Uruguay opens the window for learning Albanian

At the initiative of researcher Juan Manuel Montoro, the Catholic University of Uruguay is offering for the first time the possibility of an Albanian language course. Although a country of 3.3 million inhabitants is part of a Spanish-speaking world of over 600 million people. “Our potential audience is this wider community, where access to learning resources for specific regions is limited. Interest in Albania and Kosovo is growing, driven by tourism, sports and cultural visibility. This shows a real opportunity,” he said. Through a 60-hour course to be held on Saturdays, those curious about Albanian will receive basic level lessons

Citizens of the Hispanic world who want to get acquainted with Albanian culture have a real opportunity this month: an Albanian language course. The Catholic University of Uruguay in Montevideo is offering this opportunity through online learning. For citizens of Latin America, as well as those of other countries, the options are numerous, but usually Albanian courses are offered by English-speaking teachers. This time it is a university course with Albanian teachers who communicate in Spanish. Through a 60-hour course that will be held on Saturdays, those curious about Albanian will receive basic level lessons. 

At the initiative of Juan Manuel Montoro, the educational institution founded in 1985, for the first time offers the possibility of an Albanian course. Juan Manuel Montoro has worked on various projects in Kosovo for the last six years. 

"Learning Albanian became a natural step to better understand the region and to work there with greater legitimacy. At the same time, I was involved in innovation initiatives at the Catholic University of Uruguay. Combining these two paths seemed like an opportunity: to open an institutional form of learning and open it to others," said Juan Manuel Montoro, in a statement to KOHĪN. 

According to him, although the connection between Uruguay and Albania and Kosovo may seem unusual, the University's Language Center immediately supported the idea. 

"We now see this course as a pilot experience. If it works well, it could become a scalable model for online learning of specific languages, benefiting both our University and the visibility of these languages ​​and cultures in new academic spaces," he said.

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While talking about this initiative, he said that they are not based on formal studies regarding potential interest, but on the context. He explained that Uruguay is small, yet it is part of a Spanish-speaking world with over 600 million people. 

“Our potential audience is this wider community, where access to learning resources for specific regions is limited. Interest in Albania and Kosovo is growing, driven by tourism, sports and cultural visibility. This shows a real opportunity. On a practical level, we also rely on existing academic and professional networks in the Spanish-speaking world that focus on the Balkans, which gives the initiative a strong starting point,” said Juan Manuel Montoro. 

In his perspective, language plays a central role in connecting societies and it opens up access to cultural understanding and often leads to new forms of cooperation in academic, economic and social fields.

"Even basic knowledge of a language changes interactions and creates mutual trust. At the same time, learning another language broadens one's personal perspective. This course aims to create that shared space, where both communities broaden their horizons through direct linguistic and cultural exchange," he said. 

The University's announcement explains that registrations are possible from January 19. It is indicated that the course in Albanian will be of A1 level and is oriented towards the development of basic communication skills in everyday situations, with a focus on the practical use of the language and the presentation of Albanian and Balkan culture. The teacher will be Jehona Kadriu. 

She explained that the main goal of the course is to provide participants with basic and practical knowledge of the Albanian language, while simultaneously promoting familiarity with Albanian culture, traditions and reality. 

"To promote the Albanian language and culture and offer it to those people (Hispanics) who have not had the opportunity to have contact before, that is, who do not know the potential and richness of our language, in order to arouse their curiosity about our traditions and culture," she said. 

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Based on her academic experience, she said that there are few resources for learning Albanian as a foreign language, and even those resources that do exist are usually in English. 

"Here, Spanish speakers will be able to learn it directly from their own language, interactively. It is also important for Albanian culture that this bridge exists, because it increases its visibility and opens its doors to an audience of 600 million speakers," said Kadriu. 

This is a basic course. Kadriu explained that the student will come away with very basic knowledge of the language, which they can deepen later, if they wish. 

"But most importantly, it will give you a much better understanding of a developing, interesting region about which there is little information available. So the course is planned to be developed initially from the beginner level, focusing on basic communication, with the aim of expanding to more advanced levels in later stages, depending on the interest and commitment of the students," she said.

According to her, interest in the Balkans, in general and in Albania and Kosovo in particular, has increased greatly in recent years. 

“Every time I talk to someone from Spain or Latin America, I notice a clear interest in our culture. However, we must be realistic and accept that the task of promoting the course will be difficult and that we will need all the support possible to promote the course and achieve a number of registrations to make it sustainable,” she said. The minimum number of those interested in attending the course must be 10. The initiative is in its early days. Potential interest would strengthen it by creating opportunities for institutional support for those interested in getting to know Albanian and Albanian culture.

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