Conversational Arabic classes offered at TCC

Starting this month, Tallahassee Community College will offer conversational Arabic classes as part of Community College Initiative-Egypt, a program administered by Community Colleges for International Development (CCID).

These classes are free to those who attend, and are going to be taught by four Egyptian students – Mervat Bebawy, Mohomed Sadek, Mohamed Ali and Mostafa Abdelkhalik. These students have earned a bachelor's degree in their native country of Egypt. During the 12-months they will be attending Tallahassee Community College they will study in the business management program.

The Community College Initiative-Egypt is an outgrowth of the U.S. University Presidents Summit on International Education. The Summit Initiative Program supports international students from selected countries to study at community colleges throughout the United States. The initiative will bring 1,000 Egyptians to U.S. community colleges for one year of vocational and professional certificate study in fields critical to Egypt's economic growth and development.

These non-credit classes are the first-ever Arabic language classes offered by the College. All four students are thrilled to have the chance to teach their native language to others. Betty Jensen, TCC's International Student Adviser, said, “I believe that the best avenue to world peace is through education. The more we learn about other cultures and languages, the more we will be able to understand people in other countries. Why not take this unique opportunity to learn a bit about the Arabic language at no expense.”

Two sessions will be offered: Wednesdays from October 8 – November 19 at 3:00 and Thursdays from October 9 – November 20 at 2:30 p.m.

For more information, call TCC's Office of International Student Services at (850) 201-8258.