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Schools

Building Bridges and Traveling the World

Students in Charlestown High School's unique Arabic program are traveling to Qatar this April vacation.

On a dreary Thursday afternoon, 12 students shuffle into their second-year Arabic class, where they are greeted by the sunny disposition of their teacher, Steven Berbeco. The class begins with presentations from two of the students about two Arabic-speaking countries, including Qatar, where some of the students will be traveling during their spring break in late April. 

The Arabic students at Charlestown High School are not only learning the language itself, but they are also exploring the diversity of the Arabic-speaking world and exercising skills in abstract thinking and presenting information in front of a group.

Now in its sixth year, the Arabic language program at Charlestown High is the oldest program of its kind in the public schools of Massachusetts, said Berbeco, one of the program’s founders. Even now only a handful of public schools in Massachusetts have followed in the footsteps of Charlestown High and started their own Arabic programs, Berbeco said.  

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The program at Charlestown High is part of a nationwide movement to start Arabic language programs, according to an article by Barbara Axelson in the Scholastic Administrator. The demand for Arabic language programs in elementary and high schools has risen dramatically in the past several years because the language has become important for national security and economic stability, Axelson said.  

The students at Charlestown High recognize the importance of the language in today’s world, but they also just enjoy studying Arabic, they said. Students are required to take two years of language during the school year, but they also have the option of taking more advanced Arabic classes through the school’s Arabic Summer Academy.  

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The students also enjoy Arabic class because of its challenging nature. “When we come [to Arabic class] it’s like being in a college class, but when we go back out there, it’s like being in high school,” said one of the students, who asked to remain anonymous.  

In fact, the U.S. State Department ranks Arabic as one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn because of its different alphabet and complex structure, said Berbeco.  

To top off their unique experience of studying Arabic, five students will be traveling to the small country of Qatar in the Middle East for a 10-day trip in late April. All expenses are paid by Qatar Foundation International, which promotes Arabic programs throughout the U.S. to establish an economic and cultural relationship, Berbeco said.  

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