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By The Africa Institute

May 25, 2022

The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE, is an interdisciplinary academic research institute dedicated to the study, research, and documentation of Africa and the African diaspora. The Institute is currently in the process of establishing its programs including a robust and dynamic African Languages and Translation (ALT) Program.

As part of its preparation to launch the teaching of selected African languages, the Institute organized a two-day hybrid workshop titled, “Teaching of African Languages and their Contribution to the Study of Africa” on May 25-26, 2022, in Sharjah, UAE inviting colleagues from partner institutions to review the groundwork the Institute has achieved so far to launch the teaching of selected African languages and the documents prepared to support it.

Salah M. Hassan, Director of The Africa Institute, opened the session welcoming the faculty and partners for the workshop. “This workshop not only reviews the progress but also aims to learn from the best experiences and challenges of partner institutions regarding the teaching of African languages and to strengthen partnership among the participants and their institutions for future collaborations in language teaching resource development and joint projects.”

The session was led by Binyam Sisay Mendisu, Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics, The Africa Institute who presented “The African Languages and Translation Program at The Africa Institute and its Preparations”.

“It’s so important to gain a deeper understanding of societies in Africa and beyond through facilitating the knowledge of languages. In this endeavor, The Africa Institute commits to teach selected African languages as part of its graduate curriculum by way of preparing the next generation of critical thinkers in the areas of humanities and social sciences,” said Mendisu.

Kazeem Sanuth, Associate Director of The National African Language Resource Centre (NALRC), Indiana University Bloomington shared best practices in his presentation, “The Pedagogy of African Languages in US Universities: the case of Yoruba” followed by Munther A. Younes, Reis Senior Lecturer of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Cornell University who presented his insights on, “Arabic Language Variation and its Consequences”.

The second day, May 26, 2022, opened with Aliyu Mustapha Lawal, Lecturer of Hausa and Arabic Languages at The Africa Institute who shared, “The Teaching of Hausa as a Foreign Language”.

Aldin Mutembei, Mwl. Julius Nyerere Professor in Kiswahili Studies, Institute of Kiswahili Studies at University of Dar es Salaam shared the teaching practices of Swahili, also known by its native name Kiswahili in a presentation titled, “Kiswahili Language teaching and its Status as the African Lingua Franca”.

This was followed with a presentation on “Reflections on Teaching of Amharic as a Foreign Language at Universities” by Ronny Meyer, Associate Professor, INALCO-International Institute for Oriental Language and Civilization & Dr. Binyam Sisay Mendisu Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics, The Africa Institute.

Binyam Sisay Mendisu concluded the session with a closing note, vote of thanks and way forward.

Special thanks to moderators for the workshop: Sataan Al-Hassan, Associate Director of The Africa Institute; Naminata Diabate, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Cornell University and Senior Fellow, The Africa Institute; Surafel Wondimu Abebe, Assistant Professor of Performance Studies and Theory, The Africa Institute.

Click here to view details of speaker biographies and program flow

The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE, is an interdisciplinary academic research institute dedicated to the study, research, and documentation of Africa and the African diaspora. The Institute is currently in the process of establishing its programs including a robust and dynamic African Languages and Translation (ALT) Program.

The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE, is an interdisciplinary academic research institute dedicated to the study, research, and documentation of Africa and the African diaspora. The Institute is currently in the process of establishing its programs including a robust and dynamic African Languages and Translation (ALT) Program.

As part of its preparation to launch the teaching of selected African languages, the Institute organized a two-day hybrid workshop titled, “Teaching of African Languages and their Contribution to the Study of Africa” on May 25-26, 2022, in Sharjah, UAE inviting colleagues from partner institutions to review the groundwork the Institute has achieved so far to launch the teaching of selected African languages and the documents prepared to support it.

Salah M. Hassan, Director of The Africa Institute, opened the session welcoming the faculty and partners for the workshop. “This workshop not only reviews the progress but also aims to learn from the best experiences and challenges of partner institutions regarding the teaching of African languages and to strengthen partnership among the participants and their institutions for future collaborations in language teaching resource development and joint projects.”

The session was led by Binyam Sisay Mendisu, Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics, The Africa Institute who presented “The African Languages and Translation Program at The Africa Institute and its Preparations”.

“It’s so important to gain a deeper understanding of societies in Africa and beyond through facilitating the knowledge of languages. In this endeavor, The Africa Institute commits to teach selected African languages as part of its graduate curriculum by way of preparing the next generation of critical thinkers in the areas of humanities and social sciences,” said Mendisu.

Kazeem Sanuth, Associate Director of The National African Language Resource Centre (NALRC), Indiana University Bloomington shared best practices in his presentation, “The Pedagogy of African Languages in US Universities: the case of Yoruba” followed by Munther A. Younes, Reis Senior Lecturer of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Cornell University who presented his insights on, “Arabic Language Variation and its Consequences”.

The second day, May 26, 2022, opened with Aliyu Mustapha Lawal, Lecturer of Hausa and Arabic Languages at The Africa Institute who shared, “The Teaching of Hausa as a Foreign Language”.

Aldin Mutembei, Mwl. Julius Nyerere Professor in Kiswahili Studies, Institute of Kiswahili Studies at University of Dar es Salaam shared the teaching practices of Swahili, also known by its native name Kiswahili in a presentation titled, “Kiswahili Language teaching and its Status as the African Lingua Franca”.

This was followed with a presentation on “Reflections on Teaching of Amharic as a Foreign Language at Universities” by Ronny Meyer, Associate Professor, INALCO-International Institute for Oriental Language and Civilization & Dr. Binyam Sisay Mendisu Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics, The Africa Institute.

Binyam Sisay Mendisu concluded the session with a closing note, vote of thanks and way forward.

Special thanks to moderators for the workshop: Sataan Al-Hassan, Associate Director of The Africa Institute; Naminata Diabate, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Cornell University and Senior Fellow, The Africa Institute; Surafel Wondimu Abebe, Assistant Professor of Performance Studies and Theory, The Africa Institute.

Click here to view details of speaker biographies and program flow

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