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[ebooktrial0001]

Hi Guys,

I have always had a pet interest in learning more Arabic, especially since I have worked a little in the Middle East.

Do you guys know any countries, programs, etc. that can learn Arabic at a decent quality for a reasonable price?

I know Yemen used to be a good place; but, it's too unstable now.

What about mosques, university programs, etc.?

[nomad soul]

Assuming you expect to just be a student (and not teaching), in terms of countries, choose any that aren't currently experiencing major socio-political unrest (with the understanding that the entire region is a potential hotbed for instability). For example, Egypt, Oman, and Jordan are options. Unless you're Muslim, classes held in mosques may not suit you nor be permissible. And yes, there are plenty of college/university Arabic language programs in the Mid East, and you may find similar programs and possibly private lessons offered locally in your city. But it also depends on the form of Arabic you want to learn---Modern Standard Arabic (AKA fusha or formal/literary Arabic) or one of the many dialects of spoken Arabic in addition to what you consider to be a "reasonable" price.

Anyway, your question is rather broad and not easy to answer because there are quite a few unknown variables. I suggest you start with a search on the Net using countries learn arabic.

[SENTINEL33]

Nomad Soul is correct in that you do not provide enough information on which a commentator can give good advice. (For example, how much Arabic do you already know and why are you interested in this?)

I'd like to point out, however, that even under the best of circumstances, you're looking at a minimum of 5 years of intensive study in country to achieve any degree of fluency and reading ability to make such a project worthwhile. (Of course, a lot depends on motivation and natural linguistic abilities).

It's also important to realize that you can't really state that you "know" Arabic unless you're adept at both modern standard Arabic (so that you can understand TV broadcasts, for example, and read newspapers) and can communicate comfortably in a colloquial dialect. You've really got to know both which is one of the main reasons Arabic is considered "very difficult".....you're really learning two languages at the same time.

Having said that, Egypt and Lebanon have traditionally been the 2 locations where most of this type of Arabic learning has taken place......they're probably still the best places to attempt this type of project.

[MuscatGary]

Get a job at a College where they train Arabic teachers and the classes will be free as they need to practice their skills. Mind you they won't show up most of the time....

[desert]

[SENTINEL33]

I wanted to add the following which a novice Arabic learner should be aware of:

Assuming you intend to learn a colloquial dialect and given the fact that Morocco in recent years has greatly increased in popularity as a center for western students of Arabic (mainly due to its location near Europe and its generally "safe" environment), you should be aware that the Moroccan dialect is perhaps the least useful dialect to learn. It has diverged greatly from the other major dialects (as has Maltese) and is barely understood by other Arabic speakers.

Of course, if you intend to concentrate on MSA (modern standard Arabic) - the variety used in the media, for writing and in "elevated"' speech - Morocco is fine since this variety of Arabic is uniform throughout the Arabic-speaking world.

Bottom line: as has been mentioned on this thread, you really have to decide precisely what you want to do given the great variety of possibilities a study of Arabic entails. Saying you "want to learn some Arabic" is much too vague a plan to warrant specifics.

[scot47]

SOAS in Londonistan - but it ain't cheap !

[kona]

I've researched learning Arabic before (really just for kicks, thought I might teach in the MENA someday), and I found one program that's pretty cheap and that is in, what I assume, a fairly cheap location. Zarqa University outside Amman seems like it might fit the bill for you as the tuition costs seem pretty low, and being outside of Amman, is probably a bit cheap