Welcome to the Arabic Department
Year 4 Visit Al Jumeirah Mosque
National Day Celebrations
As the UAE celebrated its 38 th birthday, the Arabic Department at DESS had the honour of organising an eventful day for celebration. It was a delightful day, in which staff and students had the chance to experience local music, food and folklore dances. Some even participated by wearing the traditional clothes of the UAE and dancing with the local cultural band. Here are some pictures from the celebration that day.
Facts about Arabic
The expression Arabic may refer either to literary Arabic or to the many spoken varieties of Arabic or dialects.\Literary Arabic is considered by most Arabs as the standard language.
Classical Literary Arabic (al-fosha) is both the language of the present-day media and the written language across North Africa and the Middle East, as well as the language of the Qur'an.
- The Arabic language is the 6th most-spoken language in the world out of nearly 6,800 known languages (around 256 million Arabic speakers worldwide).
- Arabic is the language spoken throughout the Arab world and widely known outside it. Arabic has been a literary language for over 1500 years.
- The Arabic alphabet derives from the Aramaic script (which variety, Nabataean or Syriac, is a matter of scholarly dispute) to which it bears a loose resemblance like that of Coptic or Cyrillic script to Greek script.
- Arabic dialects are the many national or regional languages derived from Literary Arabic and spoken daily from Morocco to Iraq. These sometimes differ enough to be mutually incomprehensible. These dialects are not frequently written although a certain amount of literature exists mainly in Egypt and Lebanon.
The Arabic department aims to: |
What skills will students learn in Arabic?
- Recognise and respond to words, phrases and simple sentences in spoken Arabic.
- Become aware of the connections between culture and language use in Arabic-speaking communities.
- Identify and respond to features of written Arabic.
- Use known words in Arabic to interact in everyday activities.
The Arabic Department offers Arabic for Arabic students, and Arabic for non-natives (Arabic as a second language). For Arabic speaking students we teach the Ministry of Education syllabus, but for the non-native students we choose the books which are suitable to their levels.
Note: Students are grouped according to their level of ability - beginners or advanced.
Resources:
Arabic as a first language
Arabic as an additional language
Useful and interesting links:
http://www.madinaharabic.com - "open the portal to learning Arabic"
http://www.arabic4fun.com/ - "A multimedia learning experience"
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Islamic Studies Department
What will students learn in Islamic Studies?
- Recitation and memorisation of the Holy Qur'an is strictly emphasised
- Simple concepts of Islam and Islamic morals and values are introduced and reinforced continually throughout the lessons to instil a deep sense of belonging to Islam.
- The Prophet's (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) life story and hadith are taught and emphasised throughout the grades.
- Basic concepts of Islam, worship, Fiqh and Islamic moral values are also introduced and reinforced in later years.
Teaching Strategies
The Teaching strategies most often used include interaction, stories, hands-on activities, watching Islamic related movies, visits to the mosque for ablution and Salah.
