Introduction:
Nigeria Arabic Language Village is the only Inter-University Centre statutorily established to offer immersion Programme 300 Level students of Nigerian Universities.
The One-Year Abroad Programme for 300 Level Students of Arabic in Nigerian Universities was designed to enable students of Arabic to live in a setting completely dominated by the speakers of this Language and their culture, leading to the cultural immersion necessary for gaining a sound command and communicative competence in the target Language. This One-Year training in an Arabic speaking Country used to be a basic requirement for all undergraduates specializing in Arabic.
It was against this background that in the late 1980s the Federal Government decided to set up Ministerial Planning Committee on the establishment of Arabic and French Villages in Nigeria.
In July, 1989, the Committee submitted its final report in which Ngala Borno State was selected as the permanent site of the Nigeria Arabic Language Village. The Ministerial Committee recommended to the Federal Government among other things that Borno State
N
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Government be requested to “release the Government Comprehensive Secondary School at Ngala as her contribution towards Arabic Language development in Nigeria.
The report and recommendations of the Committee led to the establishment of the Nigeria Arabic Language Village in 1992.
The envisaged culture setting shall be made to look as similar as possible to the setting in Arabic speaking countries to which the beneficiaries of the One-Year-Abroad Programme used to go. In this way, the elements and conditions necessary for achieving Proficiency and communicative competence in Arabic Language could be secured. In addition, this arrangement is designed to serve the twin purpose of Achieving and Promoting self-sufficiency in the teaching of Arabic in Nigeria through the optimum use of local materials and human resources.
Location:
Nigeria Arabic Language Village(NALV) is located in the ancient town of Ngala, Borno State, which serves as the headquarters of Ngala Local Go9vernment, which lies between latitude 12 degree 22 inches north and longitude 14 degrees 11 inches east, is 135 kilometers North-East of Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital. Ngala
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is bordered by Chad and Cameroon to the North-East. NALV has a total landmass of 93.44 hectares and is bordered by Ngala General Hospital to the west and open farm lands to the East and South. The site is fenced with 1120m- wall from the front and parts of the sides while the rest is fenced with barbed wire.
Front View of the NALV Liaison Office
Ngala is also host to an International Agricultural Institute jointly owned by Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Central African Republic and Cameroon as well as Chad Basin Development Authority, Lake Chad Research Institute among others. Being a historic town with historical monuments capable of attracting tourist. Ngala is also home to the famous prayer room where Sheikh Muhammad Al-Amin El-Kanemi - the scholar/Warrior
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who ruled Kanem-Borno in the 18th century spent several years in spiritual seclusion before ascending to power.
The choice of Ngala to locate the Arabic Village is deliberate and relevant. It is deliberate because those behind the selection of Ngala had in mind the fact that a greater proportion of the inhabitants of the town and its surrounding are made up of Shuwa-Arabs, who are native speakers of a dialect of Arabic. It is relevant because students coming to the Village are assured of direct, close and dynamic exposure to the speakers of the target Language and their culture, particularly during guided tours.
Administrative Block (NALV)
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MOTTO, MISSION, VISION, PHILOSOPHY
AND OBJECTIVES
Motto:
Language for global understanding and cooperation.
The Nigeria Arabic Language Village was established to provide services related to growth and development of Arabic Language in Nigeria and for its use as a tool of International Diplomacy. The Village has therefore developed its motto, mission, vision, philosophy and objectives to meet the goals for which it was established.
Mission:
The mission of the Nigeria Arabic Language Village is to encourage fluency, proficiency and competence in the learning of Arabic Language and Literature in Nigeria under an enabling environment.
Vision:
The vision of the Nigeria Arabic Language Village is to enhance the study of Arabic Language as an efficient vehicle of communication and an effective tool of international relations and cooperation for Nigeria.
Objectives:
The objectives of the Village shall be to promote the study and use of the Arabic Language in Nigeria by
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exploring all relevant and available avenue, potentials and resources to make the Village;
a. An active teaching and learning Centre for the study of Arabic;
b. A resource Centre for specialized professional service to the public and private sectors of the Nigeria Economy; and
c. A Nigeria Inter-University Centre for Arabic Studies
The Justification of an Inter-University for the Study of Arabic
Besides the introductory remarks that justified the establishment of the Arabic Language Village, the Centre by implication is geared to satisfy several others needs. A breakdown of some of these needs include:
Needs of University System:
The need of Nigerian Universities that offer Arabic stems from the replacement of the One-Year-Abroad Programme for Students of Arabic who register for B.A Degree in Arabic, B.Ed Degree in Education with Arabic as the teaching subjects. B Ed Degree with Minor in Arabic and some Colleges of Education that offer B.A and B. Ed Programmes in Arabic in affiliation to some Universities through the Language Immersion Courses of the Village;
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Needs of Colleges of Education:
The need of Nigeria Colleges of Education that offer Arabic as a major subject is met through the Village Acculturation Programme for NCE Students, which is expected to arouse interest in the study of Arabic in these Colleges and thus lead to increase student`s intake for the NCE Arabic Programmes.
Needs of Senior Secondary Schools:
The establishment of the Village is expected to encourage more secondary school Students to enroll in the Arabic Language (Special Training) as envisaged in the National Policy on Education, which listed Arabic as one of the non-vocational electives from which a student’s is to choose.
Needs of the Wider Society:
The Village being a huge resource Centre will be under-utilized if its activities are restricted within the Educational system in the Country. One of the objectives of the village, therefore, is to extend its services to the beneficiaries such as the ones listed below;
a. Offices from Foreign Affairs Ministry.
b. Officers from Customs, Aviation and Immigration Services.
c. NIPOST, NITEL Officers.
d. Armed Forces and Para Military Officers.
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e. Protocol Officers.
f. Press Secretaries and Information officers.
g. Organized Private Sector.
h. None formally trained Arabist who wish to be integrated into the formal School system.
Need to Serve as a Centre for Research and Documentation
Long before the contact with Europe, the history of Africa and Africans was mainly recorded in Arabic by Arabs speakers while a lot of archival records scattered in libraries and Universities across the country are also in Arabic. Much more of these are held by Scholars and individuals. Thus the need for various levels of research and documentation in that direction is a great challenge facing the nation and the village. Thus the Village will serve as a specialized Centre for the retrieval and documentation of archival materials for the use of researchers, allied interested groups and individuals. The satisfaction of this need is another important mandate of the Village.
The Out of School Children (ALMAJIRI)
The Menace of the out of School Children cannot be over emphasized, the government is proactive in this regard at national and State level policies were been
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formulated and Programmes designed to cater for these children.
Seeing the importance and inference attached to it Nigeria Arabic Language Village have started a training for Tsangaya Teachers and Teaching the Children and Ba’a Buji Tsangaya School was selected as a pilot scheme with over 300 pupils and 50 teachers.
NALV have furnished an office at the school and provide furniture and material to the School and also provide about 300 text Books free of charge to the pupils.
Train the Trainer:
In accordance with the Federal Government aspiration to provide training for the civil service at all level NALV have started the training of Arabic teacher in the Country starting with four Local Government in Borno State, namely; Jere, Maiduguri, Konduga and Mafa Local Governments, the aim is to train the Arabic Teachers and re-orient them on core national values and update them on the subjects they are teaching.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES:
The strategies to be adopted by the Nigeria Arabic Language Village towards achieving the objectives
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behind the establishment of the Language Centre shall be:
 Senior Teaching Staff will be drawn from among Scholars of Arabic in Nigerian Universities as well as;
 From Arab Countries and International Organizations interested in the teaching and dissemination of Arabic
 The provision of the necessary infrastructural facilities to meet the needs of effective teaching and learning of the targeted language. This includes library facilities, language laboratories and other teaching aids gadgets, simultaneous interpreters and the establishment of a Computer Centre among others.
 The encouragement of research and publication as well as the introduction of articulated staff development Programmes
 Relaying television Programmes from Arabic speaking countries in the Middle East, and North Africa, provision of Arabic newspapers, Magazines and other periodicals, etc in the library to expose the students to modern spoken and written Arabic.
 Guided tours for the beneficiaries of the Village Programmes and facilities to nearby Arabic speaking countries, when circumstances allow.
 The evolution of various methods and techniques to secure the realization of the desired competence in communication skills in Arabic. This includes students` debates, contributions by the students to
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student’s journals as well as language drills and training in translation and interpretation from English to Arabic and Vice-versa.
 Designing suitable curricula for the various categories of students.
 Formulation of physical designs and construction methods for the Village infrastructure in such a way that they will be amenable to expansion modification and conversion to suit the needs of the institution in its various phases of academic and infrastructural development.
 The promotion of the Village into an active teaching and learning inter-university Centre for the study of Arabic and a resource center for specialized professional services to the public and private sectors of the Nigerian Economy.