Who wouldn’t like to read Arabic texts at eight o’clock in the morning? During the last spring a group of brave students met weekly early in the morning to study Arabic. Two Spanish exchange students participated in the Aamiaisarabiaa meetings.

We, two Spanish girls, came to Finland for our 6 month long Erasmus exchange in January 2012. In Finland we wanted to continue with our studies relating to Arab and Islamic studies, and we participated in Arabic classes held in the Department of World Cultures at the University of Helsinki.

Nevertheless, we felt that we needed some extra help with studying Arabic language. We joined the Morning Arabic classes (Aamiasarabiaa) that Lähi-idän opiskelijat ha

d just started to organize in January 2011.  We used these morning Arabic classes for improving our oral and reading skills.

Going through texts together

In our first meeting we read and translated together sections of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s  Little Prince (Al-Amir al-Sghrir) , with the help of a number of dictionaries. In other meetings we read comics and newspaper articles in Arabic. It was very interesting to read and to get familiar with the language used in comics and in newspapers.  The concept was really good since everyone contributed by finding reading material and good methods.

For a Spaniard it was difficult to get up so early but it was worth it every week. We would have been to meet more often than once a week. Luckily the café where the meetings were held served perfect coffee which made the early mornings a bit easier to cope with.

“Aamiaisarabiaa” is spreading to Spain

Actually we are even thinking about meeting with our Arabic classmates during the next year at the University of Madrid when we will start a course about translation of an Arabic modern novel and another course about studying the “Koran” (in Arabic!). Going through texts with friends is one of the best methods for understanding written Arabic. Much better than trying to understand it alone!

Noemí Villalba & Sofi Hawarni, 16.10.2012

Lähi-idän opiskelijoiden tulevia tapahtumia:

• Lähi-itä kahvia –tapaamiset. Lähi-idän opiskelijat kokoontuvat pitkin syksyä keskustelemaan rennossa hengessä erilaisista aiheista.
• Media-arabian kurssi ja opintopiiri. Maria Pakkalan vetämä media-arabian kurssi alkoi syyskuussa, mutta jatkuu vielä joulukuulle asti. Tunnit ovat torstaisin kello 18-20.00. Paikka on Unioninkatu 38 B114.
• Kansalaisjärjestötapahtuma (suunnitteilla)
• Vierailu Helsingin Sanomien ulkomaantoimitukseen marras- tai joulukuussa.
• Opintomatka Tunisiaan tammikuussa. Tarkoituksemme on perehtyä Tunisian demokratisoitumisen näkökulmasta tapaamalla ihmisiä eri yhteiskunnan aloilta. Matkan suunnittelu on alkoi hiljattain, mutta mukaan ehtii vielä.