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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

9-11, Iraq war spark interest in Arabic language

Class enrollment for Middle Eastern language doubles

Following a national trend, enrollment in Arabic language classes at IU has more than doubled since the 9-11 terrorist attacks three years ago. Seventy-four students were enrolled in Arabic classes in the fall of 2001 compared with 171 students this fall. \nChair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures John Walbridge credits this jump in enrollment to the increased awareness of the Middle East stemming from 9-11 and the war in Iraq. He said many students now see Arabic language skills as an asset to career advancement. \n"A lot of the students are interested in working for the government or the military," Walbridge said. "They think it will be relevant to work they'll do in the future." \nThe rapid growth in enrollment hasn't come without pains for the department. Walbridge said it's been a challenge to find enough instructors to meet the demand for Arabic classes.\nTo help meet this challenge, the Arabic department recently added two new faculty members, James Grehan and Abdulkader Sinno.\nInterest in the graduate program has also surged. While four years ago the department had fewer than 10 graduate students studying Arabic, Walbridge said the department now has more than 25 graduate students. \nSophomore Ben Woodson, a transfer student from Purdue, enrolled in the introductory Arabic class because he thought it would be useful for his career plans.\n"I'm a journalism major, so to be able to go over there and speak the language will be a big help," Woodson said.\nJunior linguistics major Meredith Morgan said she already had an interest in Arabic prior to 9-11. Morgan enrolled in the introductory Arabic class to fulfill her major's non-European language requirement. However, she welcomed the increased opportunities for Arabic speakers. Morgan would like to work as an editor in the future and sees Arabic skills as a likely asset in her future career. \n"There's probably going to be a lot of literature emerging from the Middle East," Morgan said. "Translation could come in handy." \nAssociate Director and Outreach Coordinator of the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program Zaineb Istrabadi said many students have taken Arabic previously while in the military. But IU's Arabic classes do a better job of teaching students the fundamentals of the language, she said.\n"It's language, but it's incomplete," Istrabadi said of the military's Arabic courses.\nWalbridge said IU's Arabic classes also go beyond just teaching students how to read, write and speak the language.\n"You can't teach language without teaching a good deal of the culture," Walbridge said.\nHe said part of the role of the University is to provide educated people for the government and that teaching Arabic helps the University achieve this goal. \n"Clearly the United States is going to be engaged with this part of the world," he said. \n-- Contact staff writer Daniel Wells at djwells@indiana.edu .

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