On Wednesday, December 18, the world celebrated Arabic Language Day. This date commemorates the adoption of Arabic as an official language by the United Nations on December 18, 1973. As of 2019, 315 million people around the world speak Arabic, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world.
On this occasion, and with the end of year celebrations approaching, the Arabic students of the Lycée Français de New York offered beautiful calligraphy greeting cards that they made in the Makerspace (thanks to Brendan Cavalier, our PBL integrator, for his help).
Students visited the visited their Arabic-language classmates in the 75th-Street lobby to have the cards personalized with their name in Arabic. The 100 or so pre-made cards were given away in no time!
This school year marks the beginning of our Arabic language program, for students in grades sixth to tenth grade. So far, the program has been popular with students from many backgrounds!
Here is a short video to show what the students have learned so far this year:
About the Author :
Born in Cairo, Rime Abdel Nabi is an Arabic teacher, agrégée. She began her career as a French teacher at Ain Chams University in Cairo, after graduating with a Master’s degree in Literature and Translation in 1995. She arrived in Paris in 1998 and completed a degree in Modern Letters from the University of Paris VII before completing her teaching certification (CAPES) and then her agrégation in Arabic in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Since then, she has taught Arabic in several universities such as Paris IV-La Sorbonne, Centrale-Supelec, SciencesPo Paris, as well as classes préparatoires in Arabic at France’s renowned Grandes Écoles and in Secondary schools. Rime has always enjoyed teaching students at many different levels and ages, and she strives to develop teaching methods that correspond to each student’s needs. She is passionate about theater and loves to share this passion with her students. She is the mother of two children.