The number of students enrolled in Arabic classes at Northwestern has almost tripled in the last three years, mirroring a trend of increased interest in the language on other campuses.
According to a nationwide survey by the Modern Language Association, the number of students enrolled in Arabic courses nearly doubled between fall 1998 and fall 2002.
More than 70 students are registered this quarter in the three levels of Arabic courses that the university’s Program of African and Asian Languages now offers.
Student enrollment in the university’s upper-level classes has doubled since 2001.
Lynn Whitcomb, NU’s coordinator of Arabic language instruction, said the increased enrollment indicates a sustained interest in Arabic.
Administrators added a third section of first-year Arabic when about 20 students were placed on the course’s waitlist at the beginning of Fall Quarter.
“We have seen a gradual build-up of the program within the last three years,” Whitcomb said. “Along with that, it seems that the interest has gotten more diverse.”
Students in the past typically were “religiously motivated,” she said. But more students are learning Arabic for its practical implications.
Many students choose to take Arabic for career-related reasons, including interests in working for the FBI, CIA and other government agencies, Whitcomb said. Others rely on the language for insight into Middle Eastern culture.
“Arabic helps me connect with what I’m studying,” said David Rubenstein, a Weinberg sophomore majoring in history with a concentration on the Middle East.
“I’m thinking of studying abroad in an Arab country,” Rubenstein said. “So learning the language will be helpful and will give me a better understanding of the Middle East in general.”
Although the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, initially prompted a few students to drop Arabic courses, there has been a consistent increase in interest in the past three years, Whitcomb said.
“(The weeks following the attacks) were really emotional for a lot of people,” she said. “But now I think people are beginning to recognize the Middle East and Islamic countries as an important part of current events.
“Knowing Arabic has become an important resource in terms of political and economic development,” Woodward added.
But for Weinberg sophomore Sara Khorshid, the decision to learn Arabic wasn’t rooted in political and economic concerns.
“My parents are from Egypt, so I really just wanted to learn Arabic for personal reasons,” said Khorshid, who now is in second-year Arabic. “All of my relatives live in Egypt, and most of my aunts and uncles don’t know English, so Arabic is necessary for me to talk with them. I just don’t want there to be a communication barrier between us.”
Whitcomb said she expected student interest in Arabic to level off last year, but was surprised that enrollment has continued to increase consistently.
“Japanese was a popular language for a while, and (it has) continued to be popular, but not in the way that it used to be,” Whitcomb said. “I expect that Arabic will have that kind of growth. It may continue for a while, but it’s hard to say how long it’ll be.”
Reach Abha Bhattarai at [email protected].
