‘Roots and Innovation:’ Sharjah Ruler attends launch of International Forum of Arabic Language Teachers

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, attended on Saturday the launch of the Second International Forum of the Arabic Language Teachers, which is organised by the Sharjah Private Education Authority in cooperation with the Sharjah Education Academy.

The forum was launched under the slogan "Roots and Innovation," in the academy's headquarters in the University City.

Sheikh Sultan inspected the forum's accompanying exhibition before the opening ceremony and listened to a number of Sharjah students' presentations about the Arabic language and Arabic literature.

The show featured a number of well-chosen pieces, such as "Essential Messages," in addition to a number of posters for students that give an overview of the Arabic language, poets from earlier periods, and a foundational work by Emirati authors.

The forum, which continues on Saturday and Sunday, and includes 7 dialogue sessions and 32 applied workshops, focuses on specialised development, building professional communities, reviewing the best applied practices in teaching the Arabic language and its subjects, and displaying examples of model classes in which the highest standards of active learning, critical thinking and the latest skills are applied.

Dr Muhaddith Al Hashemi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Private Education Authority and President of the Sharjah Education Academy, addressed the meanings of the forum’s slogan for this year, noting that it reflects Sharjah’s interest in Arabic as a mother language.

The Chairperson of the Sharjah Private Education Authority affirmed that the forum brings together elite teachers to assist students in their educational journey, pointing out that educators agree that a competent teacher who is passionate about the Arabic language and is keen on it and makes it a language of life and innovation is one of the most important tools to ensure the improvement of student language proficiency.

Addressing the initiatives and special programmes to support teachers, she said, "There were many initiatives and programmes, most notably the ‘In Arabic We Promote’ initiative, which recently won the award for the best campaign that supported the Arabic language from the International Government Communication Forum 2023, affirming that the Sharjah Private Education Authority carried out about 9,000 field visits and participatory meetings for teachers on the Sharjah Education Academy platform, and nearly 17,000 attendees benefited from them in order to support teachers, improve their performance, and pass on the good influence to our students.

Al Hashemi stated that one of the most significant projects being worked on with high efficiency is the "Teacher and Proud" programme within the Sultan Al Qasimi project for nationalisation in the private sector. This programme provides the educational field with qualified national competencies, from teachers trained in accordance with the most recent educational practices, and is implemented by the Sharjah Education Academy in collaboration with the University of Helsinki in Finland, affirming that there are 83 teachers who foster a passion for Arabic in our pupils.

She said that the results of these efforts demonstrated that the evaluation of Arabic for native speakers produced the most notable benefits, The schools achieved a 100 per cent improvement in student proficiency in Arabic for native speakers.

‘The Longest-Living Language’

Sheikh Sultan and the audience watched a visual presentation entitled "The Longest-Living Language,” which addressed the importance of the Arabic language and its ancient history, the interest of the Emirate of Sharjah in Arabic and its literature in various fields, and its continuous patronage of Arab culture, in addition to training and qualifying teachers.

The Secretary General of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah, Dr Ahmed Safi Al Mosteghanemi, delivered a speech in which he lauded the Emirate of Sharjah's efforts to pay attention to the Arabic language through numerous initiatives, specialised forums, and programmes for teachers and students that support the preservation, study, and teaching of the Arabic language.

He called for parents and teachers to direct their children to take care of strengthening the Arabic language through selected, correct, and continuous reading.

WAM