On February 20, the sessions hall of the chairmanship of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) hosted the roundtable discussion entitled “The Armenian Language in Textbooks” and held as part of the events dedicated to International Mother Language Day. The roundtable discussion was organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora and the Hrachya Atcharyan Language Institute of the NAS RA with the support of the AGBU Armenian Virtual University.

As reported Hayern Aysor, in her speech at the roundtable discussion, coordinator of the Hybrid Education Program of the AGBU Armenian Virtual University Arpine Tavakalyan touched upon the University’s efforts for the solution to problems related to the Armenian language and stated that the fact that Armenian is considered a second language especially for Armenians abroad must be taken into account during the development of a new language policy. Working with Armenian schools abroad, Arpine Tavakalyan suggests developing accessible textbooks with vocabulary that is appropriate for them since those schools also encounter problems with textbooks.

“As a virtual university that has been active and has been offering distance learning in seven languages since 2009, we are certain that distance learning and the application of the latest technologies need to have their special place during the development of the new language policy. Our experience has shown that this can help make Armenian more attractive and ensure the high level of language engagement, which will help raise the level of effectiveness of the language,” Arpine Tavakalyan said, adding that it is necessary to not only teach students taking online courses the Armenian language, but also create an environment for use of the language, after which Armenian will become a major strategic tool.

The AGBU Armenian Virtual University (AGBU AVU) was established in 2009 with the mission to make Armenian education accessible everywhere and for everyone. Attaching special importance to the need to solve the problems related to the Armenian language (maintenance, transmission, modernization of teaching methods, application of the latest technologies), the AGBU AVU intends to fill this gap through its online courses and various kinds of events.

The AGBU Armenian Virtual University has great experience in working with Armenian schools and community centers abroad and more than 7,000 Diaspora Armenian students, including students pursuing their studies in foreign languages.

Gevorg Chichyan