Students improving Australia-international understanding, one Arabic debate at a time

Four students of Arabic at The Australian National University have showcased their language skills on the international stage by representing ANU at the 5th International Universities Debating Championship in Doha, Qatar.

Alia Huberman, Conor Sproule, Campbell Starky and James Turner won four of five debates, assisted by their Arabic language teacher and coach, Leila Kouatly, of the ANU Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies, and alumnus Tommy Randall, who contested the 2015 and 2017 events.

“The highlight was actually being able to debate in Arabic with my classmates who have become my good friends,” says Conor, who’s studying a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) / Bachelor of Languages.

“When we started first year Arabic, we would never have thought that we would be able to speak for seven minutes about complicated issues after just 20 minutes of preparation.

“I was really excited by the prospect of competing in the Qatar Debate because I would be able to improve my Arabic, spend time with my classmates, and get to know people from all over the world.”

This year’s Qatar Debate featured the most entrants in its history - 107 teams from 52 countries, about 40 of which were non-Arabic countries.

In addition to winning four qualifying rounds, the team won a trial debate on the championship’s first day. That didn’t count toward their total, but gave boosted the team’s confidence.

“We met several times a week in the months leading up to the competition to practice a range of topics, learn new vocabulary, and get familiar with the structure of debating,” explains James.

“Outside the classroom I would revise vocabulary from previous courses I had taken, read Arabic news websites everyday, listened to Arabic podcasts from SBS, and even started using an online tutor through Natakallam to get more conversation practice in.

“Our coaches Leila and Tommy were amazing help during this time who supported our learning and were super patient.”

James is doing a Master of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies (Advanced) and Diploma of Languages (Arabic). After completing the in-country Applied Arabic course and advanced courses on Media Arabic, he felt confident enough to try out for the Qatar Debate team and put his Arabic skills to the test.

Another who tested his Arabic abilities was Campbell, who’s studying a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) / Bachelor of International Security Studies.

“I started studying Arabic largely on a whim,” Campbell recalls.

“I had this very fledgling idea that the Middle East and Arab world might be important for Australia's future, but I didn't really know much about the region.

“It also crossed my mind that maybe my ignorance was part of a broader problem in Australia, and maybe I could be part of improving that situation. I was really lucky to stumble into a language and culture which I now love learning about.”

Highlights for the students included meeting Australia’s Ambassador to Qatar, Axel Wabenhorst, a fluent Arabic speaker, who conducted their entire 30-minute meeting in Arabic. It was another chance for the ANU delegation to use their Arabic, this time to discuss ties between Australia and the Middle East, and topics within the region.

Teacher and coach, Associate Lecturer Leila Kouatly, began preparing the team earlier than for previous Qatar Debates. They met initially once a week for an hour, then two hours over the summer break, finally eight hours a week in the month before departure.

“During our preparations, we focused more on the structure of the arguments and the team’s overall stance towards the topic, as well as defining specific roles for each team member,” Leila explains.

“This allocation of roles meant that they were very comfortable during the championships. In addition, this year we were very lucky to have former participants help on a regular basis during our preparation.

“The team has greatly benefited from Tommy Randall’s experience in the 2015 and 2017 debates, and he was instrumental in getting them to develop a well-structured argument.

“Words cannot express how proud I am of the team’s performance, and I was very pleased to see how well they worked together.

“This could not have happened without their dedication and commitment from the start.”