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Long-distance learning(New Haven Register (New Haven, CT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 30--NEW HAVEN -- With interest in Arabic far outpacing the number of certified Arabic teachers, it could be tempting for districts to clone the teachers they do have. New Haven has done almost that with Fatima Nouchkioui. Nouchkioui started the district's Arabic program three years ago at Metropolitan Business Academy when her French students begged her to write their names on the board in Arabic. "They wanted to learn," said Nouchkioui, a native of Morocco. Nouchkioui has since taught two years of basic Arabic to seniors in a pilot program for the district. This year the program launched full-force with sixth graders at Vincent Mauro School and the Engineering and Science University Magnet School, and at Career High School. Next year will be the first year the district will offer second-year Arabic. With few certified Arabic teachers, the district is using videoconferencing technology and a teaching assistant to stretch Nouchkioui's skills to Career. "This is a beginning program to introduce Arabic to Career, and this is how we could get it," said Karen DeFur, the district's foreign language supervisor. "We can see there is definitely a desire amongst the student body." This isn't the first time the district has employed creative methods to expand its language program. New Haven is among eight districts statewide this year with visiting Chinese teachers, supplementing another fledgling language program challenged by the limited number of certified teachers. Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School became the first city school to offer the language last year, and the visiting teachers are being used to expand the program this year at Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School, John C. Daniels School, Metropolitan Business School and Troup Magnet Academy. "The goal was to grow both programs," said DeFur, referring to Arabic and Chinese. "Chinese through guest teacher, and Arabic through distance (learning)," she said. On a recent day at Metro Business, Nouchkioui greets her classes with a "Salam Alaikum," or "peace be with you." Both students at Metro and those across town at Career, following along through cyberspace respond with a "Wa Alaikum Salam." Nouchkioui finishes the Arabic alphabet with the classes, and students make flashcards showing how each new letter sounds and connects to the next in flowing Arabic script. Nouchkioui quizzes the classes on the new letter, asking both the students in front of her and, speaking through a camera, those across town. But for the tasks videoconferencing cannot facilitate, such as checking the letters a student writes on the board, or in their notebooks, teaching assistant Fatima Lenefadel is stationed in the opposite class, filling in where technology cannot. Lenefadel and Nouchkioui alternate classrooms each day. "Sometimes it is confusing, you can't hear that clearly. But that's why I'm here…To make what is far closer," said Lenefadel. "I couldn't believe the students are picking up the language so quickly. One of the students is giving me long sentences. Some students are asking for additional homework." Although Nouchkioui has taught Arabic at Metro before, the new technology has meant changes to her teaching style. Out are transparencies and video dialogs (they're hard to follow for students at the satellite school); in are intra-school dialogs and contests. Competition between the two sites has been a good motivator, she said. "We are so competitive. It's like siblings in a way," said Metro sophomore Zabrina Roman. Roman has a personal connection to the language -- her father served in Iraq, and now helps her with her pronunciation. "My dad is ecstatic," she said. Her cousin is in the Career class, which adds extra competition. "If I see her, once in a while, we start speaking Arabic," she said. It's still too soon to have full conversations, but now that the class has finished learning the alphabet, Roman is ready to start passing Arabic notes. While one student said he signed up for the class "because of the TV," Career student Melissa Montosa said she didn't know about the unique arrangement until she walked into class. "I walked into the room, and was like, what is this?" she said. "It's different, but it's not much harder. We have a teacher," she said. Area Cooperative Educational Services in North Haven has helped 60 local schools, including several in New Haven, set up distance learning programs to link districts for collaborative projects. The programs are paid for with money from the Sheff vs. O'Neill school desegregation settlement. In one project, New Haven's King/Robinson Magnet School is linked with Salem Middle School through videoconferencing, according to Howard Gunther, an educational technology specialist at ACES. While those smaller-scale collaborations are popular and have existed for years, Gunther was unaware of other districts using videoconferencing technology on a full-time basis to staff a course. Only 89 students statewide took Arabic in 2006-07, the most recent state data available. Guilford also offers an Arabic program. "There seems to be a lot of interest amongst students to learn more about the Arabic speaking world. What happened in Guilford when they started the program, they didn't know how popular it would be. There was a high demand and it has continued," said Mary Ann Hansen, world language consultant for the state Department of Education. "I think Arabic enrollments are going to skyrocket if we can find teachers." 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