Hind Haddad, International Academy of Columbus, Arabic Teacher 6-8

During the summer, I attended three conferences where I met world language teachers from across Ohio. We discussed similar world language classroom issues. Our language is not one of the core subjects in schools, and students may not take it seriously due to the lack of understanding of the importance of having a second language with a good level of proficiency. On top of this, at my middle school, Arabic class does not count on our students’ report cards and it often seems like a waste of time for students. 

Many recent studies show that learning a second language is leveraging students’ ability to reach higher-order thinking, and we, as educators of world languages, realize the importance and benefits of knowing more than one language. These discussions with other world language teachers raised a primary question: How do we emphasize the strong connection between the excellence of their world language proficiency and their future chances as a student in higher education institutions and their career life? My own experience of learning English was challenging. English was not offered as a core class at my school or university. However, I attended some private lessons and I noticed a great improvement in my opportunities, such as working with the national language center and the students’ cultural exchange program, which led me to find a career in the United States. Learning English was a blessing in my life and I wish for the same type of experience for our students.

Therefore, in this article, I have included my recent strategies that have made a difference in my teaching practices.

First, we can humanize the experience of learning foreign languages for our students by talking about our own experiences and inviting guest speakers, such as professors or adjuncts from the community college, to discuss how world languages changed their life choices. Students tend to learn more if the experiences are delivered to them when they have authentic examples. For more practical and sustainable solutions, show them videos like YouTube episodes about the importance of learning and commitment to learning a new language. From my experiment with my students, one video a week would work well as a motivator. It helped me a lot. I demonstrated to students how choosing the wrong path leads to high dropout rates, affecting their entire lives. Making good choices by learning and being open to new opportunities can enhance their quality of life. This kind of discussion with my students helped me manage my classroom better, and they were ready to hear me better because they understood the aim of our learning process. Also, we should actively show them the career paths and opportunities that become available to students with world language proficiency, including discussing potential job prospects, salary benefits, and the global demand for language skills. Encouraging students to see language education as an investment in their future can motivate them to take their language studies seriously. Therefore, our students need us as mentors as well as their teachers. 

Furthermore, make the world language classroom related more to the recent topics in their lives and bring cultural and racial talk to the classroom, as multicultural education is in demand nowadays. Cultural aspects are one of the standards that we must follow through the Ohio Department of Education. Students enjoy talking about their background and race; when we bring these issues to our world language classrooms, students will see more relevance and be ready to hear from us.

In conclusion, our ultimate goal is to foster a safe, productive learning environment that provides students excellent competency in their future studies and careers. This approach helped me to engage my middle school students more in the lessons and created a better relationship with them.  These discussions encouraged many of my students to visit me during my planning period to ask how they advanced their Arabic proficiency and to help them with many other issues in their work at school. Changing the students’ mindset changes the whole learning atmosphere and makes it more productive, beneficial and practical to their lives.