Arabic language is in demand

G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Special for USA TODAYPurdue University sophomore Brent Forgues is chasingan academic dream that was a rarity on this WestLafayette, Ind., campus just four years ago: He'sdetermined to be a strong speaker of Arabic.Foreseeing a career in journalism, Forgues, 20, hopesexpertise in what he calls an "obscure" language willboost his marketability in a competitive industry.To get there, he's mastering a new alphabet and lotsof unfamiliar sounds alongside similarly ambitiousstudents, from South Asian Muslims to Indiana nativesin ROTC who often come to class in fatigues. To meetthe demand, Purdue's program has ballooned from justtwo courses to 12 since fall 2003."As long as Purdue keeps adding Arabic classes, I'llkeep taking them," Forgues says. "Everybody who's inthis (Arabic 102) class now has an exact purpose inwhy they're taking it and how it will apply to theircareers."Across the USA, a surge of student curiosity aboutArabic after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, ismaturing into a demand for more courses, especiallyupper-level classes as novices resolve to master thelanguage. A full 73% of 640 Arabic-language studentssurveyed at 37 institutions in 2004 said they were"determined to achieve a level of proficiency inArabic that would allow me to function in itcomfortably in my professional activities," accordingto the National Middle East Language Resource Centerat Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.Only a minority of students reach proficiency. One infour first-year students in the best programseventually reach the third-year level, says centerdirector R. Kirk Belnap. In weaker programs, he says,the dropout rate is even higher.To meet the demand, schools that already offer Arabicare expanding old programs, creating new ones andscrambling, sometimes in vain, to find qualifiedteachers. Purdue relies on six grad students to teachits courses. Vermont's Middlebury College recruitsfrom Syria and Egypt to staff its summer languageprogram. Yet even with extra efforts, variousconstraints are making it a challenge for schools tokeep up."More students have begun to realize they have tostudy it for a number of years to be reallyproficient," says William Mayers, coordinator of theArabic Language School at Middlebury College'sSunderland Language Center."We get enough good applicants from the reallyhigh-caliber schools — and these are straight-Astudents — and a lot of them we're turning downbecause of limited space."The numbers help show how interest in Arabic keepsgrowing. Enrollment in Arabic courses nationwidejumped from 5,500 to 10,600, a 92% increase, from 1998to 2002, according to the most recent data from theModern Language Association. Only American SignLanguage boosted enrollments by a larger percentage inthat time period. Since 2002, enrollments have climbedagain by an estimated 15% to 25%, the Middle Eastlanguage center says.To keep pace, some institutions are beefing up whatthey offer on an advanced level. The Center forAdvanced Proficiency in Arabic, the nation's firstintensive program offered for a full academic year,opens this fall at Georgetown University inWashington, D.C. Middlebury College is expanding itssummer program by about 10% this year and is planningto start offering third-year Arabic during theacademic year as soon as this fall.Yet with fewer than 10% of U.S. colleges offering anyArabic courses, some fear that higher-learninginstitutions on the whole aren't doing enough toadjust."Demand is there, but they're not offering (courses)because of budgetary constraints or whatever," Belnapsays. "These are very curious things in a time whenyour country is clamoring for more foreign-languageexpertise."Though many people study Arabic to enhance careers inbusiness or government, a good 20% are "heritagespeakers" with a purely cultural or personal interest,says Mahmoud al-Batal, director of the Center forArabic Study Abroad and an Arabic professor at EmoryUniversity in Atlanta.As Muslim-Americans who pray and read their holyscriptures in Arabic, Batal says, they sometimes bringa sense of purpose that goes beyond any economicquest."They see themselves as a bridge to connect people andcultures of the Arab world with the American public,"Batal says. "And they see the language piece ascritical to achieve this goal."