Washington State University Offers First Arabic Class this Semester

The Foreign Language department began offering an introductory Arabic class this semester that is open to students from all majors. The course teaches the entire Arabic alphabet, proper pronunciation, how to speak and write basic conversational phrases, and also focuses on some basic cultural lessons.

Gabriela Gamez, an instructor from the Department of Foreign language who has lived in Israel, believes this to be crucial for any student living in the United States, including students here at Washington State University. “We know so little about a culture that’s part of the news almost every day”, she says, also stating that education is the best way to learn and be open minded of cultures that are different than our own.

The course is taught by Professor Shaheen Manal,  an Egyptian Washington State University graduate who has lived in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt; all within the last twenty years. She hopes to continue the Arabic course next semester and to add more Arabic courses to the catalog in the next few years. She has taught Arabic courses before in Virginia and always includes culture as part of the curriculum. “I teach my students about the different Arabic dialects and customs” continuing to say that “you can’t teach language without culture”.

She also explains that Arabic is in high demand here in the United States. Congress and other places in Washington D.C. are in constant need for translators and both her and her husband have worked in jobs that needed people who speak Arabic. Even in the corporate world, companies such as Schwitzer are looking for more Arabic speakers.

Yet most of the students seem to be taking the class not only for the possible job opportunities, but also out of a genuine curiosity about Arab culture. “I’m from Bosnia, a predominantly Muslim country”, explains Bogdan Mynka, a student in the course, “I’d like to learn more about Arab culture and travel to the Middle East”. Other students also stated that they thought it was an interesting way to fill an elective and learn about a new culture.

Arabic culture is one that is foreign to most Americans and the recent scandal involving the arrest of fourteen-year-old Ahmed Mohamed highlights how these perceived differences can be detrimental. Manal says that she has always been treated well in the United States but that the Media here tends to categorize Muslims and put them in a negative light. “In the Middle East we also have bad media”, Americans and Muslims “need to actually communicate with each other to see that we are all just normal people”.

University courses such as this one teach foreign ideas in a classroom environment and it is an important step in making Washington State University a more global campus. Manal is optimistic that more courses will be added soon, saying that she “wishes that Arabic can be like Spanish- so people can do their masters and PhD’s in Arabic”.