ERIC Number: EJ1456310
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1534-8458
EISSN: EISSN-1532-7701
Minority Languages in Academia: The Arabic Language in the Israeli Academy
Rabah Halabi
Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, v24 n1 p73-86 2025
Although they constitute twenty percent of Israel's citizens, Arabs have no significant opportunity to study their own language in Israel's academic institutions. Academic courses are conducted in Hebrew, the official language of the country. This has implications for the Arab students' academic achievement as well as for their sense of belonging on Israeli campuses. In the framework of a graduate program on exclusion, the Academic College of Education has recently introduced two courses in Arabic--a revolutionary experiment in the Israeli academic world. Based on interviews with twenty Arab students who participated in these courses, the research presented here demonstrates how these courses not only enhance the students' self-expression, participation, and self-confidence in the classroom; they also send a message to the Arab students that the college sees them and acknowledges their identity. The study has implications for the growing multi-cultural reality of academic institutions elsewhere in the world.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Language Minorities, Arabic, Arabs, Self Expression, Student Participation, Self Esteem, Language Usage, College Students, Student Attitudes, Self Concept, College Environment, Cultural Awareness, Hebrew, Student Empowerment
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel; Palestine
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A