For Arielle Miles, speaking multiple languages has been a lifelong skill. Born to an English speaking father and bilingual French mother, she began her study of foreign language informally, from birth. This summer, the 2004 Seekonk High School salutatorian will continue her language and culture studies, heading to Arabic speaking Morocco for two months after being awarded a U.S. State Department Critical Language Scholarship.
Ms. Miles will first spend time in Washington D.C., before heading to Tangier, Morocco where she will take part in the intensive Arabic language program, which runs from June 5 to August 9.
The Critical Language Scholarship program is part of the National Security Language Initiative, a federal program to expand the number of students studying and mastering "critical" foreign languages. Though Ms. Miles is fluent in both English and French and has also studied Hebrew and Spanish, Arabic remains her biggest challenge, with only two years of study under her belt.
"Studying in Arabic is complicated by the fact that every Arabic-speaking region has its own dialect, and Moroccan Arabic is made fun of by everyone else in the Middle East because it's so incomprehensible to them," Ms. Miles said. "So I'm very far from fluent. It's my project."
While traveling abroad may be intimidating to some, Ms. Miles is no stranger to studying away from home. Though she grew up in Seekonk, Ms. Miles is currently a student of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She said that as tough as the program may be, applying for the scholarship wasn't easy either. The process included multiple essays, questionnaires and school transcripts were required in an examination of applicants from across the country.
"For me the hardest part was answering the essay questions and respecting the word limit," Ms. Miles said.
"I was only accorded 300 words."
Ms. Miles said she believes she was chosen because of her good grades in her two years of Arabic studies and a wide academic background, double-majoring in Arabic as well as Chemistry.
Shortly before leaving on her trip, Ms. Miles will sign a pledge promising to use only Arabic exclusively during the day and while on campus in Morocco.
"I am definitely both nervous and excited for the trip. I didn't take Arabic [course] this year, the last time I studied it was last summer, so I'm nervous because of the amount that I've forgotten since then. But then again, the point of this trip is for me to improve," Ms. Miles said.
Because of her relatively short study of Arabic, Ms. Miles will be placed on the "intermediate" level upon arrival, though further language evaluation will also be given at this time.
When asked if her time in Montreal has prepared her for the trip to Morocco, Ms. Miles was on the fence.
"I think going to Morocco will be a little bit like arriving at McGill in the way that I won't know anyone when the program starts and everyone there will have similar educational goals," Ms. Miles said. "But there's undeniably a huge difference between going to study in a place where I know the language and cultural norms and a place where I don't understand the language and will have to learn the cultural norms. So yes and no, because nothing really can prepare anyone completely for a new experience."
By George Morse