Kurdish lessons leave Iraqi Arabs cold

[Francis Hult]

Asia Times

 

Kurdish lessons leave Iraqi Arabs cold

 

While Kurdish students no longer pay the same attention to Arabic, young Arabs in Baghdad continue their neglect of Kurdish. Amir, the teenager, said plenty of his peers take extra lessons in English or Arabic - but he knows of no one studying Kurdish. 

Salam Abd al-Wahid, a teacher of Arabic in Baghdad's Shaab district, said Kurdish language classes are not viewed as important because ministry examinations in them are not compulsory. 

"We barely have any rapport with our colleagues who teach Kurdish because they have far fewer classes and are rarely around," he said. 

However, the government insists it takes seriously the task of teaching Arab students Kurdish.

 

Full story:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KJ02Ak01.html

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