Tweet
Federation of Armenian Organisations in The Netherlands
Committee of Armenian Language and Culture
Address: Weesperstraat 91
2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31704490209
Email: [email protected]
Contact: M. Hakhverdian
PRESS RELEASE
Developments of Armenian Language Teaching in The Netherlands
Amersfoort, 2 February 2008 - During the second conference of the Committee
of Armenian Language and Culture of the Federation of Armenian Organisations
in The Netherlands (FAON) in Amersfoort, it was decided to put a number of
plans into action to improve the situation with regard to teaching of the
Armenian language to both children and adults. These include the
establishment of an Armenian Language Education Assistance Centre, setting
up of a Website concerning the teaching of Armenian language, examining the
possibilities of teaching the Armenian language in the curriculum of the
Dutch secondary schools and finally, to discuss the matter with the Adult
Education Centres (Volksuniversiteit) to offer courses of Armenian Language
for adults.
These steps are in pursuance of the First Language Conference in 2007 under
the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. J. Weitenberg of Leiden University, which
produced an inventory of the Armenian Language courses in the Netherlands,
working methods and the bottlenecks.
The Armenian Language Education Assistance Centre is intended to facilitate
and lend support to all teachers, who teach Armenian in different parts of
the Netherlands. This Centre shall take care, for example, of provision of
teaching material, organisation of meetings at country level, providing of
guest-courses on different subjects, provision of information facilities for
teachers etc. The aim is thus to provide for higher quality courses and
making them more attractive by a stronger organisation of teachers, thereby
creating a motivating factor for the youth and the adults alike to follow
Armenian Language courses.
An Examining Committee under the leadership of Prof. Dr. J. Weitenberg, has
been formed, which is going to study the requirements for a centrally held
examination for Armenian Language in The Netherlands with corresponding
diploma.
A website will be set up to make all information concerning teaching of
Armenian accessible to everybody and also to use the site in the future for
other educational purposes.
In addition to these steps, a Secondary Education Working Group has been set
up, which is going to start an investigation plan with the final goal for
introducing the Armenian Language as a modern foreign language in the Dutch
secondary education system at least in places where great numbers of
Armenian children live. In Holland, such lessons already exist for example
for Italian, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Turkish languages. For the time
being the Working Group will carry out an orientation research. Naturally,
the Working Group will have a long way to go and much will also depend on
the parents¹ and children¹s enthusiasm for language courses as well as the
preparedness of the schools to entertains such projects.
The Committee of Armenian Language and Culture, however, sees good
possibilities for introduction of Armenian courses in schools in a number of
places in Netherlands. Such courses can, with the permission of the Ministry
of Education, in the long run culminate into designation of Armenian as an
examination subject for the students concerned.
Finally, taking into consideration the growing demand of the Armenian
Language courses for adults, negotiations will start soon on this subject
with the Organisation of Adult Education Centres (Volksuniversiteit). The
idea is that these Centres, in a number of places in the country, include
the Armenian language courses into their educational packages.
The Committee of Armenian Language and Culture took note of the fact that by
the planned measures and provisions and with the enthusiasm of the
participants in the conference, the teaching of Armenian Language in the
Netherlands is going to register progress in the coming years in various
fields. In the spring, the participants will get together again to discuss
the steps taken and make follow-up plans.
Federation of Armenian Organisations in the Netherlands
Committee of Armenian Language and Culture
Address: Weesperstraat 91
2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31704490209
Email: [email protected]
Contact: M. Hakhverdian
PRESS RELEASE
Developments of Armenian Language Teaching in The Netherlands
Amersfoort, 2 February 2008 - During the second conference of the Committee
of Armenian Language and Culture of the Federation of Armenian Organisations
in The Netherlands (FAON) in Amersfoort, it was decided to put a number of
plans into action to improve the situation with regard to teaching of the
Armenian language to both children and adults. These include the
establishment of an Armenian Language Education Assistance Centre, setting
up of a Website concerning the teaching of Armenian language, examining the
possibilities of teaching the Armenian language in the curriculum of the
Dutch secondary schools and finally, to discuss the matter with the Adult
Education Centres (Volksuniversiteit) to offer courses of Armenian Language
for adults.
These steps are in pursuance of the First Language Conference in 2007 under
the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. J. Weitenberg of Leiden University, which
produced an inventory of the Armenian Language courses in the Netherlands,
working methods and the bottlenecks.
The Armenian Language Education Assistance Centre is intended to facilitate
and lend support to all teachers, who teach Armenian in different parts of
the Netherlands. This Centre shall take care, for example, of provision of
teaching material, organisation of meetings at country level, providing of
guest-courses on different subjects, provision of information facilities for
teachers etc. The aim is thus to provide for higher quality courses and
making them more attractive by a stronger organisation of teachers, thereby
creating a motivating factor for the youth and the adults alike to follow
Armenian Language courses.
An Examining Committee under the leadership of Prof. Dr. J. Weitenberg, has
been formed, which is going to study the requirements for a centrally held
examination for Armenian Language in The Netherlands with corresponding
diploma.
A website will be set up to make all information concerning teaching of
Armenian accessible to everybody and also to use the site in the future for
other educational purposes.
In addition to these steps, a Secondary Education Working Group has been set
up, which is going to start an investigation plan with the final goal for
introducing the Armenian Language as a modern foreign language in the Dutch
secondary education system at least in places where great numbers of
Armenian children live. In Holland, such lessons already exist for example
for Italian, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Turkish languages. For the time
being the Working Group will carry out an orientation research. Naturally,
the Working Group will have a long way to go and much will also depend on
the parents¹ and children¹s enthusiasm for language courses as well as the
preparedness of the schools to entertains such projects.
The Committee of Armenian Language and Culture, however, sees good
possibilities for introduction of Armenian courses in schools in a number of
places in Netherlands. Such courses can, with the permission of the Ministry
of Education, in the long run culminate into designation of Armenian as an
examination subject for the students concerned.
Finally, taking into consideration the growing demand of the Armenian
Language courses for adults, negotiations will start soon on this subject
with the Organisation of Adult Education Centres (Volksuniversiteit). The
idea is that these Centres, in a number of places in the country, include
the Armenian language courses into their educational packages.
The Committee of Armenian Language and Culture took note of the fact that by
the planned measures and provisions and with the enthusiasm of the
participants in the conference, the teaching of Armenian Language in the
Netherlands is going to register progress in the coming years in various
fields. In the spring, the participants will get together again to discuss
the steps taken and make follow-up plans.
Federation of Armenian Organisations in the Netherlands