Let's Initiate Change in our Language Classes: Faculty of Arts organizes an interactive workshop on foreign language teaching at Birzeit University

On July 25, 2023, the Faculty of Arts at Birzeit University organized a workshop titled “Let's Initiate Change: Towards a Clear Vision for Foreign Language Teaching at Birzeit University.”

Attending the workshop were 23 instructors and professors of Turkish, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, English, German and Chinese from the Department of Languages and Translation as well as Arabic instructors from the Palestine and Arabic Studies (PAS) program. The main purpose of this interactive workshop was to develop a culture of continuing professional development and active participation within a larger strategy of teaching foreign languages at Birzeit University.

In his opening speech, Dr. Munir Fakher Eldin, dean of the Faculty of Arts, remarked, “We organized this workshop, as we aspire to develop foreign language teaching at Birzeit University by creating an environment that sparks students’ interest in foreign languages and encourages them to progress from beginner levels to advanced proficiency. This is especially important, as we live in the age of globalization and digitalization.” He further explained that, by opening discussion on foreign language teaching in the context of Palestine, the faculty seeks to invest in and develop a teaching approach unique to Birzeit University.

The workshop included a wide range of teaching snaps to encourage teamwork in an effort to make associations and thoughtful discussions. The purpose is to enable teachers to transform their teaching practices into meaningful experiences in the language classroom. These activities aimed to revisit and amplify the good practices in language teaching to generate creative ideas, create a community of practitioners using observation and reflection and promote intersection in language teaching, enabling students to use one language to aid the learning of another.

Facilitated by instructor Mahmoud Abu Ktish, the workshop was attended by Dr. Tina Rafidi, assistant professor and assistant to the dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Ruba Khalaf, acting chairperson and lecturer at the Department of Languages and Translation. Many faculty members participated in the workshop, including lecturer Adnan AbuAyyash, instructor Mohamed Zaid, instructor Mohamed Ishnawir, Dr. Mahmoud Abd-Alfatah, Dr. Haya Abu Hussien, Dr. Rania Qasrawi, Dr. Taghreed Abed, instructor Balquis Shalabi, instructor Rula Yousef, Dr. Miral Qadamani, instructor Fatima Qirresh, instructor Ma Rui, instructor Nariman Morrar, instructor Hanada Khramah, instructor Fatima Mafarjeh, instructor Majida Dajani, lecturer Wejdan El-Kook, instructor Suzan Shkukani, instructor Fatma Mohammed, Dr. Ruth Pappenhagen and instructor Roberto Cirelli. Mohamed Said, Aya Jayyousi and Yara Hussien, teaching and research assistants at the Department of Languages and Translation, also participated in the event.