Roundtable event on teaching Arabic held at GU-Q

“Teaching Arabic at University Level” was the main focus at an event held recently by The Arabic Program at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q). The roundtable event was attended by a group who specialized in the Arabic language and teaching at university levels in the Middle East. The event organizers invited many participants to discuss the challenges and possible solutions facing Arabic language instruction in order to include representation of the various experiences in the region. The event concluded with an open discussion and the participants stressed the necessity of communication, coordination and working together instead of isolated.

GU-Q holds roundtable on teaching Arabic

The Arabic Program at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) held a roundtable focusing on “Teaching Arabic at University Level.” The event was attended by a group specialising in the Arabic language and teaching in universities in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf region.

Event organisers invited a wide range of participants to discuss the challenges and potential solutions facing Arabic language instruction in order to include representation of the many different experiences in the region. The event was concluded with an open discussion under the supervision of Professor Abbas Al Tonsi the director of the Arabic program at GU-Q. The participants emphasised the necessity of communication, coordination, and working together instead of working in isolation.

The seminar was moderated by Dr Yehia Mohamed, Assistant Professor of Arabic at GU-Q, who said: “The purpose of this event was to identify the obstacles that are facing the Arabic language and to gauge the level of competency students have with the language, as well as to understand their relationship to it, especially in the GCC.”

The roundtable was attended by prominent linguist Professor Saad Maslouh from the University of Kuwait, Professor Elham Al Mufti from the UAE, Professor Muhammad Yunis Ali, Director of the Arabic programme at the University of Sharjah, Professor Afaf Batayni and Professor Alfaris Ali representing Zayid University. Professor Abd Al Qadir Faydouh represented his own experience at the University of Bahrain. Professor Muhammad Al Munjjid also attended, representing Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, Professor Ahmad Al Bahkali and Professor Muhammad Fajjal from Saudi Arabia, Rana Siblini, the Director of the Summer Arabic Programme (CAMES) at the American University of Beirut, Dr Maha Al Hindawi and Professor Muhammad Salim from Qatar University, Professor Zainab Ibrahim from Carnegie Mellon University, and Professor Mahmoud Al Ashiri presented the vision and the development of the Arabic program at Georgetown in Qatar.

The Peninsula