Acquiring more than one language can be rewarding and challenging in todays competitive world, but not at the

expense of our mother tongue. I truly believe that preserving Arabic is the guardian of our identity. If we give up our native language in order to be totally immersed in another language, we are deliberately allowing ourselves to be duplicates of other people or other cultures. Also, unlike other languages Arabic has acquired a special status for centuries thanks to the revelation of the Quran in Arabic. Although Arabic has gained such an importance as a world language, some educational systems in the Arab world have chosen other foreign languages to deliver curricula. These educational systems deny the right of school children to choose Arabic as a medium of instruction and as a means by which their identities are formulated and asserted at an early age. Unlike other scriptures, The Quran was revealed in Arabic and has been preserved in its original language of revelation. It has served as a common language among a diverse community of believers whose native language-in the majority-is not Arabic. It also set the scene for a unique relationship with Islam. On the one hand, Arabic proved to be a very effective tool for spreading the word of God. On the other hand, Islam helped Arabic to acquire the universal status which it has enjoyed for centuries, emerging as one of the world languages. As such, Arabic generates the identity of the modern Muslim both in its entirety and in its diversity. In spite of this, a lot of young Arabs go to international schools where English or French are the media of instruction. The number of hours allocated to the learning of Arabic in such schools is minimal compared to English language classes. They think-or their parents think- that in order to be in the forefront of progress, they have to be enrolled in such schools. They have forgotten that these schools have been established to accommodate, in the first place, the children of expatriate communities and not to be an alternative to national education. Now, a great number of young Arabs can hardly speak Arabic, which in the long run will lead identity loss. Preserving identity is one of the most important issues facing the Arab world nowadays. In a world full of challenges and paradoxes, Arabic can be one of the answers to such a burning issue. Lets not forget that Arabic was the medium of the sciences in the golden ages of the Arabs. The west had made an unparalleled effort to translate the invaluable Averroes works from Arabic into European languages. Moreover, the argument that English is the best medium for teaching science and technology cannot always hold true if we consider the achievements made in these fields by some Arab countries such as Iraq and Syria.

For these reasons a lot can be done in order to enhance Arabic language learning. First, educational reform has to be implemented if we really want Arabic to reclaim its former role in educating generations of students. Arabic shall be the medium of instruction of all science subjects. This, certainly, does not exclude the learning of foreign languages-especially English-not only as a means for successful communication, but also in order to enhance research in the fields of science and technology, knowing that most reference books are published in English. Second, Reform shall be implemented gradually starting with primary education all the way up to higher education to avoid any drastic change. Finally, if we assume that language is the primary ingredient for establishing the national identity, it is high time to value Arabic not only as a tool of communication, but also as the main component of our culture and civilization.