# Any Dubai schools without Arabic on the curriculum?



## pmcdubai (Sep 19, 2013)

Hi all,

Are there any international schools (elementary or senior) in Dubai which do not have Arabic on the curriculum? I am assuming not but just wanted to check

Cheers


----------



## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

Any particular reason why you'd want to NOT have Arabic taught? Seems to me that it would be quite advantageous. 

Just curious.


----------



## pmcdubai (Sep 19, 2013)

LesFroggitts said:


> Any particular reason why you'd want to NOT have Arabic taught? Seems to me that it would be quite advantageous.
> 
> Just curious.


haha I knew that comment would come quickly and it's a fair question. Personally, not at all. I love languages and more the merrier for kids. I am asking on behalf of a colleague potentially moving from UK and he has his reasons apparently...though he wouldn't divulge exactly. 

Thanks


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

The only one I can think of is American School of Dubai. Their charter allows them to not require Arabic instructions. They have an unique charter that was granted directly by the then current Sheikh and exempts them from having to comply with KDHA requirements. This was at the insistence of the oil companies that initially sponsored the founding of ASD and who wanted to ensure that the school would be independent enough to attract American families to Dubai.

Otherwise all schools are required to offer them, I think. Arabic instruction is a joke at most schools and parents are always complaining about the classes.


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> The only one I can think of is American School of Dubai. Their charter allows them to not require Arabic instructions. They have an unique charter that was granted directly by the then current Sheikh and exempts them from having to comply with KDHA requirements. This was at the insistence of the oil companies that initially sponsored the founding of ASD and who wanted to ensure that the school would be independent enough to attract American families to Dubai.
> 
> Otherwise all schools are required to offer them, I think. Arabic instruction is a joke at most schools and parents are always complaining about the classes.


no doubt Creationism is top of their science curriculum too?!


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

ASD is also exempt from having to offer Islamic studies. That and the lack of Arabic requirements is the reason ASD never gets top marks in the KHDA reviews, despite outstanding in every other criteria, including science. 



vantage said:


> no doubt Creationism is top of their science curriculum too?!


----------



## A.Abbass (Jun 28, 2014)

I am just curious to know whether you can find schools in the Uk that doesn't have English on its curriculum or schools in France that doesn't teach french for instance ?


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

A.Abbass said:


> I am just curious to know whether you can find schools in the Uk that doesn't have English on its curriculum or schools in France that doesn't teach french for instance ?


Yes. Anywhere in Liverpool.
Totally incomprehensible!


----------



## ash_ak (Jan 22, 2011)

At the elementary school level, Arabic classes are pretty basic . It's a fun way to learn a new language for kids or at least pick up a few words and know the numbers. 

It has also been said that kids learning new languages makes them smarter. My 8 yr old likes the class.


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

i tried to think of a reason why someone from the UK would specifically want their child to avoid Arabic tuition.
The only reason i can think of would result in it being very unlikely that the individual would wish to spend any time in an Arabic Country anyway!

The opportunity to learn languages, particularly those outwith the 'norm' in the UK, is well worth it.

The British are traditionally appalling at learning languages, due to the dominance of English, and the resulting lack of any necessity to do so. Most of us can probalby order some beer and a baguette in France and Spain, and perhaps give someone faltering directions to a train station.

My daughter's best friend at school is Japanese, and started here with very weak English. In two years, her English is great, and she is learning French and Arabic too, in English.
That's how it's done - We could learn a lesson or two!

I do find it weird that the Americans did, and still do, think it necessary to shun the local language in their schools here.


----------



## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

vantage said:


> I do find it weird that the Americans did, and still do, think it necessary to shun the local language in their schools here.


I don't find it that weird - the US have World series baseball and other sports when they are the only country that competes!
They also have a very high percentage of their population that don't have passports.
The above two facts are all the explanation that I need for the US school behaviour!!
Cheers
Steve


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Just to clarify some things.

ASD does offer Arabic. Students are required to study a foreign language. Arabic is just not a mandatory requirement as is the case in most schools. 

When ASD was founded it received a charter that exempts ASD from having to comply with KDHA requirements, and the notable difference is that ASD, unlike the other schools, is thus not mandated to teach a separate course called Islamic studies or to require all students to learn Arabic. The school is truly independent in this regard. But note that ASD still offers Arabic and ASD still teaches Islamic history alongside other world histories, just not as a separate course. And ASD has quite a few students of Arabic origins. 

ASD received the charter way back in the day (early 1990s?) when the school founders wanted to assure expatriate North American families who were mostly in the oil sector that they would have a school not subject to local education requirements. I can certainly understand the fear - would you trust your children's education to the educational ministries of, say, Saudi Arabia? Dubai was an unknown place in those days, especially for North Americans. 

Given that there are plenty of non American expatriate parents in Dubai who consider the Arabic and Islamic studies instructions at their children's schools a joke and a waste of time and a common complaint is that the Arabic classes teach the same materials year in year out so the students never gain any meaningful fluency, ASD seems to have done well in this regard. 

And yes, I know too much about ASD for someone who isn't American


----------



## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

vantage said:


> i tried to think of a reason why someone from the UK would specifically want their child to avoid Arabic tuition.


I think I would as I can't really see how it's useful in the grand scheme of things. I'm heavily in favour of children learning a different language and will push my kid(s) to do that, but I'd rather they learn a language they'll have a practical use for, like French, Spanish or Australian.

I've been here coming on for 5 years and I can't recall a single occasion where I've been disadvantaged by not speaking Arabic, or even been in a situation where it's been required. I've been to meetings in ADNOC offices with Emiratis/Arabs countless times over the years, and other than small talk here and there, English is the language used in meetings and documentation. 

In fact, if I was fluent in Arabic, I doubt I'd even use it that often beyond telling people to be quiet in the cinema ("mind your business") or patronising the shisha guy.

When my kid(s) go to school, I want them to spend all of their time learning things that will be useful to them or are creative in some way.


----------



## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

Gavtek said:


> I think I would as I can't really see how it's useful in the grand scheme of things. I'm heavily in favour of children learning a different language and will push my kid(s) to do that, but I'd rather they learn a language they'll have a practical use for, like French, Spanish or Australian.
> 
> I've been here coming on for 5 years and I can't recall a single occasion where I've been disadvantaged by not speaking Arabic, or even been in a situation where it's been required. *I've been to meetings in ADNOC offices with Emiratis/Arabs countless times over the years, and other than small talk here and there*, English is the language used in meetings and documentation.
> 
> ...


That in itself is crucial and fund it very useful working here. For kids in school however, I suppose it's really a question of how long you intend to be here.


----------



## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Gavtek said:


> I think I would as I can't really see how it's useful in the grand scheme of things.


Bcause langauges of countries where the real infleunce and power will always bring a competitive advantage .... I always wondered why we learned French as sxchool as it nigh on useless campared with Spanish. In my day, Chinese would never have been an option, nor Arabic but these days if you want a high paying job, take western business culture, add Arabic or Chinese to it and all the high payers will beat a path to your door.

Perhaps just imagine your current job (if in industry) and add the ability to speak Arabic to it and then think how much more valuable you would be to a western company ... its big bucks.


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

The companies in most case will hire native speakers. 

Companies in the Gulf are not going to favour an experienced Westerner who knows some Arabic over an experienced Arab who's fluent in both English and Arabic. Hiring the latter will also allow the company to tout their 'diversity.' You have big local companies and they prefer native Arabs to begin with. Then you have the big western multinationals and if they advertise for an Arab speaker, they're going to hire a native Arab as part of their diversity drive. They get the best of both worlds.

I've come across a number of Westerners who were fluent in Arabic, including one who was fluent in several Arabic dialects (an American to boot) but they all said it was almost useless in the UAE because the Arab speakers would automatically change the conversation into English.

So much of the business among Arabs in this part of the world relies more on family and social connections than the ability to speak the language. An outsider will never break into those circles and develop those kinds of connections. 

China is a bit different. If you want to work in China then knowing Mandarin will be useful, more useful than a Westerner who wants to work in the Middle East wanting to learn Arabic as a way to get ahead of the game. But even there fluency in Chinese will only help you so much.



twowheelsgood said:


> Bcause languages of countries where the real influence and power will always bring a competitive advantage .... I always wondered why we learned French as sxchool as it nigh on useless campared with Spanish. In my day, Chinese would never have been an option, nor Arabic but these days if you want a high paying job, take western business culture, add Arabic or Chinese to it and all the high payers will beat a path to your door.
> 
> Perhaps just imagine your current job (if in industry) and add the ability to speak Arabic to it and then think how much more valuable you would be to a western company ... its big bucks.


----------



## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

twowheelsgood said:


> Perhaps just imagine your current job (if in industry) and add the ability to speak Arabic to it and then think how much more valuable you would be to a western company ... its big bucks.


I don't think I would be, as I say, I've dealt with most of the main local companies on several Oil & Gas projects and can't identify a single occasion where speaking Arabic would have come in handy. 

If you're a sales rep in a construction company, maybe, but spending 5 years learning a language on the off-chance that you'll get a job as a sales rep in the construction industry in the Middle East in 15 years time seems a bit pointless to me.

And I don't see the Middle East ever becoming a global power base.


----------



## pmcdubai (Sep 19, 2013)

OP here - slight slant on the original question. Beyond Arabic language classes, is Islamic studies mandatory for non Muslim students in Dubai schools or do they receive a more broad religious education similar to RE in the UK?


----------



## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

twowheelsgood said:


> Perhaps just imagine your current job (if in industry) and add the ability to speak Arabic to it and then think how much more valuable you would be to a western company ... its big bucks.


That value will rarely be added by someone learning Arabic as a second language. It would be added by someone who knows Arabic as a native language, which is why even westerners of Arab origin who are not fluent in Arabic are lumped together with westerners who learnt Arabic as a 2nd language. 

Arabic is a language where there is considerable difference between the written/studied version and the actual spoken version used in business etc

Edit: I did not read TallyHo's post when I posted my comment; she has explained it more clearly than I did


----------

