learn much... at least, I don't have any photo evidence of my progress! I continued to work on some conversational Arabic... >>>

SPRING 2014

In March, I went to the TESOL International Convention in Portland, OR. On the airplane heading west, I entertained myself by translating the in-flight entertainment menus...

... and visited Powell's Bookstore where they had a decent section for Arabic books.

Earlier this year, I recorded a couple of videos....

This was my first attempt:

This was my second attempt (almost the same thing, with corrections):

Clearly, I have a loooooong way to go. Ideally, I would move to Saudi and work intensively on my Arabic for a few years, but that's not an option right now.

Wish me luck and please, speak to me in Arabic if it's your first language! :)