Al-Watan newspaper

IN the past, Arabs used to send their children to villages to spend their childhood, giving them an opportunity to master the dialects. The interaction with villagers allowed the child to use the language in daily life situations, which would reflect positively throughout their life.

This tradition has contributed to the enrichment of the children's language skills. As a result, they were able to create a generation proficient in the art of rhetoric as well as in literary and linguistic fields and we can find many of them in our surroundings displaying linguistic and rhetorical superiority.

God Almighty sent down the Holy Qur’an, the miraculous divine words known for their linguistic and literary excellence, challenging the mastery of Arabs in their language.

Compared to Arabs of the past, the new generation Arab children are brought up by housemaids and nannies as their mothers are preoccupied with work and other things. This has left a negative impact on their linguistic capability as they don’t get an opportunity to listen to proper Arabic conversations from the time of their birth.

At nurseries and kindergarten our children do not get an opportunity to learn Arabic language as the main languages taught in these phases are English and French.

It is unfortunate that many parents boast of their children studying in well-known foreign schools and they don't hide their joy when their children sing the song of English alphabets without making any mistakes. These parents do not realize that exposing children to foreign languages in early childhood deprives them of the ability to master the mother tongue. At the same time, these children will not be able to use the foreign language either because it is taught at a wrong time.

Researchers have pointed out that there is a biological timetable for the acquisition of language in human beings. Most studies and research works indicate that kindergarten and primary school levels are the most appropriate time to achieve proficiency in mother tongue. Teaching foreign language at these stages will have a negative effect on learning the mother tongue.

The educational principle agreed upon globally, especially in the developed world, is to protect the child from the invasion of foreign languages in the early stages of education. German, Swedish, French, Chinese, Russian and Japanese children will not learn the principles of reading, writing and sciences except through their mother tongue.

These developed countries delay teaching of foreign languages until the children reach the stages of intermediate level or adulthood, when a child will understand that his or her national language is an essential means for absorbing all types of knowledge. Many educators in developing countries are unaware of this important educational principle.

In Europe, teaching a foreign language in the early stages of education was taboo. In Sweden, lessons in primary, intermediate and secondary school levels are imparted in Swedish, because they are fully aware that the teaching of a foreign language carries with it foreign culture, values and customs. This will endanger the original culture of the child, especially if it is in early childhood. A child will be a smart imitator at this stage and will not have sufficient means to defend his culture and identity.

Considering the important role of the mother tongue in preserving culture, many countries are keen to make it the basic tool in educating their children, without allowing foreign languages to compete with it in the vital functions of shaping the identity and belongingness of the child.

In the Arab world, we live in a state of chaos and confusion. Private schools for young children are given full freedom to prepare whatever curriculum they want, and teach as many languages as they want. There is no clear definitions or red lines.

We don’t see any boundaries between the use of Arabic and foreign languages. The transition from one language to another is done without specific controls, and the linguistic priorities set by the government with regard to the teaching of Arabic and foreign languages are unclear.

Arab countries lack cultural and educational programs as well as strategic plans that contribute to addressing the linguistic situation of young children, and to adjust the relationship between the national language and local dialects and foreign languages, in order to create a balanced linguistic environment.

The solutions must begin from schools. Educational organizations must make the mother tongue compulsory for teaching all subjects in the early stages of education. We should review the roles played by international schools, which are found in every district.

The increasing number of international schools in Arab cities is an unhealthy phenomenon and will not serve the purpose of the educational process. It will have far-reaching cultural, political and economic implications as these schools give absolute priority to foreign languages while targeting young children.