I teach Arabic language in a public school at the high school level to all grades. The first day of the school year I asked my students to write a thinking page on what they know about Arabic language and speakers. Most of the answers were similar to "The Arab girls cover their hair. They can't date or shake hands with other men. Men can have more than one wife." Other students used the term "Muslim" instead of "Arab" because they are confused about whether all Arabs are Muslims or all Muslims are Arabs. After all students shared their page, I asked them if they think the same customs existed or exist in other cultures. The answers were negative. Then the questions arose: How come the Arabs / Muslims live this way? Why Arabs / Muslims …? The groups of students I teach have a wild curiosity about the Muslims' lifestyle and culture, especially knowing that I, their teacher, am a Muslim. So, I decided to write a unit that addresses the major questions that are the most confusing for my students. As a language educator I believe that learning a language helps understand the culture of the target countries and vice versa. I also strongly believe that I can better reach my objectives if I address my students' needs and interests. Through the few years I have been teaching I have learned that in order to make our lessons interesting to our students, the subject has to relate to their lives or at least give the students the opportunity to compare and contrast with their lives. Because the need for this unit was raised by the students themselves, I chose to do it and make it comparative with other cultures that students already know.
