“I’ve wanted to minor in Arabic since I started at UofL, but they didn’t have a program for it,” said Gatsos.

Junior political science major Kristen Justice told a similar story.

“I found out about the minor sometime during the spring 2020 semester and wanted to declare it immediately. I believe I even emailed Khaldoun about it over the quarantine period,” Justice said.

Offered through the Classical and Modern Languages department, Arts and Sciences, the new degree comes amid growing student interest in Middle Eastern and African cultures and languages.   

Most of the classes are taught by professor and program coordinator Khaldoun Almousily, a popular instructor who has and is credited with igniting curiosity in Arabic language and culture.

“Arabic is a very beautiful language with rich history and high demand in the job market,” said Almousily.

“Arabic has only 28 letters. It takes students a day or two to learn to read and write in Arabic. The U.S. Department of State offers several fully funded scholarships to students to study Arabic abroad. Because of all that, a large number of students expressed their high interest. In the coming years, we will offer a major. We also are in the process of starting a translation course so students could start making money as translators and interpreters.”  

UofL also offers a minor in , an interdisciplinary program that provides instruction in languages, anthropology, art history, humanities, history and politics.  

Almousily’s work to build global understanding goes well beyond Kentucky. Affiliated for years with the Jordan-based Arab Council for the Gifted and Talented, he was appointed chair of the council’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee Sept. 7.   

The appointment gives Almousily a chance to lead a team of educators from 23 countries to develop and improve curriculum and instruction for Arab students and teachers.

“I have always wanted to make a difference in the education system in the Arab world,” Almousily said.  

He hopes his new appointment can directly benefit UofL too. His ideas include forging co-education partnerships between the university and the council, encouraging Arab graduate students to apply to UofL and opening doors for research and study abroad opportunities.

Almousily earned a Diversity Champion Award in 2017 and is a member of the Classical and Modern Languages department Diversity Equity Inclusion Committee.

For more information about the Arabic language minor, click

They include Khaldoun Almousily, Classical and Modern Languages in the College of Arts & Sciences; Kathryn Harman,  Health and Sport Sciences, College of łÉČËÖ±˛Ą and Human Development; Ahmed Shalaby, Bioengineering, J.B. Speed School of Engineering; John Finch, Early Childhood and Elementary łÉČËÖ±˛Ą, CEHD; and Emily Schnarr, Management, College of Business.

“The best part of my position right now is seeing our University of Louisville students become teachers. And I know when that transition happens,” Finch said. “I tell them early on that when you come into this course, this classroom, I don’t want you thinking and being a University of Louisville student. You are to be a teacher.  You are to think like a teacher, act like a teacher. You’re a teacher.  And that’s the way I’m going to treat you, that’s the way I want you to think, look and act. So when I see that transition, it’s absolutely phenomenal.” 

Shalaby, who teaches a class called managing big data in medicine, said the subject matter is complex and therefore needs to be simplified more. 

“I break down the information into smallest, smaller pieces that make easy for students easier to understand it,” Shalaby said. 

Harman agrees with the method of simplification for her course, which covers a lot of information about muscle function and how muscles create movements at joints. 

“I can’t just talk about it. I have to show them,” she said, adding that it’s important to give students a different way to look at course materials. 

Almousily’s approach to teaching is to add context to prepare students to be global citizens. 

“I want them to say I’m glad the class is over, I’m going to go practice what I learned,” he said. “The first thing we do in teaching is engaging. If a student is not engaged in the class I don’t think they’re going to learn anything. I want them to be the center of attention, the center of the class.”

“I tell my students … they’re the ones that keep me coming back and doing what I do,” Finch adds. 

Check out our Faculty Favorites in their own words: 

Lucky for UofL, Jordanian native Khaldoun Almousily is exactly that type of teacher.

Although he has been at the university for just two semesters, his Arabic language classes in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Classical and Modern Languages Department have become popular and, now, four of his students have won prestigious Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) in Arabic.

The four CLS winners are , , and . All four credit Almousily’s instruction—plus his ability to weave a bit of history and culture into his curriculum—with their success in earning the award.

“He incites passion for Arabic and the Middle East in all of his students and is an incredible and patient instructor,” Pepper wrote.

Ball called Almousily “one of the most influential professors I have ever had.”

Apparently, Almousily’s penchant for teaching is a strong family trait. Two of his sisters and one brother, who still live in Jordan, are also Arabic teachers.

“I love teaching more than anything else and I love interacting with students,” Almousily said.

The is a fully funded language and cultural immersion program for college students. It is funded by the U.S. Department of State to build a larger pool of Americans who can speak foreign languages considered to be critical to the U.S. Candidates for the CLS in Arabic are required to have at least one year of college-level instruction.

Ball, a Manchester native, and Pepper, an Elizabethtown native, will both spend their CLS at Noor Majan Training Institute in Ibri, Oman.

Brawner, a Glendale native, will travel to Meknes, Morocco, and Wright, who is from Louisville, will study in Tangier, Morocco.

Almousily came to UofL in 2015 as an instructor and program coordinator of Arabic language. He previously was an interpreter/translator on state and federal levels and taught for five years at Western Kentucky University, where he was instrumental in building Kentucky’s and Western’s first major and minor in Arabic. He hopes to build a similar program for UofL.

He likes to keep students engaged in the classroom by giving them real-world, tangible experiences as they learn. He explains:

“When the unit is about things you need from a grocery store, we turn the classroom into a store were students design a shopping list and go to the market to buy several items they need for the dish they are making. When the unit is about clothing, I bring real clothes and turn the classroom into a market where students are divided into customers and salespeople. They talk about the design, materials and try to negotiate the price.”

He also likes to get students out of the classroom. He has organized field trips to an Islamic Center and has shown Arabic-speaking movies. Such approaches resonate well with students.

Wright wrote that he appreciates Almousily for “encouraging me to apply for a CLS and for really pushing me to be more comfortable speaking Arabic as opposed to just learning the material from a book.”

The CLS scholars will head to their respective destinations this summer.