French Department at KU source of enlightenment for active language
Established in 2014, it now includes over 300 students
KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti people have always been interested in learning about various cultures and civilizations, and are always keen to learn new active languages, including French. The French language is one of the world’s richest languages and that is reflected in the Francophonic culture present in several countries all over the world. This is also felt in Kuwait when it takes part in celebrating the International Francophonie Day which falls on March 20 every year.
The French Language Department at Kuwait University’s Faculty of Arts, established in 2014, is one of the newest sections at the Faculty. It includes over 300 students and six teaching staff members, reflecting the care the country attaches to the French language. The foundation stage at the department starts with subjects related to reading, comprehension, speaking and writing skills, and the second stage moves to linguistics and literature subjects. The department also includes a supporting submajor in translation.
In February 2017, member of the teaching staff at the French department Dr Hani Qotoub came up with a suggestion to issue a Francophonic magazine that would be the first of its kind in the Gulf region, and such a proposal was received with encouragement and support from the French Department. The magazine was issued on March 20 last year in celebration of the International Francophonie Day, and the staff members of the magazine were chosen from the department’s students. The magazine is to be issued annually in March and will include various sections of translation, culture sports, and lifestyle articles.
The magazine aims at allowing students to participate and interact in French to boost their academic performance in the language, as well as developing their journalistic skills while offering Francophonic readers interesting information about the history of Kuwait. Dr Qotoub told KUNA that publishing such a magazine came to enhance the writing skills of the department’s students, as priority is given to youth related issues but faced numerous financial strains during its publication.”We wish that the magazine would spread more widely in the region in order to attract French-speaking people to the Gulf”, he added.
Administrative coordinator at the faculty Fatma Al-Nasser said that there is a remarkable turnout for registrations at the French Department. The Civil Service Diwan in Kuwait offers various opportunities in the labor market for French language graduates such as a translator, a French language teacher or an administrative coordinator. Dana, a student at the French Department told KUNA that choosing this major reflects her passion of translation and learning new languages. “Learning the French language is witnessing higher number of students currently”, she added. Kuwait also hosts the French Centre of Archaeology and Social Science that works in studying and inspecting ancient civilizations of the Arab Peninsula. — KUNA