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Oxford High School’s Newest Foreign Language Class Available This Fall

photo of students and a teacher at Arabic Camp Day

Oxford, Mississippi (April 23, 2024) — Oxford High School (OHS) is delighted to announce the addition of Arabic 1 and 2 classes available for the 2024-2025 school year. These classes will be taught at OHS by an instructor from the University of Mississippi’s Department of Modern Languages.

This new addition is made available thanks to a generous grant from Qatar Foundation International (QFI), LLC. Arabic 1 is scheduled for this fall and Arabic 2 for Spring 2025.

Arabic is a common language taught in collegiate settings; however, many high schools lack Arabic classes. The collaboration with QFI and the University of Mississippi gives OHS students the opportunity to learn a language not previously taught at Oxford. Furthermore, Oxford will be the first high school in the state of Mississippi to offer an Arabic class.

Thomas Herrington, Oxford School District Online Learning Coordinator and Instructional Coach, who helped write the grant, said OHS has more than 20 students who speak Arabic. Additionally, Herrington added, “Studying a new language, it helps open up new doors. Not just to new knowledge, but to new understanding. I think that is the great part of this grant.”

On Thursday, April 18, “Arabic Camp Day” was hosted in the OHS library for students to learn more about the new class and the Arabic culture.

“Arabic is a unique language and it has a very rich culture.” Emad Gerges, an Arabic Flagship Program Instructor from the University of Mississippi said. “Learning Arabic will provide students with great opportunities as it is the official language of 20 countries in the Middle East – learn Arabic and be ready for adventures.”

Camille White