It's back to school as expats in Dubai get free Arabic classes.
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00:00Learning the alphabet from scratch. It's back to school for Dubai's expats at Dera's Al-Thawar
00:17Library. The classroom looks somewhat like a kindergarten, but these students are serious
00:22about learning Arabic. They come from all walks of life and from many different backgrounds.
00:28And the good news is these classes are free for the next three weeks. The municipality
00:34says it's one way to encourage people to get to grips with Arabic and connect with the
00:39local culture.
00:45This is the animated Mohammed Jafar. He's been teaching Arabic since the 1960s. He teaches
00:51students the basics, from learning the numbers, colours, days and months. But don't be fooled
00:57by his studious look. He uses a combination of comedy and multimedia to get those tricky
01:03rules of grammar across.
01:21Say hello to the Alam family. They come three times a week and are practising together at
01:26home. It's all about communicating better with Arabs.
01:38This late learner says it's about time she learned Arabic once and for all.
01:56For some, it's like going back to the school days, bringing out the mischievous streak
02:00in them. For others, it's just a struggle to stay on the ball after a hard day at the
02:05office.
02:06The night classes are also held at Al-Thawar Library, but Dubai Public Libraries say they
02:11have been turning people back because of the high demand.
02:15And as they pack up for the day, these students will be practising their kh from their gh
02:22as they head home. Sunita Menon, Gulf News.
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