My understanding is that Arabic literacy is particularly problematic amongst younger Arab speakers, who speak Arabic in the home but use English in the school. The result is that they read and write relatively little in Arabic. But then they have very little choice if they want to pursue higher education, where English is by far the dominant language of the top universities worldwide, and even in the Arab-speaking world. I have been told that ASD even offers special Arabic literacy classes for Arab students.
The reality, as sad as it may be for some, is that English in the lingua franca here and that is likely to become more so as Qatar expands, the native population becomes proportionately smaller, and children of Arabic-speaking children pursue their education.
Some expats try and learn Arabic, and all should learn basic survival phrases, but the reality is that it is hard to learn Arabic when so many Arab speakers speak excellent English or want to practice their English on you. It is like trying to learn Dutch--the Dutch all speak English perfectly and so it is often just easier to speak in English. I've been learning Arabic not so much for its use in every day life, but as a way to better understand the culture in which I am residing. Like all languages it reflects the region and people (just as Inuit has several dozen words for snow and English has at least a dozen for rain).
My understanding is that Arabic literacy is particularly problematic amongst younger Arab speakers, who speak Arabic in the home but use English in the school. The result is that they read and write relatively little in Arabic. But then they have very little choice if they want to pursue higher education, where English is by far the dominant language of the top universities worldwide, and even in the Arab-speaking world. I have been told that ASD even offers special Arabic literacy classes for Arab students.
The reality, as sad as it may be for some, is that English in the lingua franca here and that is likely to become more so as Qatar expands, the native population becomes proportionately smaller, and children of Arabic-speaking children pursue their education.
Some expats try and learn Arabic, and all should learn basic survival phrases, but the reality is that it is hard to learn Arabic when so many Arab speakers speak excellent English or want to practice their English on you. It is like trying to learn Dutch--the Dutch all speak English perfectly and so it is often just easier to speak in English. I've been learning Arabic not so much for its use in every day life, but as a way to better understand the culture in which I am residing. Like all languages it reflects the region and people (just as Inuit has several dozen words for snow and English has at least a dozen for rain).