Georgetown Roundtable Focuses on “Teaching Arabic at University Level”

The Arabic Program at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) held a roundtable on Sunday April 26, 2015, focusing on “Teaching Arabic at University Level.” The event was attended by a group specializing in the Arabic language and teaching in universities in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf region.

Event organizers 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 emphasized 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 commented: “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 program 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 Program (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 roundtable is just one of many events that were held by the Arabic faculty members at GU-Q, which included Using Technology in the Language Classroom and Benefiting from Arabic Linguistics in the Classroom. The program has plans to hold more events in the future, such as the upcoming intensive workshop for faculty members around Tests, Assessment and Proficiency. This workshop will be held in collaboration with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).