Eventually it is a school and not a touristic resort. Academically they are strict. But they cover all aspects related to education and children enjoy their life there. Kids have to be creative and use their brain properly. Not like parrots.
My kids graduated from Choeuifat and if I have young kids now I will enroll them there only.
I want to know more about your views on international school of choueifat.
pl.advice ,We are shortly relocating to Ruwais -abudhabi and this is the only international school available there.Hence i would appreciate if u could share me your views on this school. I hope your kids study there.
Is this school good ,is it very strict even with KG children,does the children lose their power to think themselves as everything is spoonfed,does it concentrate only on academic improvement and no freedom for children??
Does Choueifat follow a more rigerous UK curriculum where the hard skills (as opposed to soft skills like creativity, cooperation, process learning) are taught earlier (i.e., math, science, phonetics)?
The original posting was about Arabic for the children of expat parents, not for children who already speak Arabic.
There have been a number of postings about the horrors of Choueifat and I do not think that the children of English-speaking expats would be happy at that school.
In many ways it is a pity that in the majority of schools that are supposed to follow the English National Curriculum, the emphasis is placed upon French or Spanish as a "Modern Foreign Language". If your child happens to be going to a school in the Middle East, my feeling is that a more felexible and pro-active approach to Arabic would be helpful.
I've heard through friends that the Arabic-language teaching @ the Lebanese School is good. I hope to send my daughter to the Lebanese School in Sept 2008. Even though we'll only be living in this neck of the woods for a few years, we want her to pick-up the language for her life b/c it's such a strategic language.
In contrast, I've heard the Arabic-language teaching at Qatar Academy isn't that good. It's just not taken too seriously (they're "going through the motions").
DaRuDe my intentions are honourable, Arabic is very widely spoken. When I grew up there wasn't much attention to languages (only French And German once a week) now a lot of schools are teaching Mandarin (spearheaded by the private schools) as so much business is done with china.
Hey man age does not clog your brain unless you have mad cow disease, I started learning Turkish with 40 so go for it. I knwo they wer teaching Arabic in evening clases at the university behind Hamad hospital CHN or something like that - if you are interested I will check it out for you.
What about Arabic for Adults, I understand I'm probably too old to learn another language, it's a lot easier when you're younger, but I would like to try.
Native Arabic speakers can take Arabic as an academic subject at ASD - and they do - just as native English speakers take English as an academic subject. There is an additional program for expat children (non-Arabic speakers) which teaches them the language. These are two different programs. Downside is, of course, that all other academic subjects are in English, unless student were also taking French or Spanish......Simply trying to offer alternative. Original post asks for a school strong in Arabic language - this information seems to answer that.
ASD (American School of Doha) offers Arabic as a Second Language to students from elementary school through high school, as well as offering Arabic to speakers of Arabic, including advanced grammar, composition and literature.
it is quite new though so I can't judge the quality of teaching/curriculum just yet. I can say that the teacher accomodates those pupils that have a higher level of Arabic than others(addtional work, etc)so she seems serious and thoughtful about teaching. Better something than nothing.
When I was teaching at the British School of Bucharest, none of the English, French or German children were learning Romanian. How silly, considering that they were in the capital of Romania!
Schools do have to make painful choices and cannot do everything. Usually what happens is that if you are going to have more of subject A, then it follows that there is going to be less time and money available for subjects B and C. I think that, as expats, we ought to try to encourage our children (if we have any) to take an interest in the culture and the language of the country where we are currently living. The bad news is that many parents say, "Well, we are going back to the U.K. (or wherever) in a year or two, so why bother?"
I do not have a lot of detailed information about how Arabic is taught throughout all of the international schools in Doha. However, having taught in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as in Doha, I think that the answer has to be, "No, there is no such thing as a school for expat children that takes the teaching of the Arabic language really seriously." There are lots of different reasons for this.
Firstly, the school day, in most international schools in Doha, is from seven in the morning to one or maybe two in the afternoon. This means that the time available for lessons is significantly shorter than the time available in international schools in Europe or in other parts of the world. As the Arabic language is not part of the English National Curriculum, many schools that follow the English National Curriculum only go through the motions of teaching Arabic to expat children, so they do not take it that seriously. I suspect that much the same holds true for schools that follow an American-style curriculum, but I may be mistaken.
It would be interesting to know how many international schools in Doha permit their Arabic-speaking students to speak in Arabic at breaktimes and during their normal lessons. Not many, I would guess.
For Arabic-speaking pupils, of course there is parental pressure for them to have proper Arabic lessons. However, it almost goes without saying that the educational circumstances of Arabic-speaking pupils are not the same as those for expat children, as most of the latter will only have started learning Arabic because their parents have moved to an Arabic-speaking country for a few years. This means, of course, that it is almost impossible to have expat children and Arabic-speaking children in the same Arabic class, as the Arabic-speaking children will be much more advanced. At my resent school, Newton International, I have noticed that most English-speaking children do not even try to talk to their Arabic-speaking classmates in Arabic. They speak to them in English.
Last, but by no means least, most expat parents know that it will be difficult for their children to continue with their Arabic lessons once they have returned home to the U.S., the U.K. or wherever. This might perhaps go some way towards explainng why many expat parents that I have met are not terribly concerned about how their children are doing in their Arabic lessons (if indeed they are having any at all!) If the parents are not bothered, don't expect the schools to be that concerned.
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Eventually it is a school and not a touristic resort. Academically they are strict. But they cover all aspects related to education and children enjoy their life there. Kids have to be creative and use their brain properly. Not like parrots.
My kids graduated from Choeuifat and if I have young kids now I will enroll them there only.
=====================================
http://www.qatarliving.com/node/58409
Hai KellysHeroes
I want to know more about your views on international school of choueifat.
pl.advice ,We are shortly relocating to Ruwais -abudhabi and this is the only international school available there.Hence i would appreciate if u could share me your views on this school. I hope your kids study there.
Is this school good ,is it very strict even with KG children,does the children lose their power to think themselves as everything is spoonfed,does it concentrate only on academic improvement and no freedom for children??
thanks
anu1978
Does Choueifat follow a more rigerous UK curriculum where the hard skills (as opposed to soft skills like creativity, cooperation, process learning) are taught earlier (i.e., math, science, phonetics)?
Is for serious students and serious parents.
I have 2 kids who studied there and they have achieved very high grades in TOEFL, SAT I & SAT II
School is not a place for fun and tourism.
The original posting was about Arabic for the children of expat parents, not for children who already speak Arabic.
There have been a number of postings about the horrors of Choueifat and I do not think that the children of English-speaking expats would be happy at that school.
In many ways it is a pity that in the majority of schools that are supposed to follow the English National Curriculum, the emphasis is placed upon French or Spanish as a "Modern Foreign Language". If your child happens to be going to a school in the Middle East, my feeling is that a more felexible and pro-active approach to Arabic would be helpful.
Lebanese school is good in Arabic but you would be lucky to find a place. High demand and priority is for Lebanese nationals. Try Choueifat also.
Arabic is compulsory for Arabic nationals only
hi folks , is arabic a compulsory language likeit is in dubai?
I've heard through friends that the Arabic-language teaching @ the Lebanese School is good. I hope to send my daughter to the Lebanese School in Sept 2008. Even though we'll only be living in this neck of the woods for a few years, we want her to pick-up the language for her life b/c it's such a strategic language.
In contrast, I've heard the Arabic-language teaching at Qatar Academy isn't that good. It's just not taken too seriously (they're "going through the motions").
DaRuDe my intentions are honourable, Arabic is very widely spoken. When I grew up there wasn't much attention to languages (only French And German once a week) now a lot of schools are teaching Mandarin (spearheaded by the private schools) as so much business is done with china.
Hey man age does not clog your brain unless you have mad cow disease, I started learning Turkish with 40 so go for it. I knwo they wer teaching Arabic in evening clases at the university behind Hamad hospital CHN or something like that - if you are interested I will check it out for you.
Don't let the grey mass remain grey
arabic for adults what are you upto man what are your intentions.
[img_assist|nid=21285|title=.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=|height=0]
What about Arabic for Adults, I understand I'm probably too old to learn another language, it's a lot easier when you're younger, but I would like to try.
AMERICAN ACADEMY SCHOOL , THEY ARE GOOD IN ARABIC LESSONS
Native Arabic speakers can take Arabic as an academic subject at ASD - and they do - just as native English speakers take English as an academic subject. There is an additional program for expat children (non-Arabic speakers) which teaches them the language. These are two different programs. Downside is, of course, that all other academic subjects are in English, unless student were also taking French or Spanish......Simply trying to offer alternative. Original post asks for a school strong in Arabic language - this information seems to answer that.
Annabelle, loads of schools in Doha offer some Arabic lessons to expat kids.
ASD (American School of Doha) offers Arabic as a Second Language to students from elementary school through high school, as well as offering Arabic to speakers of Arabic, including advanced grammar, composition and literature.
it is quite new though so I can't judge the quality of teaching/curriculum just yet. I can say that the teacher accomodates those pupils that have a higher level of Arabic than others(addtional work, etc)so she seems serious and thoughtful about teaching. Better something than nothing.
Try International School of Choueifat
Dear Alexa,
When I was teaching at the British School of Bucharest, none of the English, French or German children were learning Romanian. How silly, considering that they were in the capital of Romania!
Schools do have to make painful choices and cannot do everything. Usually what happens is that if you are going to have more of subject A, then it follows that there is going to be less time and money available for subjects B and C. I think that, as expats, we ought to try to encourage our children (if we have any) to take an interest in the culture and the language of the country where we are currently living. The bad news is that many parents say, "Well, we are going back to the U.K. (or wherever) in a year or two, so why bother?"
I do not have a lot of detailed information about how Arabic is taught throughout all of the international schools in Doha. However, having taught in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as in Doha, I think that the answer has to be, "No, there is no such thing as a school for expat children that takes the teaching of the Arabic language really seriously." There are lots of different reasons for this.
Firstly, the school day, in most international schools in Doha, is from seven in the morning to one or maybe two in the afternoon. This means that the time available for lessons is significantly shorter than the time available in international schools in Europe or in other parts of the world. As the Arabic language is not part of the English National Curriculum, many schools that follow the English National Curriculum only go through the motions of teaching Arabic to expat children, so they do not take it that seriously. I suspect that much the same holds true for schools that follow an American-style curriculum, but I may be mistaken.
It would be interesting to know how many international schools in Doha permit their Arabic-speaking students to speak in Arabic at breaktimes and during their normal lessons. Not many, I would guess.
For Arabic-speaking pupils, of course there is parental pressure for them to have proper Arabic lessons. However, it almost goes without saying that the educational circumstances of Arabic-speaking pupils are not the same as those for expat children, as most of the latter will only have started learning Arabic because their parents have moved to an Arabic-speaking country for a few years. This means, of course, that it is almost impossible to have expat children and Arabic-speaking children in the same Arabic class, as the Arabic-speaking children will be much more advanced. At my resent school, Newton International, I have noticed that most English-speaking children do not even try to talk to their Arabic-speaking classmates in Arabic. They speak to them in English.
Last, but by no means least, most expat parents know that it will be difficult for their children to continue with their Arabic lessons once they have returned home to the U.S., the U.K. or wherever. This might perhaps go some way towards explainng why many expat parents that I have met are not terribly concerned about how their children are doing in their Arabic lessons (if indeed they are having any at all!) If the parents are not bothered, don't expect the schools to be that concerned.