My Journey with Arabic:

As part of my learning project assignment from the course EDTC 100, I was tasked to document my development and process in learning a skill. I needed to ensure that use of technology was used in undergoing this process. I decided to learn the Arabic language even though it is such a daunting task. I found the experience to be a mixture of therapeutic and also challenging. I say therapeutic because it delved into a passion of mine which was to understand the Holy Quran. Anything which enables me to connect with my religion has always been spiritual and therapeutic for me. On the other hand, I had an expectation that this learning goal was not going to be easy and I was correct about that. This language is extremely ancient and vast in rulings and methodologies. Different scales of words lead to different meanings even though the root letters may be the same. In addition to that, the language is memorization heavy and requires many hours in repetition.

Recap:

Learning Arabic:

• Rational and reason behind learning Arabic
• Concise learning framework of how to achieve this learning goal

Intro to verbs: 

• Intro to past and present word forms.
• Memorizing conjugations.

More verbs:

• Exploring point of views in verbs
• Exploring active and passive voice in verbs

My trial with Duo lingo:

• Trying a new online resource in learning the language
• Working towards forming sentences and filling in the blanks

New words!: 

• Memorizing new words to enhance Arabic vocabulary.

Intro to Nahw: 

• Commencing a new and discipline in Arabic known as Nahw or Arabic grammar.
• Understanding the categorization and different rulings between a particle,noun, and verb.

Nahw: lets learn about nouns!

• Recognizing the various categories of nouns which are described as jamid,mushtaq, and masdar
• Understanding its rulings and effects to the grammar of a sentence.

Nahw: types of verbs:

• Understanding the types of verbs in a sentence
• past tense, present tense, command, negative command

Intro to numbers: 

• Learning numbers from 1 to 10
• focusing on pronunciation, memorization and writing

10 to 100:

• Memorizing numbers from 10 to 100
• ensuring pronunciation is correct along with writing.

 

Some feedback from fellow classmates:

 

Regarding Duolingo:

Chassidy: Hi, I have used Duolingo and I think it is such a cool tool to use! I think this program is something that would be amazing to use in the classroom and it is awesome to see others using it in their learning journey!

Alycia:

Hey Hanzalah,
I love that you are using duolingo! I used it in a French class in high school and recently to learn Greek before my honeymoon to Greece! It was super helpful and i love that it is interactive.
The app does ask some interesting questions before you begin but I also really like the question about the purpose of you learning the language. I think it helps tailor the content to your personal use and needs!
I am glad you had a good experience with the app!
Alycia

 

Regarding Arabic language:

Alyssa: I think it’s cool that you are learning Arabic! It’s also cool that you are ensuring that you learn how to write it at the same time. Good luck with this learning project!

Makenna: This is so awesome! I took a French class last year and conjugating verbs for me was the hardest thing. It seems like you have a very good grasp on it and it also looks like you are learning so much already!

 

Final thoughts:

From the begging of this journey; I knew that I wont be able to achieve mastery or even an intermediate level of understanding from this learning project. The skill requires full time study and many years of dedication. In terms of Arabic grammar, I had covered 10% of the subject. Verb conjugations approximately 25% and vocab about the same. Ultimately, my goal and purpose of this skill was to understand the Holy Quran. I would have to say that I am still in the beginning stages of that and much progress has been achieved.

What really effected my scope of knowledge was the use of technology in this project. I never thought it be possible to learn a language online. I had always thought that it is an in-person task not meant for digitization. However, this class enabled me to see that I was wrong. There was a plethora amount of resources for me to undertake this task.

Looking on forward as a future educator, I see the value and potential of technology. I hope to investigate the technological side of concepts and lessons and understand the possible integration in my teaching. Essentially, technology is no doubt the future and I understand that its utilization is the future of education.