QFI model builds a sustainable global community of Arabic learners

Qatar Foundation International (QFI) is celebrating the success of three Arabic programmes in the US states of Massachusetts and Virginia, according to a report on QF website. One of the first schools QFI worked with was Boston Arts Academy, the city’s only high school for the visual and performing arts. The academy’s staff and students made two exchange trips to Qatar.QFI began its relationship with Boston Latin Academy in 2013. This programme became fully self-sustaining. There are now 130 students taking Arabic from grades 8-12, and levels 1-4.“Their ‘graduation’ means we can continue to help even more, while they can serve as mentors to new schools committed to adding Arabic as a foreign language to their curriculum. And this reflects how QFI supports Qatar Foundation’s role as a custodian of advancing the Arabic language, culture, heritage, and knowledge,” said Julia Sylla, director of programmes at QFI.QFI’s grants to schools programme has helped fund the salaries of Arabic teachers, and paid for classroom supplies and materials at schools throughout the Americas and Europe. Over a number of years, QFI’s grant amount to each school should decrease annually by around 25%, with the school picking up more of the costs until they are covered by the school budget – just as they would be for any other subject. Once a steady number of students are enrolling in Arabic classes each year, a new community of learners can forge a strong path forward.“We call this the process of ‘graduating’ from our grants. We work to build strong Arabic language programmes that are set up for longevity, with the goal that they should become financially self-sustainable. We provide the often-crucial funding so they can establish themselves. Once they are fully viable, it is a mark of their success that they thrive independent of our financial support while remaining core members of, and active participants in, the QFI family,” Sylla explained.“One of the keys to the model is that funding is only a part of the whole. When we work with a school district that has the drive and motivation to add Arabic language to their curricular offerings, QFI provides support around the teaching and learning of Arabic,” she continued.“In the 42 cities impacted by QFI grants where we work globally, with the 3,100 Arabic language teachers who have benefited from professional development and the 6,500 students who have studied Arabic in QFI-supported school programmes, the relationship with QFI has been transformative,” highlighted the official. “In 2021, QFI will continue to grow and expand as we start programmes in new countries – proudly connecting learners and educators around the world through the study of Arabic language,” added Sylla.