São Paulo – Those that have interest in studying Arabic, but who don’t have time for classes, can take advantage of the holidays to start classes on the language. The project Abraço Cultural – Curso com Refugiados (Cultural Hug – Course with Refugees) are open to enrolment for Arabic classes that will be held from January 11 to February 5, 2016. The project is organized by the NGOs Atados and Adus.
Students will be divided in two groups, basic I and basic II. Classes will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 7 PM to 10 PM, in a total of 36 class hours, and will be taught by two Syrian refugees. Each group will hold up to 10 students.
Blandiny Ferrari, education coordinator, explains that the material used in the project’s classes is the same one used by the Arab and South American Library and Research Center (Bibliaspa). According to her, the students that finished the first installment of the Abraço Cultural’s Arabic course already know the Arabic alphabet, in addition to being able to introduce themselves and say greetings using the language. “The course offers a foundation for the student that needs to take a quick trip [to a Arab country]”, she says.
The project started offering Arabic classes this year and the basic I first class graduated in November. Ferrari said that the eight students that took the course liked the classes so much that they decided to assemble a new class to take basic II. “They loved it. The students are able already to talk with the teacher and understand what he is saying”, she says. According to the coordinator, the goal of the project is for the students to move on to more advanced levels in the language.
Currently, in addition to the two Syrian teachers that offer the Arabic classes, the project also have four other Syrians that teach English. Abraço Cultural also offers French and Spanish classes. In all, 16 refugees work as language teachers in the project. They come from Syria, Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Haiti and Cuba.
Those participating in the language courses in January will also be offered culture classes with the teachers from different countries working in the project. Cultural classes include topics such as cuisine, music and dance.
Ferrari says that the goal is to increase the number of teachers early next year. “We have begun to call people that have interest in teaching classes in the future for training, not only at Abraço Cultural, but also in other places. We will show how to deal with the education side, how to prepare a class, how to prepare a test”, she says.
Abraço Cultural – Curso com Refugiados (Cultural Hug – Course with Refugees)
Holiday classes: From January 11 to February 5
Classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
Basic Arabic I 7 PM-10PM (Where: Escola SP)
Basic Arabic II 7 PM-10 PM (Where: Casa de Trocas)
Prices: Until 30/12/15 (10% discount): BRL 585 (USD 151.90)
Starting 1/1/16 (Full fee): BRL 650 (USD 168.77)
20% discount for regular students and partnerships: BRL 520 (USD 135)
BRL 220 (USD 57.12) in 3 installments
Enrolments at: http://abracocultural.com.br/inscricoes
Information about the courses and places are available at http://abracocultural.com.br
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
