Rabat – The Hassan II Foundation for Moroccans Living Abroad (MREs) has extended its Arabic language-learning app “e-madrassa” to help native English and Spanish speakers learn one of Morocco’s official languages.

The app is designed to help children of the Moroccan community living abroad learn Arabic. The platform first launched in December 2013 for French speakers to acquire basic written and spoken elements of the Arabic language.

The Hassan II Foundation for MREs has diversified the app over the years, introducing Italian as a teaching language. Now, English and Spanish speakers will be able to benefit from the program, and the Foundation plans to introduce additional teaching languages in the future.

The “e-madrassa” program has two levels for Arabic learners.

The first level teaches users the letters of the Arabic alphabet in 33 lessons and seven evaluations. The first level also features transitional evaluations between modules and levels.

The second level has five parts and focuses on thematic learning through dialogue, videos, and cartoons. Children are able to acquire Arabic vocabulary related to themes such as family, nationality, friendship, and travel.

“E-madrassa” is most effective as a complementary program to face-to-face education. The app seeks to consolidate the work of teachers, reinforce the achievements of students, and offer support to those hoping to learn Arabic.

The app counts some 69,500 students enrolled in the learning course.

The late King Hassan II established the Hassan II Foundation for MREs in 1990. The objective of the state-owned, non-profit institution is to maintain the fundamental links between Moroccans residing abroad and their homeland and help MREs overcome the difficulties they face as a result of their emigration.

Princess Lalla Meryem chairs the Foundation, which operates a variety of programs in the cultural, legal, economic, and social fields.

One of the pillars of the Foundation is education for Moroccan children living abroad, embodied through its adoption of the initiative for the Teaching of the Arabic language and Moroccan Culture (ELACM).

The ELACM initiative began operating in the 1970s in response to MREs wanting to ensure their children learn Arabic so they can easily integrate into Moroccan schools should they decide to return to Morocco.

In 1991, the Hassan II Foundation for MREs absorbed the ELACM. The Foundation then launched an action program with the Ministry of Education to improve the Arabic learning program and meet the needs of teaching staff.

ELACM now employs some 550 teachers and benefits approximately 75,000 people per year.

The four types of Arabic education under the ELACM include preschool education, integrated education provided in public schools during statutory working hours, deferred education provided in public schools outside of statutory working hours, and parallel education provided at the initiative of associations and in the premises of associations and mosques.

The app represents one mechanism in the Hassan II Foundation’s initiative to ensure that the children of Moroccans living abroad can learn Arabic and connect with their cultural heritage.