Mehrsprachigkeit in Europa: Plurilinguismo in Europa ... - EURAC

Abstract
Arabic Language Learning and Motivation
Basma Dajani, University of Jordan, bdajani@hotmail.com
As Arabic is the language of around 300 million people who live to the south of Europe and of many millions
within Europe who are part of its fabric, the paper will present examples of good practice of how language
can be a bridge between the civilizations and the peoples surrounding the Mediterranean.
The paper will highlight the experience gained by the Language Center (LC) at the University of Jordan
in Amman, Jordan; in teaching Arabic to non-native speakers especially during the last 5 years. That has
been a period that witnessed a marked increase in the number of international students interested in
learning Arabic; a phenomenon which will be discussed in the paper.
In this paper the author will also compare seven categories of students: businesspeople, diplomats,
military personnel, orientalists, nationals of Arab origin, spouses of Arabs, and others; in terms of their
ability, interest as well as motivation behind taking up Arabic as a language to be studied.
The paper will describe a lecturer’s experience of the various language teaching techniques adopted
for each group of students, will highlight some of the specifi c diffi culties the students face at each stage of
learning, and the diffi culties that students from certain nationalities face in learning this ancient language,
Arabic, which unlike many other languages has not really changed very much for almost 1500 years.
The paper will propagate some ideas on how societies, cultures, and civilizations can better understand
each other through understanding the other’s language and will attempt to explain this phenomenon in
the light of the events resulting from the caricatures originating from Denmark which profoundly angered
Muslims and Arabs worldwide.
1. Arabic: Some facts.
Arabic is an easy language to learn. Indeed, it is easier than English! The main reason for that is
spelling. Every letter you pronounce, you write! And every letter you write you read!
1.1 Is Arabic grammar diffi cult?
Arabic grammar can also be relatively easy and logical if it is well introduced and taught.
Grammar is similar to mathematics. One has to think of the rule in order to reach the right
way. Every language has its grammatical rules and almost every single rule has its exceptions!!
Arabic Language pays great attention to grammar as does Dutch, Spanish, French and English.
But because grammar needs thinking and a good amount of concentration as do mathematical
solutions, people try to avoid such big calculations by using the colloquial dialects.
1.2 Modern Standard Arabic
Fus-ha is the ancient Qur’anic Arabic that has been spoken in Arabia since the 6th century. In Fusha,
the speaker has to follow all the grammatical rules in his/her speech with the pronunciation
of “Harakaat,” i.e. sound movements of the letters. This is for the most part due to the fact
Multilingualism.indb 77 4-12-2006 12:25:28
77