Attitudes of Arabic- and Non-Arabic Speaking Parents Toward the Importance of Learning Arabic in the United States

To promote Arabic teaching, researchers examined attitudes and expectations of parents regarding the importance of their children's Arabic study. In four states Researchers surveyed 238 Arabic-speaking and 128 non-Arabic speaking parents of children at urban and suburban schools offering Arabic as part of their mainstream programs. Most parents demonstrated positive attitudes toward language learning. They involved and encouraged their children's Arabic study and involved themselves in it. Arabic-speaking parents believed Arabic important for their children to maintain communication and affinity with family; preserve culture, religion, and traditions; maintain cultural heritage in the United States; and maintain moral and professional values. Non-Arabic speaking parents expressed similar reasons. However, Arabic-speaking parents recognized a wider variety of benefits to learning Arabic. Researchers concluded that parental attitudes toward language learning have great impact on children's learning process, but noted a discrepancy between the attitudes and expectations of Arabic- versus non-Arabic-speaking parents regarding learning Arabic.