A Fulbright scholar writes that more American students are taking interest in learning Arabic, which he argues is a very positive development:

An obvious benefit of this trend is the face-to-face interaction being experienced by a new generation of Americans. Shared classrooms cultivate understanding in a common language. Helen Keller wrote that ``the highest result of education is tolerance,'' which, if true, means that a generation more tolerant and better informed about the Arab-Muslim world is climbing America's ranks.