Tonight I crossed a significant milestone in my Arabic learning: I took a final exam in a political science course entirely in Arabic. My task was to write a history of American policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This class is with the professor who put me through the interview from hell, and the exam question was based on a book that he wrote almost twenty years ago about American foreign policy in the Middle East. I can't say I agreed with much of it. I wish I could tell you that I gave a rousing defense of American foreign policy, but that's not a particularly easy thing to do when you write somewhere around the level of a 5th grader. Still, I did the best I could. Shweyey, shweyey, they say in Arabic. Slowly, slowly.
My painful interview experience taught me where I need to focus my Arabic skills. I am setting up an intensive tutoring program for the summer: every single day I will have a simulated debate or press conference with my tutor, in which I read a position paper about some controversial aspect of American foreign policy, then take questions, debate, and discuss. My wife, who also speaks Arabic, is going to participate and help play the hostile audience. Hopefully by next year I'll be better armed for my Arabic-speaking classrooms and can really engage with the ideas.
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4 comments:
How long did it take to get to this level with your arabic?
Cliff - Two very intense years.
Via Tom Ricks, this is my first visit to your blog. You're a pretty good writer.
Not that you shouldn't increase your skills, but do you think having an ability to engage in debate with greater skill will make a difference? Presumably, your Interview from Hell professor is well educated, yet he didn't seem to be interested in seeing anything but his own preconceptions.
Andy-- I'm under no illusions; people like my professor will never change. However, I am surrounded by Jordanian students who are still formulating their opinions and beliefs. I do believe that I can help them to see the United States differently, but that will require being able to intelligently and boldly express myself in Arabic.
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