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.
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.