Arabic may appear in the list of elective foreign languages ​​on the Unified State Exam

The head of Rosobrnadzor Anzor Muzaev did not rule out the appearance of an exam in Arabic in the Unified State Examination list. He also said that educational departments are exploring the idea of ​​teaching Arabic in secondary schools. “We are open to the East – and not only to China,” Mr. Muzaev emphasized. The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation is confident that the initiative will meet with support not only in Islamic regions, but also in megacities. HRC member Kirill Kabanov, however, suggests that the popularization of Arabic could intensify ethnic conflicts and contribute to the spread of extremism. Linguists note that the demand for Arabic is growing not only among ethnic Muslims: businesses require translators. They assume that “secular” language teaching in schools will protect teenagers from religious extremism.

During the XX Faizkhanov readings in the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, the head of Rosobrnadzor Anzor Muzaev said that his department, together with the Ministry of Education, is analyzing the demand for the Arabic language in Russian schools. Mr. Muzaev added that proposals to teach Arabic as a separate subject have already been received from the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (DUM) of the Russian Federation. Also, the head of Rosobrnadzor did not rule out the appearance of the Arabic language in the Unified State Examination list. Let us remind you that in 2019, eleventh-graders had the opportunity to take the unified state exam in the Chinese language – along with English, German, French and Spanish.

The head of Rosobrnadzor noted that the inclusion of the Chinese language in the Unified State Exam took five years and a similar “road map” could be implemented for the Arabic language in the same time frame.

“We are open to the East – and not only to China, which is confirmed by contacts at the highest level,” assured Anzor Muzaev. “Earlier, the UAE Minister of Education visited Russia and expressed interest in opening Russian schools and studying in Russia Arabic language. They are ready to participate in this and provide methodological assistance.”

“To make it possible to teach Arabic in Russian schools, it is necessary to develop a federal state educational standard, develop textbooks on its basis and test them,” the press service of Rosobrnadzor explained to Kommersant. “At the same time, it is necessary to train teaching staff.” At the readings in the mosque, Mr. Muzaev mentioned that some Russian universities are already training specialists in the Arabic language – “for example, in Tatarstan and Chechnya.” He also proposed that Islamic universities, along with theological specialties, accredit training programs for teachers of the Arabic language.

Arabic teachers are already being trained in pedagogical universities under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education.

“The programs are open in five universities, more than 500 people study in them,” the press service of the ministry told Kommersant. “The largest number of such students study at the Chechen State Pedagogical University, the Dagestan State Pedagogical University named after. R. Gamzatov and Bashkir State Pedagogical University named after. M. Akmulla.” The department added that one can become an Arabic teacher not only after graduating from a pedagogical university, but also after receiving a diploma in linguist or orientalist.

The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation told a Kommersant correspondent that they receive many requests about teaching Arabic from parents: “This, along with the modern challenges facing our country, made us think seriously and again turn to the topic of introducing it in secondary schools. as a foreign Arabic language.” The organization noted that back in 2007, the then unified Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation prepared methodological recommendations “On the study of rare foreign languages ​​in the general education system,” and they discussed, among other things, the Arabic language. “Even sample programs in the Arabic language were developed for all levels of general secondary education with an approximate distribution of study hours by topic – taking into account interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary connections, the logic of the educational process, and the age characteristics of students,” the DUM recalls. Then it didn’t come to the point of real teaching, but now the situation has changed, the MBM is confident: “The introduction of Arabic as a foreign language in schools is relevant not only for regions with a significant number of citizens professing Islam – Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chechnya, Dagestan and others, — but also for large metropolitan areas and cities with a population of over a million.”

Member of the Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC) Kirill Kabanov finds the initiative “extremely dangerous.”

In a conversation with Kommersant, Mr. Kabanov recalled that the language of international communication, “in which all technical documentation remains,” is English. And studying Arabic in schools of the national republics “will only drive a wedge into the unity of the peoples of Russia,” he is sure: “Let national languages ​​be studied. But Arabic can lead to increased extremist and radical Muslim sentiments and the growing influence of unsafe Arabic-language resources.” Mr. Kabanov also believes that there will not be enough qualified secular teachers for the mass teaching of Arabic: “And sending teachers from madrassas and graduates of religious educational institutions to children is reckless, this could strengthen radicalism,” he fears. “To develop international cooperation with Arab countries, it is necessary to strengthen Oriental studies programs at universities, but schools may well be limited to electives.”

Experts note that the demand for learning Arabic has been increasing in recent years, and not at the expense of ethnic Muslims. The press service of the service for finding specialists “Profi” said that in the top demand for language teachers, Arabic specialists occupy only 10th place, but the demand for them has increased by 42% over the past year.

“Parents are sensitive to changes in the agenda and pay attention to where the business is developing. Therefore, they are beginning to show interest in Arabic. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes a competitor to Chinese,” says Ekaterina Pokholkova, dean of the Faculty of Translation at Moscow State Linguistic University, associate professor of the Department of Oriental Languages. According to her, in the pre-university of MSLU (a school at the university from the 8th to the 11th grade), an Arabic language group has already appeared this academic year, precisely because there is a demand for it. Ms. Pokholkova also notes that all university graduates who studied Arabic are easily employed, since the demand for such specialists exceeds the supply:

“We are responding to geopolitical changes; for the second year we are recruiting two Arabic groups, as employers need it.”

Teaching Arabic in schools seems to Mrs. Pokholkova to be a “useful idea”, since after school classes more prepared applicants will come to the university and during their studies they will be able to raise the language to an even higher level. She also notes that since the times of the USSR, Russia has “extensive experience in preparing methodological materials for studying the Arabic language and Oriental studies, so it will be possible to prepare a high-quality program quite quickly.” Moreover, after retraining, “which is not very difficult,” many Arabists will also be able to teach the language in schools.

Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Philology of RUDN University, teacher of Arabic language Natalya Dubinina notes that at their university Arabic is becoming increasingly popular among students: “About half of the groups are ethnic Muslims. The interest is due not only and not so much to religion,” the expert argues. “Now students often want to go to the UAE to live and work, as business is developing there.” She emphasizes that she knows of very few cases where learning Arabic led to the adoption of Islam, and states: “The danger of language is just a stereotype.” According to Mrs. Dubinina, a systematic approach to teaching the Arabic language will prevent “extremist propaganda”: ​​“In the 1990s, people from Arab countries came to the Russian national republics to teach the language with their own goals – this was not controlled and was indeed dangerous. Now, if they introduce federal educational standards and develop manuals, train specialists who can be entrusted with “children’s souls,” on the contrary, it will be possible to satisfy the requests of Islamic regions without fear for their worldview.”

Polina Yachmennikova