, PhD Candidate and visiting assistant Lecturer of Arabic within the at the University of Malta, recently participated in the 11th Edition of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) held in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday 28 November and Wednesday 29 November 2023
WISE was established by the Qatar Foundation in 2006 as an answer to the need to bring Education back to life and give fresh ideas and solutions a global platform.
This edition’s theme revolved around the emergence of AI and its effects on education systems around the world. Ms Abela was invited to participate in a panel discussion on ‘Cultural Perspectives of Arabic Learners in Classrooms’ alongside the moderator Ms Odette Yidi, PhD candidate Ms Imane El Gennouni, and Mr Najib Jose Chalela Ambrad.
This panel focused on the Arabic language’s growing significance as a global language as well as the specific contextual experiences of three learners and teachers of Arabic. Ms Abela detailed her experience with learning and teaching Arabic as a foreign language at the University of Malta.
The panel aimed to bring together multiple lived experiences on the state of Arabic learning around the globe and the role it plays in fostering intercultural understanding. This was placed in the context of Arabic as a significant language in terms of the modern global sociopolitical landscape, especially within the current events regarding the siege and bombardment of Gaza. The discussion culminated with the consideration of the transformation in Arabic learning with the emergence of AI and the possibility of AI-integrated language pedagogies.
Ms Amy Marie Abela is currently reading for a PhD in Arabic, with her research centred on the trajectories of gender expression present within contemporary Tunisian narratives. Her research interests include Arabic language, contemporary Arabic literature, Arabic dialectal literature, gender studies and queer theory.
