In case you missed yesterday's post, this is the second part of a group question-and-answer session between my Darija classmates and I. Yesterday, we covered motivations for being in the country, our expectations for the course and what we expected out of class. Today we wrap it up with the final "pro's and con's," recommendations for future students, etc...
(continued from yesterday) Ok, more generally speaking; what did you like about the course?
Gaëlle: The challenge of it: to learn an unwritten dialect is quite an ‘impossible’ thing to do, and not many people have tried it. It is as if a Moroccan who has never been in my country before, would tell me that he is learning the dialect of my city (Gents/ Le Gantois), without knowing any Dutch at all, let alone the Latin alphabet. I would call him crazy, but at the same time I would be proud and happy that someone shows this amount of genuine interest in my language and culture.
- I also liked the conversations we had in class about all kinds of topics which are very delicate: politics, the Arab versus the Western world, the role of women in the society and the meaning of the jihab, islam, the current political issues in Belgium between the Walloons and the Flemish and the lack of government. We had these conversations with a very limited amount of vocabulary, but even with this restriction, I know that these conversations have brought more understanding between our teacher (Moroccan), Jay and Gwyn (American), me (Belgian-Flemish), and Nadia (Moroccan-Belgian-Walloon).
- I very much liked the atmosphere in our class: we made a lot of jokes, invented new words, used slang from different languages in different ways, and had to laugh a lot with our own incapacities.
- I liked the teamwork: we often had to try to find the meaning of a word in different languages: French, English, Darija, Fusha, Flemish. We also learned to communicate amongst us and with the teacher about the lessons and their content, in order to make everyone satisfied with the course. We would also help each other when we missed a class. Great teamwork!
Gwyn: The book we use is not bad, but it is made by the US Peace Corps and it is not part of a whole well-thought out program based on years of experience generated by the teachers as they would have you believe. The staff are all very nice and helpful and once you are able to speak some in Darija, it is very rewarding to be able to get to know them and converse.
Jay: The flexibility and the extracurriculars. Learning the language was only part of my educational goals and was quickly reprioritized behind seeing the Rabat area and its history.
And more pointedly, any favorite moments?
Gaëlle: I love the tea break at 10.30 am and lunch in the garden in the sun. Those are the moments when you share experiences and life stories with people from all over the world, this is when you learn a lot about life and the possible paths to follow. This is where friendships are made!
Gwyn: My favorite was listening to different students come up with new ways of remembering words based on their own native languages. The school attracts a nice group of people.
Jay: Lunch and tea. A time where most of the students gathered, these periods were great for meeting new people and seeing who else was around the city. From all parts of America, Europe and other continents, my fellow students were just as interesting to get to know as the Moroccan culture and dialect. In the class, it was probably the girls and their invention of new words. Most days at the beginning they created new words that they "borrowed" from English. My favorite was joujing - to voluminize your hair. Our instructor did not get it but pretended he did. Lots of laughs - priceless.
...And not-so-favorite moments; what did you find most difficult about studying the language?
Gaëlle: - As I mentioned before, there is not much didactical material available for Darija. There is no dictionary in the school, and we only had a Peace Corps syllabus with some grammar and vocabulary as reference material. I discovered online that the two only dictionaries of Moroccan Darija are outdated, expensive or simply not available anymore. Other material is scarce.
- Also, the different way of teaching was difficult to accept. I constantly had the feeling that things were inefficiently or simply badly organized. At the same time, this was a positive challenge: I had to learn to deal with this different way of teaching, and when one day I got very angry (one of those bad mood mornings when you can’t keep your cool), I had to find out whether I exaggerated or whether it was justified and how I could re-establish good vibes with the teacher.
- Finally, teachers here have some kind of ‘untouchable authority’. They have difficulties when you mention the fact that there is a mistake on the blackboard, or when you propose a different way of teaching, or when you want to give them constructive criticism. I think that this used to be similar in Europe 50 years ago. But I grew up in a different time and I am used to flexible teachers, and flexible study programs. Fortunately, the teacher we have now (unlike or first teacher) is 100 percent willing to meet somewhere in the middle, and I am very happy about that.
Gwyn: The most difficult part of studying this language was learning the transliteration with English script instead of Arabic. It was incredibly confusing and since it is not used anywhere outside this school, and not even used uniformly within this school, I found it hard to see the utility. For me, it slowed or confused pronunciation nuances.
Jay: The lack of a standard transcription system. If the language were only taught orally, this wouldn't be an issue. However, most of the work was written on the board or read in a book. With 6 instructors each bringing their own transcription techniques to the class, I think we were all frustrated with the school's inability to enforce one system between their instructors.
Wrapping up, do you have any recommendations for future Darija students (or students of other languages in general)?
Gaëlle: Learning a language is an amazing thing, it is a gift of life. I advise everyone to learn at least one other language than their mother tongue. It enriches your life, it trains your brain, it changes your view on the world, it makes you overcome your insecurity to talk ‘like a child’, and it makes you feel young! It also allows you travel in the world, and to communicate with ‘the first source’: the people in the street.
-If you want to learn Darija, I would advise you to take a course with a non-native speaker because he/she understands better the difficulties and the structure of the language. I would also advise you to go to your university library (or the national Moroccan library in Rabat) and copy everything you can find on Darija. Try to find one of those two dictionaries (Colin and George Washington University), and look online for mp3 material in Darija. Find out if there are Moroccans in your city and try to have conversations with them. After that, I would go to Morocco and go to school here, so that you already have a basis, and your own didactical material.
- If you would like to learn a language, I would advise you to study Arabic: the bipolar world of Communism/Capitalism changed into the bipolar world of the West/the Arab world. This schism, this clash of civilizations is mostly based on discourses, stereotypes, images, Orientalism and Occidentalism (Orientalism – E. Said, Occidentalism – I. Buruma). As children of our time, the best we can do is learn this language. Understanding of another culture -or even someone else’s opinion from the same culture- comes with modesty, curiosity, perseverance and these are exactly the skills which you develop as a student of a language. These are the skills we need to meet in the middle between different cultures. Learning Arabic allows you to construct your own non-judgmental view on the Arab world ànd on the Western world. It allows you to learn about the Arab world from the first source, the people in the street and not the media or the politicians.
Gwyn: The classical Arabic courses here seem to be very good and the teachers are great. Having a discussion over email about what to expect and perhaps coming in a high season or for private lessons with a clear set of goals you discuss with your instructor would make your time more rewarding.
Jay: Darija is not the same as Arabic. Don't expect most of the words to fit or, if they do, they may be pronounced differently. I had a hard time speaking initially because there was a Darija-Arabic mix in my head; pending on your goals, you may want to pick a couple topics to devote to each language. For instance: In the cab = Darija. In the restaurant = Darija. Tallking about unemployment = Arabic.
And finally, would you do it again? Please explain.
Gaëlle: I definitely would, although I would probably bring my own dictionary and books, and I would study the Arabic alphabet first. But I can say that my experiences in the language school as a whole have been an absolute success: it was more than I had hoped for!
Gwyn: I am happy I came to study darija. I wish I had started with another program. However, it is often in circumstances like these that you make good friends, and in this I have been lucky. Frustrated by daija classes, but bonded by the brain-jeujing fun of it all. Also, I chose to stay with a host family who turned out to be incredibly wonderful. The best. This aspect of the program was excellent, and has given me so many extra opportunities to practice and improve my language skills.
Jay: Of course I'd do it again! Meeting fellow students, seeing the sites and learning a little of the local language were all things I couldn't have done as easily if I just came to the country and started travelling. It was a great experience despite some hickups in the administration and teaching staff. After a month, I got what I wanted out of the course and can now continue studying at my own pace with the materials that I acquired during my time!
That wraps it up! If you have any comments or feedback on the joint effort (would you like to see more of this type of post?, etc...), let me know. Again, my sincere thanks to Gwyn and Gaelle for guest writing for the past couple days. We hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did presenting it to you!
Me and the Girls: Gaelle (far right) and Gwyn (middle)
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