Penn State Greater Allegheny engineering major Ali Soliman Hussain led fellow students and campus faculty and staff in an Arabic writing workshop.
The event, which was held on February 16, 2012 from 12:15-1:15 p.m., was developed by Hussain and Dr. Mildred Mickle, associate professor of English and a member of the Teaching International program committee.
Hussain introduced participants to the Arabic alphabet. He began by writing the Arabic letters and numbers that were projected onto a screen for the audience. As he wrote the letters, he taught the audience how to pronounce the sounds. Then he asked the audience for specific words that he wrote on the screen. Participants felt free to ask Hussain questions about Arabic culture and holidays and requested he sing the Arabic version of "Happy Birthday." Hussain complied graciously and then gave participants time to practice writing words in Arabic.
As there was considerable interest in the workshop, the organizers will present a second session on April 24, 2012 from 12:15-1:30 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room, Student Community Center.
As part of the Teaching International initiative, Penn State Greater Allegheny has adopted each year a country or region of the world, and a theme, as a common focus to inspire teaching and scholarship. The region for the 2011-2012 academic year is the Middle East and the theme is the Millenium Development Goals. Teaching International works closely with the campus sustainability project, Greener Allegheny, and the Honors Program to sponsor events that raise awareness of these global issues.
For more information, contact Nancy Conway (412-675-9143 or [email protected]).