Community education project , Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Community education project , - Essay Example According to surveys, children of Saudi Arabian descent residing in the United States have little or no mastery of their language, with numerous linguists expressing concerns that in a short while, none of the students and children from Saudi Arabia will be able to write or read their heritage tongue as the influence of the English language continues to overwhelm the Arabic language (Abu–Rabia, 2002). This community education project is heavily influenced by this escalating loss of meaning of the Arabic language especially amongst the children (students) of Saudi Arabian descent living in the United States. Furthermore, research demonstrates the various importance of being bilingual. Being bilingual has been linked in a plethora of different exploits with positive intellectual growth and indeed superior critical and creative thinking capacities. Bilingual persons are also more sensitive to different languages and have listening potentials that are higher than their counterparts who only have an understanding of one language (Ayari, 1996). Bilingualism therefore considerably improves one’s communication skills across various contexts and cultures, thereby creating in such persons a healthy sensitivity towards diversity (Campbell & Christian, 2003). Children who are bilingual have the chance of better understanding other cultures of the world, and are consequently more appreciative of the cultures of other people. Apart from these, learning a different language increases one’s chances of gaining employment in various regions of the globe. Being bilingual in this scenario therefore becomes a great asset in the contemporary competitive world (Valdà ©s, 2005). The Arabic language is a highly renowned and popular less commonly taught language (LCTL) in the United States and is fast metamorphosing into one of the most widely used languages world over. Realizing