The National Middle East Language Resource Center at Brigham Young University, in collaboration with the Utah Arabic K-12 Teacher Association, has been awarded a $25,000 grant by the Qatar Foundation International.
“This grant will make it possible to create an Arabic K-12 curriculum that will be made available online for teachers nationwide,” Maggie Nassif, NMELRC administrative director, said in a press release.
The Qatar Foundation International is funded by the Qatar government and works to promote the study of the Arabic language and culture in the United States. The QFI is a nonprofit organization in Washington D.C.”focused on grants and programmatic activities to promote collaboration across geographical, social and cultural boundaries.
The Utah Arabic K-12 Teacher Association is a project created to develop Utah teachers into experts in the field of teaching Arabic. The association also produces curriculum and teaching materials nationwide.
Kirk Belnap, the director of the National Middle East Language Resource Center said educational growth in Utah for Arabic is always improving.
“Per capita, Utah is the leading state for teaching Arabic,” Belnap said.
The NMELRC was created in 2002 to focus on increasing and improving opportunities for learning the languages of the Middle East. It is composed of language experts from more than 20 universities.
