Our newest addition to the educational programs at CRP is the I Read Arabic program.
The program is based on the mobile application I Read Arabic.
At CRP, there are many kids who lack literacy and numeracy skills, because of their inability to enroll in schools due to various circumstances. So CRP developed this program to specially address these needs.
One of the biggest issues in the refugee community is not having access to an education.
I Read Arabic fills in the gap by providing a school-like environment that’s fun, fresh and unconventional by using the app’s interactive interface that allows the kids to read or listen to different stories and practice their reading skills.
Literacy skills are especially hard for kids to pick back up because written and spoken Arabic are vastly different. There are different rules and even words for each.
Another demographic that the I Read Arabic program focuses on are the Christian Iraqis and the Turkmen Iraqis whose first language isn’t Arabic. While these kids have learned to speak arabic they don’t have writing or reading skills in Arabic. This is challenging for the kids that want to pursue an education in a school that only uses Arabic.
“I love using the app to read colorful stories with my teacher,” says Laylah one of the kids attending the I Read Arabic program.
Reading and writing is a base skill that will allow these kids to utilize other resources that they might be able to reach, whether it be online classes or just studying at home using books.
“Giving these kids literacy and numeracy at this age is vital for them to have an opportunity at a successful life,” says Nadera, one of our volunteer teachers for the I Read Arabic program.
The class currently serves 17 students, only four of whom are currently able to read and write basic content in Arabic.
That was made possible thanks to the app’s structure that gradually teaches the kids Arabic alphabet and how to connect and pronounce different letter combinations to make words and sentences.
“The number of volunteers we have assigned to this program allows for the teaching process to be personal and interactive by giving each student a fair amount of attention,” explains Karam, CRP’s educational specialist.
The class’s success is already noticeable. The kids have had consistent attendance and are always very excited for class.
The app’s curriculum gives the users a sense of progress that motivates them along with the introduction of technology in learning excites the kids by giving it a feel similar to that of a video game.
As a way to make the overall program more fun and exciting, we added two classes as extensions for the I Read Arabic program. A dance class once a week to help the kids have fun and exercise or maybe realize a hidden talent and a twice-weekly art class following the I Read Arabic program gives the kids a canvas to express themselves and have fun or maybe even practice what they learned in the class prior.
“My favorite part about the class is dancing, but I also love reading,” says Adnan, one of the kids attending the I Read Arabic program.
A huge thanks to Little Thinking Minds, creators of the I Read Arabic app, for supporting CRP with their product. Thanks also to Rotary International for providing the tablets and snacks for the kids.