VOA慢速英语--用文化教美国学生阿拉伯语

Using Culture to Teach Arabic to American Students 用文化教美国学生阿拉伯语

Learning¹ a new language is not easy, but an Egyptian in Washington, D.C., says he knows how to make it less difficult.

Tamer² Elsharkawy teaches Arabic to children. He says that “the magic key to teaching³ language is culture.”

Elsharkawy came to Washington through the State Department’s Teachers of Critical Languages program. The program brings teachers from China and Egypt to the United States. One of the goals of the program is to help American students learn Chinese and Arabic.

The program helps the teachers and students learn about the cultures of other countries. Elsharkawy says learning languages helps students learn more about the world.

“Some parents reach out with me to because they wanted to know how to deal with their children here in Washington, D.C. about this kind of stuff⁴ like Islamophobia. They are not Muslims, but they want to teach their children something correct about this topic. So this is a part of what we are doing.”

Spanish is the native language of many of Elsharkawy’s students at Cooke Elementary School. So, many of them are learning English and Arabic at the same time.

Flora⁵ Lerenman teaches English at Cooke Elementary. She helped the school become a part of the Critical Languages program. She says learning two languages at the same time helps the children learn faster. And she says the children are learning more than just a new language.

“I really believe in students having a global education and an international outlook⁶.”

Elsharkawy said he is also learning about the world. He has explored the local Muslim community and the many cultures in Washington.

“I think Washington, D.C., is, like, the most fantastic place for anyone from any nationality to be here -- lots of colors, lots of religions."

Elsharkawy says he knows that the children at the school -- some of whom are as young as five years old -- might not remember all of the Arabic words he teaches them. He says they might even forget his name. But he says he hopes that they will always remember him as a teacher they liked and respected.

Words in This Story

reach out to – expression contact; communicate with

Islamophobia? – n. dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force.?

outlook – n. the way that a person thinks about things

fantastic – adj.extremely good?

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 tamer   

n.驯服手adj.驯服的( tame的比较级 )；温顺的；沉闷的；乏味的

参考例句：

• He cowed them with his hard eyes like a tamer among beasts. 他以严厉的眼光吓他们，活象兽群中间的驯兽师。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• "I did it only once,'said the tamer, "to look for Dad. " “只有一次，”那位驯狮新手说，“为了找我爸爸。” 来自互联网

3 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

4 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

5 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

6 outlook   

n.观点，见解；展望，前景

参考例句：

• The outlook for the economy is bright.经济前景光明。
• Her outlook gradually widens.她的眼光渐渐开阔了。