Birzeit University Offers Chinese Language Instruction

The Department of Languages and Translation at Birzeit University has kicked off its second semester of the academic year 2016/2017 teaching the Chinese language, supported by China’s representative in Palestine.  Currently, the university offers training in seven foreign languages.

The head of the Department of Languages and Translation Majdi Abu Zahra said that adding a new language is a step forward as the university develops into a full-fledged, global university, offering distinctive high quality education.

Abu Zahra stated that Chinese fluency has become an inevitable path, given China’s global presence and increasing economic importance.

Last year, the Department of Languages and Translation also began teaching German as a comprehensive undergraduate program, with full support from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

The university is committed to promoting foreign language teaching to facilitate greater contact in industry and business circles, as well as academic knowledge. Birzeit University offers a bachelor’s degree in French, English, and Arabic languages.

It also offers master's degrees in Translation and Interpreting in three languages: Arabic, English and French, and a master program in Arabic Language and Literature. In addition, the university teaches elective courses in the study of Turkish, Italian, Spanish and Hebrew.