Teachers, educators and experts from across Qatar have come together at a Qatar Foundation forum to exchange methods and strategies for teaching the Arabic language – and engaging the nation’s youth in recognising its place at the heart of their national identity.
The third edition of the Education Forum on Heritage and Identity, organised by the Education Development Institute of Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies – Tarsheed, recently held a study day where innovators and specialists shared their insights on effective pathways for Arabic learning in schools.
The event, held at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, hosted a series of interactive workshops delivered by Arabic teachers and covered an array of topics – from teaching how to write Arabic and making Arabic classes inclusive to those with learning challenges – to how technology, music, drama, and electronic platforms can support Arabic teaching strategies.
Speaking at the forum, Qatar Foundation Pre-University Education (PUE) President Abeer Al-Khalifa described the event as an opportunity to discuss issues related to Arabic and heritage education, and to share ideas about the importance of the language and our efforts to promote it.
She said that the Arabic language is a vital part of the Qatari identity because a person’s sense of belonging to their society and their adherence to the values, traditions and history of this society, begins primarily with language; and because language is closely related to identity. Teaching the Arabic language is therefore crucial so that students understand its complexities and nuances.
Al-Khalifa also explained how Qatar Foundation is a custodian of the Arabic language.
We recognise the importance of creating an integrated environment that encourages and supports the learning of the Arabic language, and this includes extracurricular activities that integrate the language into cultural events and competitions, as these activities contribute to presenting the Arabic language in a fun and engaging way, and develop students’ sense of pride and belonging to their heritage.
Tarsheed Managing Director Samia Bishara Rizeq said the event represented a dialogue between teachers, experts and specialists, united by a love for the Arabic language, that indicates the importance of developing and keeping pace with modern methods in education.
Speaking about the partnership between Tarsheed and EDI, she also explained that fostering interest in Arabic is at the core of their work.
Keynote speaker Dr Hanadi Dayeh, meanwhile, delivered a talk focused on the concepts of originality and renewal in teaching Arabic, and how this impacts the way learners acquire the language. She invited participants to examine and reflect on practices and approaches for teaching Arabic and to search for new and original ways of doing so.
Teaching Arabic
More than 300 teachers from government and private schools in Qatar participated in sessions presented by experts in teaching Arabic from different Arab countries, focusing on topics that included teaching written expression, communication, linguistics, the mentality of questioning when learning Arabic, and critical reading.
The study day also included workshops presented by a group of teachers from Qatar addressing the methods and strategies they use to teach different Arabic skills. The event provided participants with the opportunity for dialogue and the exchange of experiences on how teaching Arabic can be enhanced and how students’ attitudes toward learning it can be developed.
Through a partnership between Qatar Foundation and TED, the flagship TEDinArabic Summit will take place in Doha this March, welcoming TED speakers from across the Arabic-speaking world to share their stories and ideas in the Arabic language.
For more details on the summit and to register to attend, visit tedinarabic.ted.com.
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