Young foreign aspiring college students learn Romanian in Pitesti: “It’s very cheap!” Raed Arafat also learned here

Many Romanian students go to study abroad, but there are also foreign students who come to attend a university in our country. Many of them are obliged to do a preparatory year, learning the Romanian language, before attending a university.

The Romanian language preparatory program at the Pitesti University Center, currently part of the Politehnica University of Bucharest, is one of the oldest in the country. This year marks 50 years since the educational program has been operating in Pitesti.

Secretary of State Raed Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), is the most famous person who learned Romanian in Pitesti.

Every time he arrives in Argeș, Arafat talks with great pleasure about that period.

“I like to come to Argeș because I have many memories here. I spent my preparatory year as a student in Pitesti. Here I learned the Romanian language and now speaking you will see how well I learned it“, recently stated the head of the DSU during a press conference.

Among the people who made a career in Romania, after studying the Romanian language in Pitesti, there is also Wilmark, an engineer by trade, but who became famous in the country as a dancer, or Michel Kotcha, a finalist at Vocea României.

Around 30 foreign students study Romanian in Pitesti

This year, approximately 30 foreign students are studying Romanian in Pitesti. The peak was recorded in 2018, when 135 students from all over the world were enrolled in this preparatory program.

Most come from Asia or Africa and then attend medical school in the country’s major university centers.

“It isis a one-year study program with an absolutely specific methodology. This program is attended by students who wish to follow bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate programs in our country and need Romanian language skills“, says university associate. Claudiu Langa, dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Social Sciences and Psychology, where this program is held.

The tuition fee for foreign citizens from countries that are not part of the European Union (EU) is 1,980 euros/academic year, and for those from EU member states it is similar to the tuition fee for Romanian students.

Many of them are, however, on scholarship and do not pay taxes and have free accommodation. After graduating from the program, the students will pursue their studies in the country, at the universities they chose when they chose to come to Romania.

Intensive course of 25 hours per week

Teacher Magdalena Pruneanu invited us to participate in one of the courses of the Romanian language learning program.

Some of the students, during the Photo AV course

“Students come to us in the preparatory year for one year, for two semesters. In the first semester, five hours are studied daily, only the Romanian language. In the second semester, Romanian language is studied for two days, in one day we have culture and civilization and we make a foray through all the countries where they come from, making presentations in Romanian. In the other two days of the week, they study the specialized language that helps them in the study they will have in the coming years”, states lect. university Dr. Magdalena Pruneanu.

After the first semester, the student’s level is beginner (A1 and A2), and at the end of the second semester, intermediate language skills are obtained (B1 and B2)

“Dit depends on each individual, on how much they get involved, on the skills they have for training and developing these language skills“, the teacher also mentions.

At the end of the semesters, a final exam will be held, and with the help of the obtained diploma, they will go on to study in the field they have chosen.

Life more than 10,000 kilometers from home

Students from Morocco, Honduras, Myanmar and Iran, who came to Pitesti to learn Romanian, told us how they ended up studying in Romania.

Adnane Bizriken is 20 years old and comes from Morocco. He chose to study in Romania to obtain the European certificate that will allow him to work in Europe. The young man, aged 20, got a job in Pitesti, having a part-time job, in order to socialize and improve his knowledge of the Romanian language.

“I started learning Romanian since I was in Morocco. Next year I want to study Business Administration in Pitesti“, says Adnane.

Amine Bourroussil, 23 years old, also comes from Morocco, who says he chose Romania because it is not expensive. Not being a scholarship student, Amine paid 1,980 euros for the preparatory year and 350 lei/month for the dormitory.

Students are happy in Romania Photo AV

María José Díaz Ortega, 23 years old, came to Romania precisely from Honduras. The flight distance between the two countries is more than 10,000 kilometers, equivalent to more than 13 hours of flight time. After graduating from the preparatory Romanian language program, the young woman will study a master’s degree in “Business Management” in Bucharest.

“I like Romania, it is a very beautiful country. The people are friendly”, says María. The young woman loves Romanian food: “I like sarmales. They are very tasty“.

21-year-old Kyaw Min has just come from Myanmar to study ‘Agriculture’.

“I am a scholarship holder. My dream was to study in another country. I chose Romania because it is in Europe and it is a very beautiful country. I really like. I study the Romanian language, and starting next year I will study Agriculture, also in Pitesti”, says the young man.

There are also several students from Iran studying in Pitesti. Seyed Mojtaba Hoseini is 21 years old and says he chose Romania because it is cheap.

“It’s quiet, there are many problems in Iran.” dafter graduating from the preparatory program, the young man will study “Informatics” at the Pitesti University Center.