Oxford University is set to begin teaching Igbo language and has appointed Nigerian Emmanuel Ikechukwu Umeonyirioha as the first official Igbo language lecturer.
The Igbo language, spoken in autonomous communities in Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, and São Tomé, will be taught for the first time at the university.
After his entrance on Thursday, February 17, Umeonyirioha shared the news on Twitter, writing: ”It is official that I am the first official Igbo Language lecturer at the world’s number one university, the University of Oxford.
“This became possible in account of the James Currey Society. This is the first time Igbo language will be taught at the university. History has been made. I am so happy and grateful for this opportunity. I promise to make the Igbo language and culture known to the world.”
International students make up almost 45 per cent of the University’s total student body – around 11,500 students from more than 160 countries and territories.
Language is at the centre of the Oxford course, making up around 50 per cent of both first-year and final examinations and Modern Languages have been taught in Oxford since 1724. The University’s well-equipped Language Centre has resources specifically tailored to the needs of Modern Language students.
The course’s goal is to teach spoken fluency in both informal and formal settings, as well as the ability to write essays in the foreign language and translate with correctness and sensitivity to a variety of vocabulary, styles, and registers.
Czech (with Slovak), French, German, Modern Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish are some of the modern languages taught at the university. Students are also urged to spend as much of their vacation time in the nations whose languages they are studying.
The Igbo language is also taught at UC Berkeley in Northern California.