Azerbaijan University of Languages

Short History of Our University

Teaching foreign languages in higher educational institutions of the Republic has started since the early 1920s. In 1923 “Baku Public Education Institute for the in-service training of the teaching staff organised groups for desirous to learn the European languages - English, German and French. Since the 1924-1925 academic year foreign languages began to be taught at Baku State University and Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute.

In mid 1930s a Chair of Foreign Languages was founded at Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute and in 1937 on the basis of the same chair a Faculty with the departments of English, German and French was set up by the order of Azerbaijan Education Commissariat. In the March of the same year a section of foreign languages was formed at the Education Commissariat in order to facilitate the teaching of foreign languages in the Republic. The section took effective measures in providing the secondary schools of the Republic with the teachers of foreign languages.

In the 1937-1938 academic year over 200 students were admitted to the faculty, including 104 Azerbaijanis. Among the first teachers of the Faculty was Ali Khudaverdiyev, Jafar Jafarov, Nazakat Agazade, teachers of German, Azerbaijani by nationality.

The Faculty of Foreign Languages of Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute was transformed into the Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages in accordance with the resolution of Azerbaijan Education Commissariat of October 1940. By the order of the Education Commissariat Alasgar Hashimov, Rector of Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute was appointed Director of the Institute of Foreign Languages at the same time. In accordance with the same order a two-year course was organized at the Institute to meet the needs for foreign language teachers. In the 1941-1942 academic year 150 students were admitted to the Institute. However, with the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War the Institute stopped functioning and in the September of 1941 became a faculty of Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute again.

1937-1941 is a significant period in the formation of the national teachers of foreign languages. Those years are considered to be the start of training of foreign language teachers in the Republic. The first teachers of foreign languages Jafar Jafarov, Nazakat Agazade, Rukhsara Gayibova, Ali Khudaverdiyev, Sara Salamova, Heybat Pashayev, and Said Bagirov played an unparalleled role in training of foreign language teachers in the following years, too. And the first national research fellows in the sphere of foreign languages grew up from among them. The first Candidate of Sciences in German philology was Nazakat Agazade; the first Senior lecturer was Ali Khudaverdiyev.

In order to meet the great demands for foreign language teachers Azerbaijan Institute of Foreign Languages was founded on the basis of the faculty of Foreign Languages at Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute by the resolution of the Soviet of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR of December 10, 1947. The Dean’s Assistant of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute Heybat Pashayev was appointed Acting Director of the Institute, Rukhsara Gayibova - Assistant Director for Education and Research, Nazim Gadimbayov - Dean of the English Faculty, Nazakat Aghazade - Dean of the French and German Faculty. By the order of the Minister of Enlightenment of Azerbaijan SSR 3 Faculties and 9 chairs were created at the Institute.

In the 1948-1949 academic year 150 students were admitted to the Institute and over 300 students were transferred to the newly founded Institute from the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute.

On October 1, 1949, an extra-mural department was set up and external students from the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Pedagogical Institute continued their education in the same Institute. In the 1948-1949 academic year 56 teachers were working at the Institute, 26 of them were Azerbaijanis.

A post-graduate course for Foreign Languages was opened at the Institute by the order of the Minister of Enlightenment of Azerbaijan SSR of January 19, 1949 and the post-graduate students of Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute Tamara Ahmadova, Fuad Kazimov and Mina Guliyeva were transferred there. The same year 4 students were admitted to the post-graduate course.

In 1948-1949 Afshan Gadimbeyova and Rafiga Huseynova succeeded each other in the post of Director of the Institute. Those years the teaching staff of the Institute conducted research work on different problems of foreign languages successfully, compiled programs, dictionaries, developed textbooks, manuals, got their degrees. 7 studies for various subjects were organized to assist the education process.

In accordance with the order of the Minister of Enlightenment of Azerbaijan SSR of June 1959 on the basis of the corresponding resolutions of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party and the Soviet of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages was merged with the Institute of the Russian Language and Literature named after M.F.Akhundov. The newly set up Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute of Languages named after M.F.Akhundov had 3 faculties: the Russian Language and Literature, the European Languages and the Oriental Languages. Senior Lecturer Gulam Mammadov was appointed Director of the Institute.

In 1962 a 2 year-course was opened at the Institute. Along with English, German and French, Arabic and Persian were also taught there. The laboratory of Experimental Phonetics headed by Jafar Jafarov was one of the best not only in the Republic, but also in the former Soviet Union for its technical equipment.

In 1973 on the basis of the Faculty of European Languages of Azerbaijan State Institute of Languages named after M.F.Akhundov, Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages was formed and named after 50 year of the USSR. The initiative belonged to H.Aliyev, the 1^st Secretary of the CP CC of Azerbaijan then He was elected to this post in 1969. The Head of the English Chair, Prof. Zemfira Verdiyeva, was appointed Rector.

4 faculties and 24 chairs began to function at the newly-established Institute, 1250 students of Azerbaijan State Institute of Languages named after M.F.Akhundov were transferred to Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute of Foreign languages and in the 1973-1974 academic year the Institute admitted 250 students. Teaching staff of the Institute in 1974 was 392 in number, including 9 Doctors of Sciences - Professors; 72 Candidates of Sciences - Senior Lecturers, 311 Senior teachers and teachers.

Since 1998. The Institute has trained about 20 thousand foreign language teachers since 1973. It became Azerbaijan University of Languages by the decree of the Azerbaijani President H.Aliyev in 2000. He status of the University allowed to increase the training of other specialists, too. Now it has become one of the leading higher educational institutions in the Republic. At present there are 5 faculties, 30 chairs at the University. There are over 3 thousand students, including 118 foreign citizens at the faculties of English and Regional Studies, English and Romance-Germanic Philology, German, French, the Evening Department and Translation. There are about 300 students at the MA department, which has been functioning

Main Page