“Sweeter Bel Arabi” is the bridge of communication with the Lebanese immigrants
The idea of returning to the roots records a remarkable spread among the Lebanese expatriates in various fields, from dishes and dishes to Lebanese traditions and customs, as they are in a constant state of search for everything that reminds them of their roots in the Land of the Cedars. Social media plays a prominent role in this matter, as the “Instagram” and “Facebook” pages abound with abundant information on these topics.
As for the most recent widespread phenomenon in this context, it is the virtual learning of the mother tongue by people of Lebanese origin.
Tania Ghantous took it upon herself to secure this communication between Lebanon and its people “online”. So she decided to stop practicing her work as a teacher at the French Lycée in Lebanon, and went to another educational field that strengthens the relationship between Lebanese immigrants and their mother tongue, so her idea turned into a bridge of communication between them and their homeland.
Tania Ghantous introduces “Ahla Bel Arabi” (Tania Ghantous)
And through her page on “Instagram”, “Ahla Bel Arabi”, she started her career since the period of the pandemic. She caught the attention of expatriate Lebanese, who had never spoken their mother tongue, but who yearned for it because of their ancestors and their families. And thus urged a not insignificant segment of them to return to the roots. Tania’s idea grew and spread widely, so that today she has pupils and students between the ages of 3 and 60. Children, as owners of companies, ordinary parents, lawyers, employees and businessmen, are rushing today to learn Arabic, especially the Lebanese dialect. Tania explained in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat: “I did not expect my page to receive so much interaction. What surprised me is this nostalgia that inhabits Lebanese who emigrated long ago, but who still dream of Lebanon. And Tania continues: «Some of them got to know Lebanon from a short period when they visited it recently for the purpose of tourism, and others heard stories and stories about it through their fathers and mothers, so they knew it by name and memorized some Lebanese words (welcome, thank you, my love) and others from their families, so they decided to re-strengthen this link in their country from By learning and speaking his language.
Tania’s students are distributed on different continents, and she says that she did not expect that Lebanese people from Ghana, Texas, Senegal, Houston and others would contact her. It is remarkable that most of them want to educate their Lebanese children. “What matters to them is that their children acquire the method of dialogue in Arabic, and not to stress the Arabic rules of classical Arabic. Therefore, I did extensive research in order to be able to develop appropriate educational curricula for each student, according to the country to which he is immigrating.
Tania used grammar from British, French and American educational curricula. She also used the books of Mona Fleifel on letter support. On its basis, the data and methods that are suitable for each of them were developed. She explains, “In this way, it is easier for the child to acquire the Lebanese language on the basis of 8 initial classes. So I took from the foreign curricula that I mentioned what I could apply to the Lebanese curriculum. As for the most important goal that I aspire to in this process, it is mastering the dialogue, and not just pronouncing certain words. And now I have the required educational foundation. It includes dialogues about colors, shapes, and how to deal with vendors in the Lebanese markets. I do not emphasize teaching the meanings of the vocabulary of (tree), (house), (table) and other words that we use daily, but I stress a communicative dialogue that includes all these words within useful sentences that they use well.
Tania tells Asharq Al-Awsat that a Lebanese in France called her asking for his help in teaching his 7-month-old daughter Arabic. “He wanted her to get used to the Lebanese while she was in the cradle, so his foreign wife spoke to her, pampered her, and sang to her in French. I shared with him my thoughts on using Lebanese music, songs and stories. So that her ear begins to familiarize herself with the Lebanese, so she acquires it quickly when she grows up.
There are many different models that Tania tells you about, related to the love of learning Arabic for different reasons. “There is a foreigner of Lebanese origin who owns a major company in America. She asked me to learn Lebanese in order to surprise her Arab customers. While a significant segment of immigrant youth contacts me to take these classes in order to arouse pride in the parents of their Lebanese proficiency.
Tania tells us that Lebanese communities in the Netherlands, Spain, Mexico, Nigeria and others flock to learn Lebanese “online”. And she comments: “These virtual classes made it easier for us to communicate and spread our language in a faster way. Each class usually takes between 40 and 50 minutes. I feel great enthusiasm among my students, old and young, and some of them take these classes in a short time in order to speed up their learning, and others complete their learning after completing the eight classes that form the basis.
Tania’s idea started with her, with students from Lebanon, whose parents emigrated after successive crises. “We have witnessed a large emigration by the Lebanese in recent years. This is what deprived some of these lessons that they started with me in Lebanon. Hence my idea (Ahla Bel Arabi) was born. The parents started calling me and asking me to complete these lessons.”
Thus, Tania’s idea grew and expanded to include even non-Lebanese foreigners who visited Lebanon for the purpose of tourism. They loved the country and adored its customs, traditions and people, so they decided to learn its language in order to visit it again while they were fluent in speaking it.
Tania describes the Lebanese woman in a beautiful, sweet and gentle language, “It enters the heart quickly and does not require verbal exits and difficult Arabic grammar. It infiltrates the ear quickly because it is thin ».
Tania resorts to pictures, recordings, and data taken from the ordinary life of the Lebanese. The main subjects from which the student learns are the basics of Lebanese. “Sometimes I record conversations I have with my children, or with vendors in the market. It conveys to the student the lively atmosphere of the language we speak in our daily lives and easily.”
After her idea spread, Tania turned to colleagues in America and London to help her educate the Lebanese. “Christelle is in America and takes care of students who live in Brazil and South America; Because the timing is similar between those countries. While Michelle from London takes it upon herself to give educational lessons to those in Senegal and Ghana for the same reason.
Soon, Tania will open up the digital environment for her students, and they will communicate through her. “By this, I open the way for them to share hadiths from the countries in which they reside. They like to practice speaking Lebanese in groups. They discover its sweetness and preserve it faster.”
