Granada, 30 Nov. (AKI) - From next year Arabic will be taught in secondary schools throughout the southern Spanish province of Granada. Students can choose to study the language, along with Arabic culture, thanks to an agreement between the Council of the Andalucia region and the University of Granada. The initiative is an effort to meet the needs of the numerous Muslim students attending local schools and boost the study of more languages in Andalucia's schools.
A committee of professors from the university will be given the task of gathering the requests for the study of Arabic as a second language from the various schools in the province. Several of these professors, together with colleagues from the North African and Middle Eastern colleges with which the university has an exchange programme, such as Morocco, Iran and Yemen, will teach the language classes. The idea of adding Arabic, to the current options of English, French or German, goes back a couple of years, and was initially due to start this year.
The rector of Granada University, David Aguilar said: "The project will not only widen the knowledge of young people, but will allow them to get closer to the Arab world and get to know the culture, promoting tolerance and respect between the students." | When did tolerance and respect matter to the Arab world? |
Eight centuries of Moorish rule left Granada with a rich cultural heritage and a significant Muslim community. The education councillor for the region, Càndida Martinez, said a key aim of adding Arabic to the second language options is to help the increasing number of Muslim students whose mother tongue is Arabic, so others can better understand both their language and culture. |