International students complete Arabic course
50 students celebrate at graduation ceremony
On June 11, students from North and South Korea, Bosnia, Russia, Canada, Ukraine, France, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Belgium, US, UK, Togo, Poland, Vietnam, Sudan, Malaysia, Turkey, China, Somalia, Iraq, and Tanzania celebrated the end of their one-year course at QU's Arabic for Non-Native Speakers Program (ANNS).
The 50 students received certificates and awards from Dean of College of Arts & Sciences Dr Siham Al-Qaradawi at a graduation ceremony and lunch celebration at Ibn Khaldoon Hall.
QU President Prof Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad,members of QU leadership, faculty and staff were present at the ceremony which included oral presentations by advance-level, intermediate-level and graduate students.
Director of the ANNS Program Dr Abdullah Abdulrahman praised the students' commitment to learning and understanding the language which he said would benefit them in their various fields. He noted that the Program currently has students of over 20 different nationalities, of diverse cultures and professions. "Since the events of September 11, the demand for this Program increased not only from external students but also from the diplomatic community and corporate organizations in Doha", Dr Abdulrahman said, adding, "through this Program, QU has become the place where top universities in the US and Europe want to send their students to learn Arabic".
The ANNS Program offers Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels in which students concentrate on language functions and communicative skills of speaking, reading, and listening comprehension.
Sixty scholarships are offered annually but due to the increasing demand, a program for paying students will begin this Fall, taking 100 students in the first instance and increasing the number over time, Dr Abdulrahman said.
Commenting on the Program, ANNS student Tariq Bernard of UK said: "I had the most basic skills when I first entered the Program. I have benefitted from it considerably for my personal as well as professional development as it is my hope to work in the Middle East. Because of the excellent teachers I had, I am now able to communicate quite well in the language". |  |
