Alberta offers Arabic bilingual program next fall

The province announced a new Arabic curriculum that will be coming to schools across Alberta. Next fall, the new program is going to be available to students in kindergarten to grade 12.

“Any school in the province with 12 or more students interested in taking Arabic, the school is obligated to hire teachers and teach the Arabic language,” said Dean Sanduga, the president of the Canadian Arab Association.

Edmonton is one of the very few schools in Alberta that offers Arabic. The new provincial curriculum was based on the Arabic Language Arts program that the Edmonton Public Schools developed. Alberta Education says that the development of the new program will benefit many students.

“This program is going to make a big difference in the lives of our students. They can see that they matter, they can see that their families matter, that their culture matters,” said David Eggen, the Minister of Education.

Sanduga said that the province-wide expansion of the program is giving the rest of Alberta the opportunity to not only learn the Arabic language, but also the Arabic culture.

“This is not restricted to Arabs, it’s open to everybody. The program is going to be taught in Lac La Biche, Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge. All these people will have the chance to better understand our culture,” said Sanduga.

Arabic Language Arts is currently one of the most popular language programs within Edmonton Public Schools.

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