As I am writing this, a third day of VAMPY has ended. However, the progress that students in Arabic class have made is as if they’ve studied Arabic for weeks. They have learned the whole Arabic alphabet, and now they can read and write anything in Arabic.
Also, they’ve learned enough vocabulary to introduce themselves and to have a basic conversation. They’ve learned to count; that way they can tell you their age in Arabic.
In addition to this, they have practiced calligraphy, which was fun for all. I call them “little calligraphy experts,” because they’ve portrayed such great creativity.
In another activity, they drew a flag of their chosen country. Then, they learned to say a few sentences about it such as: how to say that one is from that country, the capital, and name of the chosen country, if the country has a king, a president, an emir or a sultan.
Students also got to chose an Arabic name for themselves. All of their chosen Arabic names are also Arabic words that are often used, so this way they are learning Arabic vocabulary as well. For example, the girl we have in class chose an Arabic name Zahra, which means a flower in Arabic.
All in all, they are a small group of intelligent, creative, and energetic students, who are eager to learn. I am looking forward to everything they will learn in the next couple of weeks.