Everything you need to know about learning Arabic at school
Arabic is the official language of no less than 25 countries including Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Chad, etc. Despite everything. Very few students embark on Arabic lessons. However, learning this language offers many opportunities, both cultural and professional, to those who learn it.
Can we learn the Arabic language at school?
The learning of the Arabic language has often been controversial. At the heart of the heated controversy, Arabic lessons at school are not commonplace. However, it is indeed possible to take Arabic lessons from elementary school until the end of high school!
In 2017, they were no less than 500 students to benefit from Arabic lessons in primary school. But far from the compulsory courses which many people feared, primary Arabic courses are above all optional, and only in a few establishments. Indeed, not all schools offer this education.
In beneficiary schools, students can choose to take Arabic lessons from the CE1 class, for one hour per week. These courses are called International Foreign Language Teaching (or EILE). A system set up in the 1970s for various languages directly linked to the integration of foreign children in France. The program has now been reviewed under the government of François Hollande.
Partnerships have been set up, as with Tunisia, in order to bring in Arabic-speaking teachers to teach Arabic to the youngest. These lessons are also an opportunity for children to discover the culture of Arab countries in a fun way.
Students can then continue their learning at college. Like all languages, Arabic can be chosen in LV1 or LV2 (today called language A and language B). However, few establishments offer Arabic so early. English, Spanish, and German are the languages most frequently offered by schools.
Arabic LV1 is often offered as part of bilingual classes. Students then learn English and Arabic and can then choose Arabic LV1 in fifth.
It is still more common to find Arabic as LV2, although this is also occasional. This allows you to keep learning English in LV1 but to stand out with the second modern language. Indeed, few students have the opportunity to choose this language, it remains very special.
Learning then continues in high school with the appearance of the third foreign language. Indeed, high school students can then choose to learn Arabic as an option. The required level is then much lower and all beginners are accepted.
All about the Arab LLCER License!
Once high school is finished and the bac passed, what about learning Arabic? Students can continue to learn this beautiful language during their graduate studies by choosing Arabic as a minor education, or by moving on to language studies.
At the University, students have the choice between two very distinct language courses: the LEA license (Applied Foreign Languages) or the LLCER license (Foreign and Regional Languages, Literature and Civilizations)..
The LLCER license (Foreign and Regional Languages, Literature and Civilizations) is particularly recommended for students wishing to work in the fields of translation, and literary fields in the broad sense. The LEA license is more oriented towards the application of languages for trade or international relations.
By choosing the LLCER Arabic license you can then dedicate all your studies to learning a language: Arabic. The LLCER license is also open to other languages such as English, Spanish, Russian, etc.
The program varies between courses in civilization, literature, translation, grammar, and linguistics with regard to the teachings of Arabic. But students also benefit from minor courses to choose from among subjects such as English, Hebrew, teaching French as a foreign and second language, etc.
To integrate an LLCER license, it is necessary to have a bachelor’s degree and to go through the Parcoursup process. You will then have to put the Arabic LLCER license in your choices. The numerus clausus does not normally exist for this type of sector.
But be careful because not all universities, although offering the LLCER license, do not offer the Arabic option.
Once the right university has been found, it may require a placement test at the start of the academic year. This level test will make it possible to know if the student needs to go through a year 0 in order to get to a level in Arabic. Indeed, if you are a great beginner, there is a good chance that you will have to do your license in four years instead of three.
How to choose the Arabic option at the Bac?
The baccalaureate has undergone major reform. From now on, young people no longer concentrate their efforts on the final exams organized at the end of the terminal but must work regularly in the first and the terminal since all the marks count in the final mark.
How then is the knowledge test for foreign languages such as Arabic?
If you decide to take Arabic in LV1 or LV2, you will therefore have to pay attention to your grades in the first and third. The student’s annual average (all subjects combined) counts as a coefficient 10 of the final mark.
However, common tests are organized during the two years for each of the languages, LV1 and LV2. Each of the languages counts for a coefficient of 5.
In first, students must take an exam in the second trimester and another in the third trimester. The first exam includes an oral comprehension and written expression exercise and the second exam includes a written comprehension exercise and a written expression exercise. Everything is done in writing.
A new exam is scheduled in the final year, this time comprising a written test and an oral test.
It is also possible to choose Arabic LV3 for the baccalaureate. But while an oral test was scheduled for the LV3 before the reform of the bac, now only the continuous control counts in the average. It is then a question of working well all year round to get good grades.
The advantage of choosing Arabic at the baccalaureate, especially in LV3, is then to ensure that the average is raised. The options are often easier than the other subjects. They then allow you to have good grades and increase your final grade.
Choosing Arabic in high school, and therefore in bac, is also useful for high school students who would like to continue their studies in the Arab LLCER license since a level test is sometimes required.
But what if his establishment does not offer Arabic education?
Some students choose to go through the CNED to prepare for the bac as a free candidate. A test will then be organized for free candidates in Arabic.
Private language organizations can also help students prepare for the bac as well as possible.
What career to consider after studying Arabic?
Language studies offer many opportunities, and not only in the literary world. Depending on your desires and your qualities, it is possible to access a multitude of professions.
In particular, it is possible to become an Arabic teacher. An activity that can be exercised in different ways. For example, you can take the CAPES after a master’s degree in order to become a teacher in middle and high schools. You will then teach Arabic to students in LV1, LV2 or LV3. It is also possible to take the CAFEP to become teachers in private establishments.
But becoming a teacher does not always mean being a teacher in National Education. Some private language schools also recruit Arabic teachers for leisure or professional development courses. Just like certain associations dedicated to learning languages or discovering Arab cultures.
If you are not interested in becoming an employee, there is also the path to independence by becoming an Arabic teacher as a self-employed person, by setting up your own business, or by being paid by CESU as a private tutor at home. In this case, you will have to find your pupils yourself.
In language teaching, students who learned Arabic at the university are also able to become a teacher of French as a Foreign Language, teachers of FLE. Thanks to their knowledge of Arabic, they can then teach French to an Arabic-speaking audience.
Here are some ideas of trades and fields accessible after your studies:
- Translator,
- Interpreter,
- Airport call agent,
- Flight attendant,
- Hotel/catering sector,
- Journalist,
- Communication Manager,
- Consultant specializing in Arab countries,
- Searcher,
- Humanitarian,
- International relationships,
- International trade,
- Etc.
Whatever your decision, in most cases it is strongly recommended that you continue your education after a bachelor’s degree by specializing through a master’s degree.
