Around 25 Marine reservists from the Grand Rapids-based Alpha Company 1st Battalion 24th Marines are taking a five-week course designed to provide them with basic proficiency in Iraqi Arabic and cultural sensitivity to help deal with daily life.
The Marines are meeting once a week on Saturdays for a four-hour session on Grand Valley's Pew Grand Rapids Campus. The group has not yet been deployed, and the training is voluntary, Gunnery Sgt. Gregory Keeler said.
"We've really got to know how to conduct ourselves to represent the Marine Corps and the United States in the proper way," Keeler said.
MEDIA NOTE: There will be a media availability during this week's class (Saturday, February 25) from 11 to 11:30 a.m. The class meets in Room 309E of the DeVos Center on Grand Valley's Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
During the course, the Marines will learn how to pronounce and understand the sounds of Iraqi Arabic, learning simple sentences related to daily life and work experiences. They will also learn the difference between Arabic-speaking cultures and develop some knowledge of social life and interaction between people in the Middle East. The hope is that they will become aware of the cultural differences that can create misunderstandings and avoid stereotypes and common misconceptions.
"We know we're not going to be fluent after five classes, but we do think we'll get some good understanding of the Iraqi culture and some dos and don'ts of dealing with the Iraqis," Keeler said. "The university has really worked well with us and we appreciate their supporting us in this program," Keeler said.
Keeler approached Grand Valley in December about arranging the class. He was assisted by the university's Division of Continuing Education, which has arranged other professional language training programs * including Spanish classes for Grand Rapids municipal workers.
"There is increased interest in acquiring language skills in the Grand Rapids community," said Diane Phelps, director of professional programs for Continuing Education. "I think this reflects a growing realization about the diversity of the workforce here and the implications for running a business."
The course is being taught by Grand Valley Arabic professors Majd Al-Mallah and Sebastian Maisel. It will focus not only on language, but on cultural knowledge like the history of Iraq and the contemporary politics of the region.
"Our goal is to show them that the people of Iraq are as ordinary as we are," Maisel said. "We hope to make the Marines aware that it is a hard time for the Iraqis as well."
