First: The importance
of the Arabic language
Over the centuries, the Arabic language had strength
and survival factors that no other language had. It was born in the cradle of
the oldest alphabet in human history and inherited some of the characteristics of
its ancient mother and sister languages of the East. With the emergence of
Islam, it became the language of the Noble Koran and the vessel of faith.
Arabs before Islam had a great interest in the
language and used to hold a language conference every year in Taif in the
Arabian Peninsula, where poets and orators gathered to chant poems. Its name
was Okaz Market, which was the largest Arab market in the pre-Islamic era and
the most famous meeting place for thought, literature, and culture among the
Arab tribes. People, great poets, orators, and writers used to come to the
market from all over the Arabian Peninsula.
Scholars agree that the Arabic language is still
capable of accommodating contemporary developments and opening new horizons for
the role of Arab scientific research and placing it in its proper position in
today's world.'
Second: The
world needs our Arabic language
At the global level, the UN has recognized the Arabic
language, making it the third among the six approved languages (English,
Spanish, Arabic, French, Russian, and Chinese).
In October
2012, the UNESCO Executive Board decided in its 190th session to dedicate
December 18 as the International Day of the Arabic Language. In that year,
UNESCO celebrated this day for the first time. On October 23, 2013, the UNESCO
Advisory Board for the International Plan for the Development of Arab Culture
decided to adopt the International Day of the Arabic Language as one of the
main elements in its work program for each year.
Third: The
need for an Arabic electronic encyclopedia
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Encyclopedia "TAGEPEDIA"
is an electronic search engine to disseminate verified, revised knowledge in Arabic
on the Internet. It is a general, comprehensive, and electronic platform in Arabic,
which contains a huge amount of useful information and verified knowledge. It
covers various political, scientific, literary, cultural, and knowledge areas which
anyone can access and use through modern technical means.
"TAGEPEDIA" aims to be an Arabic comprehensive
reference encyclopedia for specialists and those interested in scientific,
professional, and legislative knowledge. It took ten years of work to prepare
the “TAGEPEDIA” platform.
After its launch later this year, it will contain a
million articles, which is double the number of articles Wikipedia has, taking
into consideration that half of Wikipedia’s content is either useless or
unverified, unlike TAGEPEDIA. This means that its content is four times the
content of Wikipedia in terms of verified, useful Arabic content. With its
launch in December 2019, our language will rank fifth among the world's digital
languages.
Fourth: The
need for an Arabic program and fluency test
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International University (TAGI-UNI)
has introduced the Arabic language “Fluency” Program, which includes fluency and
placement tests in the Arabic language, as well as training programs for native
and non-native speakers to help spread it, enhance its value globally, and
ensure its continuity.
Just as TOEFL is one of two major international tests
(IELTS & TOEFL) to measure a person’s English language proficiency for
academic and professional purposes, work, or immigration to English-speaking
countries, the goal of the new “Fluency” Program, which is one of a kind
worldwide, is to standardize the measurement of linguistic level of native and
non-native Arabic speakers, according to specific normative standards.
Fifth: The
need for a standard Arabic language curriculum
TAGI-UNI has prepared the “Arabic Literacy Curriculum”
and the “Fluency in Arabic Language Skills” book, as well as several
curricula adopted by the university that cover the needs of all levels according
to the study conditions.
The Fluency in Arabic Language Skills book is a
distinguished reference that includes all the skills of the Arabic language and
qualifies students for the fluency test. It is available in audio and text
versions. It is prepared in such a way that the learner can study it alone or
through a training course. It is designed for intermediate and advanced
learners of Arabic, in order to overcome the difficulties that prevent them
from mastering the four linguistic skills (reading, writing, speaking, and
listening).
A facilitative
approach was adopted while preparing the book that focuses on presenting its
material (written and audio) through easy explanations, in a clear and specific
language that avoids ambiguity and difficult definitions. The book is full of
modern, vibrant literary texts and various exercises that are carefully chosen
to help the reader and learner to measure their skills and performance. It also
includes lessons in grammar, morphology, rhetoric, and dictation, followed by a
number of exercises, with solved models, and the most common mistakes in the
lessons of each unit. The Arabic Fluency Program also includes training
courses, traditional and remote, that enables Arabic and non-Arabic speakers to
acquire multiple language skills at all levels for use in various specialized
settings such as media, diplomacy, and others.