Husam Samkari is teaching Arabic again at the University of Idaho, spreading understanding of the language and culture.
“In this time and in this country, there’s an underlying fear that comes from not understanding,” said International Programs Office Outreach (IPO) Coordinator Sarah Quallen. “And so this is a really good way to help people understand.”
Quallen said the class aligns with her job to connect international students with domestic students and the community, and fosters greater appreciation for the culture.
Celiannie Rivera, an IPO employee, said she took the class last semester so she could communicate better with the exchange students from Saudi Arabia. She said as a native Spanish-speaking person, she understands how it can be like to be in a country where most people speak English.
“It’s a really fun, fun class,” Rivera said. “They teach you the culture, how to speak, what to write, they teach you about the food.”
Rivera said Samkari adjusts for returning students, giving them new material to further their studies. She said since the class is only one hour a week, he provides students with supplemental material such as YouTube videos and if a student expresses particular interest, an Arabic conversation partner.
“It’s way different — how you go to another class here and they just teach you like ‘This is the grammar, this is —’ no,” she said. “(In this class) they teach you how the culture is, directly, so it’s really fun.”
Samkari said he has experience teaching at Tabuk University in Saudi Arabia, where he lectured about electrical engineering, the subject in which Samkari pursues his Ph.D, and taught an Arabic class similar to the one he currently teaches at UI at Washington State University.
Although Arabic is one of the top five most spoken native languages, Samkari said few realize how prevalent it is.
“You feel like Arabic isn’t used that much because you are very far from Middle East, right,” he said. “But in Middle East you can find a lot of people who speaks Arabic.”
Samkari said the class includes a one-hour lesson, followed by 30 minutes of discussion or question-and-answer. He said during those last 30 minutes students ask about anything from grammar to clarifying rumors.
“I’m open to any questions,” he said. “I understand sometimes people have wrong idea, or they got wrong information from a wrong source, so usually I give my opinion if they would like to hear it.”
Samkari said although the first class started March 2, people are welcome to come to any classes throughout the semester. There is no attendance requirement.
“It’s more for fun, to make you more interested on learning Arabic and knowing ‘What is that language?’” Samkari said. “So if you cannot make it every week, please stop by even one time to see ‘What is that?’ Or maybe if you are interested to study Arabic later, you can talk to me.”
Samkari said he welcomes students, faculty members, community members and whoever else wants to try the class.
Classes are 5 to 6:30 p.m. every Thursday through April 27 in the Janssen Engineering Classroom Building Room 328.
Nina Rydalch can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NinaRobin7