مَدْرَسَةُ هُدَى النُّور

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The most successful method we found after all the research, was to follow a special technique in teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers and especially to native English speakers, and we will summarise it below:

• Keep in mind that students think in their mother tongue and they won’t be interested or engaged with learning unless we avoid using Arabic widely within the explanations for the beginner level.
• Use suitable and modern activities and meaningful games to interact with students and let them benefit at the same time (The courses that the department of education offers are very useful to cover these particular needs).
• MUST teach structure and features of the Arabic language. example:

Arabic has three grammatical cases: nominative, accusative, and genitive.

Nouns have:

> gender (masculine or feminine),

> definiteness (definite, indefinite, construct),

> and number (singular, dual, plural).

• The first key for the students in learning Arabic, after the basic reading and writing skills, is to learn the noun cases, starting with the singular and indefinite nouns at their nominative case and how they form a non-verbal sentences. Then, over time, we gradually teach the rest of the cases and add various lessons, vocabulary and topics to build and develop the student’s knowledge of the structure and rules of the Arabic language (This is the strategy in my curriculum, and the first six stages have nothing about ‘Verbs’).

Noura,  one of our students, has said:

“Our school, HOODAN-NOOR (Guidance of the Light), has helped us over the last two years I have been in, not only in learning our language, but also the importance of our religion and  culture.

We have learnt how to read, write and understand, by putting words together to form sentences in the right structures, and having conversations in Arabic with our classmates.”

Maya, another student in the school, has said:

“We also learn about our religion, as well as what is right and wrong, our correct manners, and our beliefs in our prophets, and the advice they gave us to continue our life in the right way.”

• Students will be able to confidently form sentences, questions and answers.
• Students will be able to read, write, understand and speak in Arabic.
• Students will be able to have conversations by communicating with each other using the  sentences they have learnt in Arabic.
• After students get to understand the structure of Arabic, they will start learning a bank of vocabulary, which in turn will increase their interactivity and enthusiasm to learn more skills and structures.
• When students become able to form sentences they will feel proud of themselves and proud of their learning.
• Students will enjoy learning Arabic and become curious to learn more about Religion.
• When students continue through this long path of learning Arabic they will understand where they come from (background/history) and will work hard to preserve their identity and transfer their acquired knowledge of religion to their children and loved ones in the future.

Our plan for religious teaching is to teach how to pray and memorise some Sūrahs from the holy Qurʼan. But we are also focusing on teaching religious manners and supplications (Duʻāʼ) that explain the religious manners for the preparatory level, Informing the students of the manners of everyday life’s situations such as eating, drinking, sleeping, and more.

And that is because we believe in what the prophet Muẖammad (PBUH) has said:

 “The duties that each believer owes to his care and fulfil are: the sanctity of religion, the sanctity of good manners and the sanctity of food.”

“Honor your children and refine their manners, and sins will be forgiven.”

We also believe in what The Prince of believers ʻAlī Ibn Abī Ṯālib (ʻAS) has said to his son Imam al-H̱asan (ʻAS):

“The heart of a youth resembles an empty land; it receives all that is thrown into it. This is why I have started to teach you good manners before your heart is hardened and your soul is preoccupied.”

The supplications will be in Arabic and English so the students will be able to read, memorise and understand what they are learning. We quoted these supplications from the religious curriculum that the Scholar Sheikh Tammām Aẖmad has created.

Moreover, there is a very special occasion every year which is the holy month of Ramaḏān. We have a special plan for it where students become one family, they learn, pray and gather together at one table and share the food that their parents have prepared.

Also during the year, we teach the students about the Islamic Eids (al-Fiṯr, al-Aḏẖá, and al-Ghadīr), religious occasions (The prophet’s birthday, Mubāhalah, Hijrah), and also about general occasions (Mother’s day, Father’s day, Teacher’s day, Harmony day and many other occasions).

We teach them about our prophet’s (PBUH) and Imams’ (AS) biographies. We teach them the meanings of good and evil, H̱alal and H̱aram, with what we are commanded and what we are forbidden from, as it was mentioned by the prophet and Imams. We usually prepare a booklet in both languages for each subject we teach in every lesson, hoping with all these activities to provide our students with elementary religious knowledge. However, it is known to the honourable parents that knowledge is infinite and education begins but never ends.

Prophet Muẖammad (Peace and Blessing be upon Him and His Family) said:

“He who goes out to seek knowledge is indeed on the path of Allāh until he returns.”

Imam ʻAlī (peace be upon Him) said: 

“There is no treasure more profitable than knowledge.”

Noura said: “To speak about what learning Arabic means to us:

To me, learning Arabic is a way to understand where my family comes from, and the culture they are connected to.

I love learning about our history, our religion, and our culture.

I think the way our language sounds and looks is beautiful, and I would love for our children in the future to uphold our traditions and keep our language alive.

I am pleased with what I’ve achieved and I look forward to keeping on learning more.”

Maya said: “To me, Arabic is more than just learning how to read and write, It’s about learning the importance of my religion and culture.

Learning Arabic has made me feel more confident to communicate with my family members  overseas and here.

I feel proud of myself and what I have accomplished this year, and hope I will accomplish more in the upcoming years.”

Our recommendations to ourselves and to whoever works in teaching Arabic are:

• Pursue new qualifications and self-development while practising teaching for that will develop new skills further.
• Continue to learn advanced English and to study Arabic/English translation if possible, because this will ultimately improve the quality of education, expand the horizons, enhance the capacity in identifying the needs of students and be more responsive to the students’ needs in order to implement correct, effective and fun learning methods.
• Listen attentively to the observations and criticism, be flexible in accepting others’ views, and work hard to correct the detected errors; as long as the goal is to assess students’ interests, benefit their education, and maintain the language and identity.
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Finally, we draw the attention of parents that the number of educational sessions during the whole year is not enough to make great progress unless the parents cooperate with us and follow up with their children at home by making learning Arabic and religion their first priority in daily routine, and sparing no effort not to miss any lessons during the year.

By working together, parents and teachers, we will make remarkable progress and positive changes, God willing.