(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The newly opened Sultan Qaboos College for Teaching Arabic (SQCTA) is all set to welcome its first batch of students this week. Ten British students have arrived in Oman to enrol in the programme. They will sit for a test on August 27 which will determine their proficiency in Arabic before beginning classes on August 28.
''The first batch of SQCTA students, who arrived in Oman on Sunday, will start their classes on Tuesday after be categorised into levels based on the results of their test which will be held on Monday,'' an official from SQCTA said.
''Besides learning the Arabic language, students will also be educated about Arab and Omani culture during their one month programme. This will include visits to important historic and natural locations across Oman. Experienced Omani lecturers will introduce Oman's culture to the students,'' she said.
Dr Elisabeth Kendall, senior research fellow in Arabic and Islamic Sciences at Oxford University and also the supervisor accompanying the students, said, ''The students come from different universities in the UK. The majority are from Oxford University. The programme at SQCTA will hopefully improve the already intermediate level of the students,'' she said.
''The students have been chosen based on a combination of their skills, ability and aptitude to learn Arabic. Bright students with an interesting personality were selected,'' she added.
Tess Williams, one of the students, who studies Arabic, Spanish and French at a university in UK, said, ''I am here because I need to visit an Arabic speaking country before I start my final year.''
Another student, Louise Holt, said, ''I am in my third year at Cambridge University. I have been studying Arabic for two years when I got this scholarship, and I thought it is a good start for my further studies. ''As part of my study, I am travelling to Egypt in October so I hope this programme would be very beneficial for me,'' s
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