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The Africa Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute based in Sharjah, UAE, held a two-day workshop on 22-23 November 2023 to review the draft textbooks for Amharic and Hausa languages.
The workshop was part of the institute’s initiative to develop professionally designed, contextually relevant textbooks for African languages, especially Amharic and Hausa, which are currently lacking in the market. The institute’s African Languages and Translation program, which offers courses in Arabic, Amharic, Hausa, and Kiswahili, has been testing the draft textbooks in its ongoing classes.
The African Languages and Translation program started in 2022 with pilot courses in Arabic, Amharic, Hausa, and Kiswahili. Since mid-October 2023, the program has been offering an 8-week course open to the public. The first cohort enrolled over 25 students and is open to resuming courses mid-February 2024. The Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) has licensed the program to conduct these courses and prospective students can choose between in-person and online classes.
Understanding the pivotal role of quality textbooks in language education, the Institute took the initiative to develop materials for these languages. A specialized reviewer for each language was featured in the workshop: Prof. Baye Yimam, Professor of Linguistics at Addis Ababa University for Amharic, and Dr. Abdulrahaman Ado, Associate Professor of Hausa at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University for Hausa.
The main objectives of the workshop were to evaluate the progress, tackle the challenges, and plan for the creation of the subsequent 30 hours of content for both languages. The draft textbooks currently cover the beginner-level content for approximately 30 hours of instruction. Binyam Sisay Mendisu, Associate Director of The Africa Institute and Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics, organized the workshop and also led the Amharic textbook project in collaboration with Prof. Moges Yigezu of Addis Ababa University. Aliyu Mustapha Lawal, Lecturer of Hausa and Arabic in the African Languages and Translation program, spearheaded the Hausa textbook project.
Various faculty members from the institute, such as Bilal Al-Omar, Senior Lecturer of Arabic; Meg Arenberg, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature in the Department of Humanities and the African Languages and Translation Program also participated in the workshop and provided their valuable input. The workshop showcased the institute’s commitment to advancing the study and teaching of African languages and cultures. It also reflected the institute’s vision to serve as a think-tank and a postgraduate center that cultivates a new generation of thinkers in the humanities and social sciences.
The Africa Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute based in Sharjah, UAE, held a two-day workshop on 22-23 November 2023 to review the draft textbooks for Amharic and Hausa languages.
The Africa Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute based in Sharjah, UAE, held a two-day workshop on 22-23 November 2023 to review the draft textbooks for Amharic and Hausa languages.
The workshop was part of the institute’s initiative to develop professionally designed, contextually relevant textbooks for African languages, especially Amharic and Hausa, which are currently lacking in the market. The institute’s African Languages and Translation program, which offers courses in Arabic, Amharic, Hausa, and Kiswahili, has been testing the draft textbooks in its ongoing classes.
The African Languages and Translation program started in 2022 with pilot courses in Arabic, Amharic, Hausa, and Kiswahili. Since mid-October 2023, the program has been offering an 8-week course open to the public. The first cohort enrolled over 25 students and is open to resuming courses mid-February 2024. The Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) has licensed the program to conduct these courses and prospective students can choose between in-person and online classes.
Understanding the pivotal role of quality textbooks in language education, the Institute took the initiative to develop materials for these languages. A specialized reviewer for each language was featured in the workshop: Prof. Baye Yimam, Professor of Linguistics at Addis Ababa University for Amharic, and Dr. Abdulrahaman Ado, Associate Professor of Hausa at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University for Hausa.
The main objectives of the workshop were to evaluate the progress, tackle the challenges, and plan for the creation of the subsequent 30 hours of content for both languages. The draft textbooks currently cover the beginner-level content for approximately 30 hours of instruction. Binyam Sisay Mendisu, Associate Director of The Africa Institute and Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics, organized the workshop and also led the Amharic textbook project in collaboration with Prof. Moges Yigezu of Addis Ababa University. Aliyu Mustapha Lawal, Lecturer of Hausa and Arabic in the African Languages and Translation program, spearheaded the Hausa textbook project.
Various faculty members from the institute, such as Bilal Al-Omar, Senior Lecturer of Arabic; Meg Arenberg, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature in the Department of Humanities and the African Languages and Translation Program also participated in the workshop and provided their valuable input. The workshop showcased the institute’s commitment to advancing the study and teaching of African languages and cultures. It also reflected the institute’s vision to serve as a think-tank and a postgraduate center that cultivates a new generation of thinkers in the humanities and social sciences.
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