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North Carolina Arabic Teacher Council ‘23-24: The Highlights

Posted on by outlaw

This year has been one of continued growth and integration for Arabic language across the state of North Carolina. We witnessed the successful launch of a new public, high-school language program at the North Carolina School of Science and Math – Morganton – under the teachership of Fayez El-Kurdi in the 2023-24 school year. And we’re welcoming in another new public, high-school program to New Hanover County Schools this Fall for the 2024-25 school year thanks to the dedication and passion from their resident French teacher, Fatima Sail. Bringing us to a total of seven High School Arabic language programs in North Carolina!

 

Also, for the first time, NCATC members gathered at the FLANC – Foreign Languages Across North Carolina – as an officially registered allied language organization. 500 language teachers ✅ 18 languages ✅ 8 Arabic presenters ✅ 3 years and counting for the NC Arabic Teacher Council ✅. Arabic teachers had the opportunity to share from their classrooms and curricula while learning from others in addition to building connections to schools and administrators for further advocacy of Arabic language education in North Carolina. Be on the lookout for another 8 Arabic presentations at the upcoming FLANC conference, October 5-6th this year in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

 

If you’re curious to learn more about Arabic language activities across the state, tune in to these episodes of All Things Arabic, a podcast hosted by Caroline Sibley, NCATC Coordinator. She followed UNC-Duke Arabic debate teams to the national championships (we won’t spoil who won), interviewed Rana Nasser, the longest standing Arabic teacher in the state at Cumberland International Early College about their Arabic honors society and debate team and spoke with Dr. Ann Marie Gunter, world languages consultant for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, about what Arabic can learn from other languages in North Carolina.

Last year, we welcomed in a new board to guide and support NCATC activities for the next two years. New members include:

 

  • Samia Touati – researcher, curriculum developer and educator for Arabic Montessori immersion in North Carolina and Florida
  • Elizabeth Saylor, Assistant Professor of Arabic at NCSU and specializes her research and teaching on Arab women’s literature, mahjar literature, the early Arabic novel, and early Syrian immigration to North and South America.
  • Fatima Amalaoui, Arabic upper elementary teacher from Al-Iman School of Raleigh.
  • Alaa Hammouda, Outreach Director for UNC’s Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, Rotary Peace Fellow and MPH graduate from Gillings School of Global Public Health
  • Najoua Benramak, High School Arabic Teacher at Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina

 

Lastly, we finished the year with a community celebration of Arab American Heritage month, welcoming in nearly 60 local teachers, students, and families to enjoy calligraphy, henna, dance, Palestinian and Moroccan cuisine and build connections over Arabic language and cultures.

 

“All of this incredible growth is made possible by the passion, dedication and hard work of our entire Arabic teaching community and it’s truly inspiring to see more students arrive at UNC every year having previously studied or learned about Arabic! I’m also deeply grateful for Alaa Hammouda, who stepped into her role of Outreach Coordinator with the Center for Middle East and Islamic studies with such grace and energy to share the joys of learning Arabic with the entire North Carolina community.” – Caroline Sibley

 

Stay tuned for more in 2024, friends!

 

The NCATC is made possible by the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies through a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. As the recipient of a Title VI Middle East Studies grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Consortium is a National Resource Center and supports faculty, students, K-12 and community college teachers, and the general public in deepening understanding of the Middle East and North Africa.

Cumberland International Early College High School Establishes North Carolina’s First Arabic Honor Society

Posted on by outlaw

North Carolina’s first Arabic Honors Society chapter has been established in Cumberland county. The chapter was started by Rana Nasser, who teaches Arabic 1, 2, and 4 honors at Cumberland International Early College High School where she also serves as the World Languages Department Chair. “I wanted to create a sense of belonging for my students,” Nasser explained.

Dedicated to helping high-achieving students of Arabic excel at the high school level, the national Arabic Honor Society, launched and supported by QFI, provides financial support, academic direction, and career guidance for its members. “Students will also have tassels to wear at their graduation ceremony to show off their achievements,” Nasser added. Qualifications to be a member are rigorous, including earning a 90% or higher in Arabic courses and completing 1.5 years of Arabic.

Honor societies have long existed for other major world languages taught at the secondary level. For example, Cumberland International Early College High School already has a Spanish Honor Society. With the need for cross-cultural understanding of the Arabic-speaking world as well as increased enrollment in Arabic language classes across the country, an Arabic Honor Society is a needed addition.

AHS chapters across the nation offer opportunities for students and teachers to engage their communities and bolster their local Arabic language programs. “I started this chapter because I wanted to promote the Arabic language in my school,” Nasser shared. “My goal is to increase visibility about Arabic language learning and provide motivation for students to stay engaged.” Nasser even arranged t-shirts for the group with a unique logo.

Cumberland’s AHS has plans to grow in the coming years by inducting more students and becoming more engaged with the local community, promoting Arabic language along the way. The AHS has already volunteered for the Light the Night campaign, a fundraising event for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Future plans include participating in the annual Cumberland International Early College High School cultural night as well as other school-wide Arabic language and culture activities.

Conference Builds Capacity for Arabic Language Teaching in North Carolina

Posted on by harver

Arabic greetings of marhaba (hello), sabah al kheir (good morning), and ahlan wa sahlan (welcome) were shared as attendees gathered for the inaugural conference of the emerging North Carolina Arabic Teacher Council (NCATC), November 13-14, 2021. “Come Together: The Future of Arabic Language in North Carolina” was held at UNC-Chapel Hill and convened over 30 educators and administrators from K-16 institutions across North Carolina. The event also served as the annual conference of the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, composed of the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies and the Duke University Middle East Studies Center. 

Educators working to expand Arabic as a world language offering for NC students traveled from Asheville, Fayetteville, Charlotte and beyond and represented 18 programs from K-12 schools, community colleges, universities, community language programs, and the military. The conference featured content sessions, networking, and preliminary meetings to organize the NCATC. 

Creative Approaches to Arabic Language Learning 

Dr. Ann Marie Gunter, world languages consultant for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, offered welcoming remarks to begin the conference on Nov. 13. “Arabic is currently ranked as the ninth language in student enrollment across the state,” Dr. Gunter said. “I challenge you to consider how Arabic language student enrollment could grow by the years 2026 and 2031.”  

Dr. Farida Badr, Arabic language educator at NC Virtual and the Defense Language Institute at Fort Bragg, NC, presents “Best Practices in Teaching Arabic at the K-12 Level.”

In concurrent sessions, educators discussed ways in which they can use virtual instruction techniques developed during the pandemic for in-person teaching environments. Sessions presented by faculty at institutions across North Carolina featured topics such as “Creatively Overcoming Challenges in the Arabic Classroom,” “New Perspectives in Teaching Al-Kitaab,” “Creative Arts Techniques for the K-12 Classroom: Incorporating Song, Poetry, Play and Yoga!,” and “Best Practices in Teaching Arabic at the K-12 Level.” Attendees were able to select sessions that best aligned with the grade levels they teach (either a K-12 focus, or a higher education-focus). 

Renowned in the Arabic-teaching community for his creative teaching approaches, Fadi Abughoush, a Chicago high school teacher at Lindblom Math & Science Academy, engaged attendees in a virtual keynote presentation entitled “Technology to Make Learning Fun and Inspire Connections to the Arab World.”  Many attendees noted the value of technological tools that Abughoush described, like Flipgrid, to creatively engage Arabic language learners. 

Saturday’s events ended with a performance by the North Carolina Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, a group passionate about preserving the musical art of the Middle East. In a lively performance, the ensemble performed folk classes ranging from Egypt to Turkey to Libya. The event exemplified how music and culture are an important aspect of language learning. 

The North Carolina Middle Eastern Music Ensemble performs in the FedEx Global Education Center, UNC-Chapel Hill.

North Carolina Arabic Teacher Council 

As Arabic is a less-commonly taught language, Arabic teachers face unique challenges and are typically under-represented in world language conferences. In response to this, a handful of regional Arabic Teacher Councils have emerged across the country in recent years. Supported by the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, the NCATC is the first group in North Carolina to specifically serve the needs of Arabic teachers.  

“While we’ve all worked diligently over the years to create novel resources and curricula for our students, our efforts have been siloed and less collaborative,” said Caroline Robinson, assistant teaching professor of Arabic at UNC-Chapel Hill and conference co-convener. “A primary goal of the NCATC is to unite educators and streamline efforts to build strong, consistent, and aligned Arabic programs from the elementary to the university classroom.” 

Nov. 14 sessions were dedicated to discussions about the structure and advisory board of the NCATC, which will coordinate annual professional development opportunities and provide communication channels to other teachers and opportunities across the country. Attendees agreed upon the structure and vision of the NCATC and voted in an advisory council of members to guide NCATC programs. 

Building Connections 

A Moroccan breakfast provided by Samia’s Cuisine for a Cause, which supports education on Arab culture in cuisine in the Triangle, NC, and benefits families in need in Raleigh, Morocco & Indonesia.

As the first event of the NCATC, a primary goal of the conference was to generate community among Arabic language teachers. The schedule included time for facilitated discussion among attendees in small groups to share their teaching resources, ideas, and challenges. Many teachers from around the state had the opportunity to meet their colleagues for the first time. 

To connect Arabic language educators with local community partners, catering at the event featured a variety of local Arab businesses, including Samia’s Cuisine for a Cause (Moroccan), Triangle Syrian Catering, and Mediterranean Deli. 

The conference successfully convened Arabic language educators across the state and provided quality professional development. “We are overwhelmed at the warmth and immediacy of connection found among NC Arabic language educators and are now united as a council to begin the work of building Arabic language programs that will produce lifelong Arabic language students, Inshallah,” said Robinson.  

This conference was made possible by the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies through a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. As the recipient of a Title VI Middle East Studies grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Consortium is a National Resource Center and supports faculty, students, K-12 and community college teachers, and the general public in deepening understanding of the Middle East and North Africa.