Arabic language course wins high praise
by Michèle Nardelli
One year in and UniSA’s partnership with Deakin University to offer collaborative courses in Italian and Arabic language and culture is proving a roaring success.
The collaboration has seen UniSA’s Italian language course offered in Victoria through Deakin and Deakin’s Arabic language course offered at UniSA.
The courses combine online and face-to-face components and students enrolled in the Arabic language course are learning not only to speak the language, but to write Arabic text.
UniSA senior lecturer in international studies, Dr Giancarlo Chiro says he hopes to build the Arabic language program even further.
"Our Italian program is very popular in Victoria and here we have 28 students in this first year of Arabic, and I have high expectations that numbers will increase steadily," Dr Chiro said.
"Arab-speaking nations make up the fourth largest trading bloc for Australia and about 30 per cent of all of our wheat, grain, dairy and meat exports are traded to the Middle East.
"Engaging in the language and culture of these countries will be important for future relationships – educational, entrepreneurial, trade and cultural."
Dr Chiro said in a decade marred by the aftermath of September 11 and the war in Iraq, significant steps needed to be made to develop intercultural understandings with the Arab-speaking world.
"Language is a true bridge to cultural understanding and the growth of community," he said.
"This program also complements wider research initiatives at UniSA, including the foundation of the new Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding and increasing interest from Arabic-speaking students to study in South Australia."
UniSA student Daniel Milky says the standard of the course is better than anything else offered in SA.
With Lebanese heritage, Milky had been searching for modern standard Arabic language education classes so that he would have command of the language as it is spoken across country borders.
"A lot of the community classes available teach the language influenced by regional and national dialects, which is fine for conversation, but not for business," Milky said.
Milky has a degree in health sciences and is completing his Master of Business and hoping to be able to travel with his career.
"I have been employed by Price Waterhouse Coopers and they are delighted I am completing the Arabic language program," he said.
"We are learning the highest standard with a comprehensive understanding of grammar and language structure."
Milky says the way the course is structured, including online and face-to-face components is excellent.
"All the support materials are really well designed and we have an excellent tutor. I think the class is split about 50/50 between people with Arabic speaking backgrounds and those without but it is so well run that everyone seems to be performing at the same level."