Quick linguistic comparison: Spanish vs. Arabic

About a year ago I shared the Ocho Kandelas song in Ladino as a quick lesson tying together Spanish history, linguistic comparisons, and Hannukah traditions. This year I'm using this song again, but am also sharing this quick video comparing Arabic and Spanish:

Here's a listening worksheet I made for with the video. (Any readers who speak and write Arabic, feel free to correct my Arabic transcriptions... I used wordreference and my dubious familiarity with the Arabic alphabet.)



This quick look at Ladino and Arabic have been a quick a chance for my students at all grade levels (3rd through 8th) to see how knowing one new language can help them with understanding others. It ties in well with our discussion of historical religious conflict in Spain, and even current events. (I've tried very hard to remain politically neutral, but when I told them about Jews and Muslims being kicked out of Spain, an entire 3rd grade class started yelling about a certain political candidate who is big in the news these days...)

I love nerding out about language learning with my students! I've been trying to learn Arabic for a few years, as my third language - not rigorously enough to gain any kind of fluency, as I learned during a trip to Morrocco where the only phrase I could consistently remember was an unhelpful "She drinks coffee." Maybe this lesson will give me the push I need to pick up my language studies again. I find it very meaningful to be a language learner along with my students.

Edit: Just read the news about Augusta Co. schools. Be careful where you teach this - yikes!