Tokyo-sana
On the occasion of the International Day of the Arabic Language, the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Japan, with the participation of a jury from Syria, organized a reading competition in Arabic, where Japanese students studying Arabic competed to read literary texts by Syrian poets and writers.
Thirty-nine male and female students from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies participated in the competition, which was held online. They recited poetry texts for the poets Zaki Consul, Nizar Qabbani, Suleiman Al-Issa and Badawi Al-Jabal.
Regarding the competition, Dr. Aoyama Hiroyuki, Academic Coordinator of Arabic Studies at the University of Tokyo and responsible for organizing the competition, explained in a statement to SANA that its aim is to overcome linguistic weaknesses for students of foreign languages, including Arabic, as students studying Arabic have a high ability to understand written grammar and texts. But they are not good at communicating (conversation), and the reason is their fear of linguistic errors in speaking, and therefore we found that reading aloud in front of the audience is the best way to get used to using the Arabic language to solve this problem.
Dr. Aoyama indicated that texts from Syrian literature were selected to highlight the positive image of Syria, which is reflected in many aspects, such as culture, civilization and literature.
For his part, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Syria, Hirofumi Miyake, affirmed that this competition is a good opportunity to strengthen relations between Syria and Japan, pointing out that the presence of many Japanese students studying the Arabic language will be responsible for strengthening these relations.
In her turn, the Director of the Institute for Teaching Arabic to Non-Native Speakers, Dr. Nujoud Atallah, expressed her happiness at going through this experience with the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, as it contributes to knowing the image of Syria through the eyes of the university students as they read the most beautiful texts of Syrian poets who sang about their homeland, which they loved.
For her part, Dr. Nahid Merhi of the Japanese Language Department at Damascus University praised the efforts made to coordinate this competition and said: The participation of this large number of Japanese students is evidence of interest in Syrian culture, and she expressed her wish that this competition would be an opportunity for them to improve interest in Arab culture and a way of cooperation in the future.
The competition concluded by honoring the best seven students, and prizes were distributed to them, which are the excellence award, the excellence award, the proficiency award, the Japan Center for Academic Cooperation Award at the University of Aleppo, the Japanese Language Department Award at the University of Damascus, the Arabic Language Institute Award for Non-Native Speakers, and the Encouragement Award.
The competition included the head of the committee, Muhammad Najib Elji (chargé d’affaires at the Syrian Embassy in Japan), Najud Atallah (head of the Institute for Teaching Arabic to Non-Native Speakers, in Damascus), Dr. Abd al-Ilah Nawolo (head of the Japan Center for Academic Cooperation, University of Aleppo, and Dr. Nahed al-Marei (Department of Japanese Language, University of Damascus) and Hirofumi Miyake, Chargé d'Affairs at the Embassy of Japan in Syria.
Khalifa Visions
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