40 Arabic teachers sharpen skills

A total of 40 Arabic teachers in the Nima community in Accra last Saturday attended a workshop to sharpen their skills in the teaching of the Arabic language.

It was organised by the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies of Ghana in collaboration with the Yabila Global Institute of Education Limited, to address the impediments in the teaching and learning of the Arabic language non-native countries.

The participants were thought preparatory methodology of Arabic language lessons involving modern approaches to teaching the language to non-natives to deepen their understanding.

Arabic language is widely spoken across the globe and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

The facilitator, Dr Adams Umar Yabila, told the Ghanaian Times that most of the Arabic teachers studied                              outside the jurisdiction of Ghana and they encountered challenges when teaching the language in the local setting to impact on the students and society.

Dr Yabila who is the first Ghanaian to  acquire Ph.D in the teaching of Arabic to non- native speakers from  the prestigious  Islamic University in Madinah, said the workshop aimed to deepen and raise the standard of teaching and learning of Arabic comparable to  the native speakers.

He said he chose the topic “Creating an Arabic Curriculum for Secondary Education’’ as the focus of his thesis to help address the teaching and learning gaps in non-native countries, to create the needed impact in society

The Arabic scholar said while some of the Arabic teachers who studied outside had enrolled in the universities in Ghana to acquire tertiary level education in the teaching of  Arabic studies, some did not have the money to pay the fees, hence the need to organise the workshop to address the challenge.                                                                                                                                                                           The Director of the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Dr Mohammed Sani Husein Ninche, said “the workshop for the Arabic teachers is something we had been yearning for to make teaching and learning of Arabic impactful in our society.”

“We are glad to collaborate with Yabila Global Institute of education to make a difference in the teaching and learning of Arabic in the country,” he added.               

By Alhaii  Salifu Abdul-Rahaman