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Geronimo
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 498
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:33 pm Post subject: |
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Last year "The Economist" presented an article describing the rise of Qatar...
http://www.economist.com/node/21536659
According to the "Economist"'s league table,
Qataris are nowadays about twice as wealthy as U.S. citizens,
in terms of GDP per person.
And, following the opening of The Shard, the "Guardian"
addressed the question of 'How Qatar is taking on the world'...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/07/qatar-takes-on-the-world?
But if Qatar has long learned to be pragmatic � managing to host a huge American base while still conducting military exercises with its neighbour, Iran � its approach, says Kinninmont, has also been driven by very personal factors, not least in the friction with Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad. "The emir spent a lot of time cultivating Assad as an ally. The feeling was that they could explain and he would listen. But Assad didn't want to listen."
Within Doha itself, my Qatari students told me that English was useful
for them to use when they went shopping in their capital city.
With regard to Patricia Ryan's question - as raised above by Nolan Chance-
�Latin was the language of the powerful Roman Empire, and where is it now?� -
part of the answer is available at...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languages
and another part is to be found here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_words_with_English_derivatives
Geronimo |
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2buckets
Joined: 14 Dec 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Middle East
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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Is this the end of "the great training robbery. "? |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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Watch this space...
VS |
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Geronimo
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 498
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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A listing of the Undergraduate Programs available in
Fall 2012/13 at Qatar University is available here:-
http://www.qu.edu.qa/students/programs.php
Of the 34 degree courses on this list, English is shown as the�Language of Instruction�for 19 of them;
and Arabic for the remaining 15.
Geronimo |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:42 pm Post subject: |
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Basically majors taught in English are... Science, Medicine, Engineering, and English. In Education you can go Arabic track or English track.
Seems logical... I wouldn't be surprised to see Engineering be the next to switch to Arabic and then Science.
The foundation program has been cut to one year rather than two.
VS |
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blastermill
Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 101
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 5:09 am Post subject: |
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veiledsentiments wrote: |
So... are you enjoying your new job with the PR department of the Qatari government?
Let's be serious. They have lots and lots and lots of money... a handful of bright people... and ginormous egos. The Emirati ego crashed their ideas of being the "next Hong Kong" and as they are licking their wounds, Qatar has taken over the hype. And what is currently happening at QU shows exactly where their limitations are...
If they are as smart as you think, they would be best directed to make darn sure that there isn't a war with Iran... cause their goose could also get cooked.
VS |
I am no PR man but I have worked for the gov't in a couple of places and have been on reform committees. There is no need to knock the achievements of this tiny country, yes they do have a lot of money but they are also investing it wisely in their future, their children's future and trying to help other countries as well. They have an incredible foreign aid program to help the countries emerging from the Arab spring. If the Syrian gov't had listened to the recommendations of the PM a few months ago when he tried to help resolve the crisis, this horrific civil war wouldn't be taking place. They helped broker a solution to Yemen's political crisis and are providing aid and support to all countries trying to restructure their political systems. Have you visited this country? It does a lot for its citizens and now there is an increasing awareness of global issues and obligations on the part of young Qataris. It will take time but they are moving forward at an incredible rate. Tell me when the US gov't did so much for the citizens. Only Obama has understood the need for good social and medical services and he gets knocked around for his concern. Here this kind of concern is appreciated and welcomed. Come for a visit and see. There are loads of problems, particularly with the Asian labor force but things are starting to change there too. They plan to build a whole industrial housing area with recreational facilities to help them out. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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blastermill wrote: |
I am no PR man but I have worked for the gov't in a couple of places and have been on reform committees. There is no need to knock the achievements of this tiny country, |
Nor is there any reason to be quite so obsequious and overly positive. I lived in the Gulf for years. It is much of a muchness. Mainly what a country can do when it has nearly unlimited wealth, a benevolent dictatorship, and a miniscule population. I was not criticizing Qatar as I have found their activities interesting and positive... I have merely found your cheerleading a bit OTT.
VS |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 6:54 am Post subject: |
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A country that has established Al Jazeera TV clearly has something going for it ! Oh I forgot, you can't watch Al Jazeera in the USA ! |
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2buckets
Joined: 14 Dec 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Middle East
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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Al jazeera is available on Link TV and Free Speech TV in the USA. There are several showings daily. These are available on Direct TV satellite.
There is also "Mosaic ", which is a compilation of news broadcasts from various Middle East countries including Iran and Palestine translated into English.
So, I get better Middle East coverage in the US than on the Jazeera (Penninsula) . |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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You can also stream Al-Jezeera directly from their website in the US.
VS |
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Geronimo
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 498
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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In fact, the Al Jazeera network is currently campaigning
for the right to extend the availability of its broadcasts
in the U.S. under the heading:-
"DEMAND AL JAZEERA IN THE USA"
For details of this campaign, go to...
http://www.aljazeera.com/demandaljazeera/
Geronimo |
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mesquite
Joined: 04 Jan 2009 Posts: 80
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:59 am Post subject: |
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The QU kid I spoke to (know his dad from QF) said this new foundation program is a real mess. They have opened a new program for the students who are in the Arabic-medium strain. They are now obliged to take four credit courses. The problem is the disparity in level - classes full of mixed ability students. Some students can barely speak English, others got to the top level of the former foundation program but because they've switched to Arabic have to go through these new courses with weak students. The kid is in this position, he did 4 courses of foundation, passed them all and even got 5.5 on the IELTS but all a waste of time as he has to do four new credit courses. He said some of the students don't even understand the teacher! They have some sort of placement system, Accuplacer, i think which they don't actually use to stream the students into low level or high level. This is a major mistake. Why put competent students into classes where they know everything? Why put students who are at false-beginner level in courses where they can't cope. This problem is partially due to the open-door policy of admission - they allegedly admitted over 4000 students into the new program. This is a huge number, no wonder they are desperate for teachers and had to rehire teachers who had been unfairly fired last semester. I'll take Zayed any day over this. No real consideration of student needs and desires.
I think ignoring low level students and their problems is a time-bomb.
If they let them in, they they should accommodate them and not force them to take classes they can't cope with. This student says it's a real mess, he sits with guys who can barely speak and are frustrated with the constant assessment going on. He also told me he gets frustrated with learning basic grammar when he has already learned how to write an essay.
Sounds like a crazy system to me. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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Is there anyone who didn't expect it to be a total mess? So typical. And it will be such for the next few years...
Streaming by ability has always been an issue in the Gulf. I have taught too many classes in the Gulf with a range from false beginner to near native speaker. Of course one problem with Arabic speakers is that they vary so much by skill. Their reading/writing nearly always a couple levels below their speaking/listening.
VS |
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blastermill
Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 101
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Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:04 am Post subject: Compulsory English at QU |
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They are still forcing students in the Arabic stream to do four courses of English. So what else is new! English is still compulsory. Students are not too happy as some have already done two years of the Foundation program and now must do another two years! Give me a break! |
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Imdramayu
Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 394 Location: South Korea
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Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 9:02 am Post subject: Diminished job prospects |
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Making Arabic the medium of instruction will hurt the job prospects & relevance of studies for graduating students. Sure...entering and doing well in the program will be easier. But less useful.
So...all the really good students will leave and study at another univ in Qatar where English is the medium of instruction. That'll leave QU with the Ss who didn't have the skills to learn a 2nd language.
Thus, academic standards will decrease as QU will be left with only the above.
Im |
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