Expats go back to classes for the love of Arabic

Dubai: It was back to school for many expatriates at Al Twar Public Library where they were being taught the Arabic alphabet. Many of the students are professionals and hail from a cross-section of society. They were attending a free Arabic language course launched by the Dubai public libraries department in cooperation with Dubai Municipality, which will run till August 7. The instructor uses a lot of humour while teaching the Arabic grammar. "The language is a bit complex, so I want to make it easy and fun for them," said Mohammad Zahid Jaafar, a 62-year-old who has been teaching since 1964. "By the end of the course, students will also be able greet others, count from 1 to 100, and say different colours, days and months in Arabic," said Jaafar, a Syrian. When asked what sparked his interest in the language, the instructor... [read full story]