Other Languages

Learning any language gives students access to the understanding, knowledge, and skills they need to participate fully in the social, cultural, political, and economic life of any country and the wider world.

By understanding how language works, students are equipped to make appropriate language choices and apply them in a range of contexts. Most people in the world speak more than one language, suggesting the human brain evolved to work in multiple tongues. Multilingualism has been shown to have many social, psychological and lifestyle advantages.

Arabic

Arabic is a Southern-Central Semitic language. It is spoken in most parts of the Arabian Peninsula, parts of Middle East and North Africa. Al-Hamdulil-lah, students at Al-Madinah School are from various back grounds and learning Arabic can be very handy, practical and beneficial to help them understand Qur’aan and the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Arabic was mainly offered from Year 7 to Year 13 and we have just started to introduce it in Primary school.

Urdu

Urdu started developing in north India around Delhi in about the 12th century. It was based on the language spoken in the region around Delhi, and Arabic and Persian, as well as Turkish heavily influenced it. During the 14th and 15th centuries, much poetry and literature began to be written in Urdu. Due to a very large no of students who come from Indian / Urdu background, Urdu was offered to cater for their needs. Urdu is offered from Year 7 to 13 and hopefully in near future, it may be introduced in Primary as well.

Primary

Years 1 to 6

Arabic

Arabic at Primary Level involves basic Arabic reading and writing practices which leads toward basic Qur’aan recitation.
Students will be learning new Arabic words and basic sentences that will help to introduce each other in their daily life within and outside school.

Intermediate

According to NZ Curriculum documents, all schools with students in years 7 – 10 should be working towards offering students opportunities for learning a second language or subsequent language.

Urdu

in Intermediate students are introduced to the Urdu alphabet and numbers uptil 40. Students build an understanding of how letters are written in differing places in a word and sentence. They are introduced to reading and writing two to three letter words and two to three word sentences.  They are introduced to common vocabs and also made to practice an Urdu Nasheed throughout the year which they perform in the last term

Arabic 

At the intermediate level students will concentrate on learning Arabic verbs, nouns and pronouns and concentrate on both independent and connected pronouns. Students will begin reading basic stories in Arabic and trying to understand Qur’aanic words and build on their Arabic vocabs

Senior

Urdu

Recalling on what they have learnt in the previous years students are given activities to test their Urdu reading and Grammar. Students are taught to count to 100 and are introduced to reading and writing from Urdu Hadith and Tafseer. They are also introduced to Urdu poetry and are given the opportunity to learn and understand it. At year 13, students pick a topic from Quran and Hadith and research it throughout the year and then present it at the end of the year. Students also practice a urdu Nasheed throughout the year and perform it at the end of the year.

Arabic

At the Secondary level, students will concentrate on various types of verbs and their usage in their daily life, read and understand stories in Arabic and concentrate on speaking within the classroom with peers and their teachers. Students will also be able to learn many grammatical rules including learning words that end with one or two dam-mah, Kas-rah, Fat-hah, Sakin, etc.