UQ’s Institute of Modern Languages has tripled the number of Middle Eastern language courses offered during the year to cope with demand.
IML Director Georgiana Poulter said a growing interest in the Middle East had led to an increase in people wanting to learn languages such as Arabic and Farsi (Persian).
“We used to offer the basic Arabic course once a year but have had to offer it three times in the past 12 months to meet demand,” Ms Poulter said.
“Farsi was offered earlier this year, for the first time since1991, and was recently repeated because of the strong interest from students.”
Arabic is spoken by over 200 million people throughout the Middle East and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. About 60 million people speak Farsi, mainly in Iran and Afghanistan.
Ms Poulter said enrolments in the Middle Eastern courses had reached 70, their highest ever levels, and people were learning the languages for a variety of reasons.
“Some of our students are complementing their university studies while others need the language skills for work-related reasons, because they’ve married into Middle Eastern families or intend to travel to the area. Others were born in Australia to Middle Eastern parents and want to renew their ties and learn to read and write the language.”
She said some students were also interested in Middle Eastern religious texts such as the Koran, which is written in Arabic, and other Arabic literature, and the works of poets Khayyam and Hafez, which are in Farsi.
Ms Poulter said students found the languages surprisingly easy to learn despite the popular misconception that scripted languages were difficult.
Small classes allow for individual attention and for teaching according to the needs of the group, she said.
The courses have no entry requirements and develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through a combination of text books, tapes, group conversation and personal interaction.
Cultural activities to explore the languages include visits to restaurants, the movies, festivals and social get-togethers.
Arabic and Farsi are two of more than 30 language courses offered at IML. The Institute also provides translation, interpreting and language testing services. For further information telephone (07) 3365 6490 or visit www.iml.uq.edu.au
Media: For further information contact Ms Georgiana Poulter at IML (telephone 07 3365 6487) or Lynda Flower at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2339).
