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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia
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 Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:50 am Post subject: Taking Arabic classes in Saudi Arabia? |
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In many countries where native English teach, there are language schools, Universities and academies where the native English teachers can take lessons in the local language.
In my case, I was able to study Turkish at the excellent T�mer Ankara (University of Ankara), when in Turkey, and Mandarin (Chinese) at one of the many local Universities in Taiwan which dispense Mandarin lessons to foreigners. In Taiwan, I studied Mandarin for 4 months at the excellent Chinese studies program at Providence University, Taichung/Shalu, Taiwan.
In Guatemala, where I taught for one year in 1995, there were great schools in Antigua and Quetzaltenango, which also offered homestays for rapid acquisition. Homestays would probably be out in Saudi, because of the reluctance of most Saudis to accommodate non muslim infidels. But what about courses?
What about in Saudi Arabia, are there language schools and academies where foreigners can take lessons in Arabic, in the evening or mornings before their workdays?
I get the impression that not many teachers bother to study Arabic in Saudi and other Gulf countries, and of course it is not easy, because so many of the locals are used to speaking English with foreigners, which was not the case in the previous countries where I taught. You would really have to be strong headed to insist the locals speak to you only in Arabic..
Problem number two, is the difference between the Arabic taught in a classic course and the vernacular spoken by most of the locals. Is it possible to take conversation courses in the local variety of arabic, rather than the more archaic/classic variety? I took a one month course in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1996, and it was basically ineffective, unfortunately.
Has anyone here at least reached a level where they could converse and communicate in Arabic at a level which covered most of their social needs? And are there academies in the cities where foreigners habitually teach in Saudi Arabia?
Thank you.
Ghost in Korea |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:17 am Post subject: Re: Taking Arabic classes in Saudi Arabia? |
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| ghost wrote: |
| What about in Saudi Arabia, are there language schools and academies where foreigners can take lessons in Arabic, in the evening or mornings before their workdays? |
I think the best option is to register with one of the online Arabic courses, designed specifically for English speaking students:
http://www.arabacademy.com/
or
http://www.dalilusa.com/arabic_course/colloquial_arabic_lessons.asp
| Quote: |
| Has anyone here at least reached a level where they could converse and communicate in Arabic at a level which covered most of their social needs? And are there academies in the cities where foreigners habitually teach in Saudi Arabia? |
The other option is to learn the Colloquial Arabic (Gulf Arabic combined with the Egyptian dialect) through private schools (may be found in Jeddah and Riyadh) and the interactions with local people and other Arabs from other Arab countries. At least, you can use it for your social and day to day communications with local peoples. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:36 am Post subject: |
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| My experience has been that it is best to find a competent teacher and hire him (her ?) on a one-to-one basis. Difficult to find one who is competent. Remember that diglossia is the rule here. There is a huge gap between formal standard Arabic and what is actually used in everyday life. |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:59 am Post subject: |
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I get the impression that not many teachers bother to study Arabic in Saudi and other Gulf countries, and of course it is not easy, because so many of the locals are used to speaking English with foreigners, which was not the case in the previous countries where I taught. |
This is true.
Arabic is a very difficult language for English speakers, and it's not really needed for day to day life in the Gulf countries. Plus, many people only come here for a short time, and many also have no interest in the country and its culture. Also, it can be difficult to establish social relationships with Saudis, even if you are willing to learn the language. For these and other reasons, few expats bother to study Arabic here. I would say that a majority of those who do so are Muslims who wish to know some Arabic for religious reasons.
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| What about in Saudi Arabia, are there language schools and academies where foreigners can take lessons in Arabic, in the evening or mornings before their workdays? |
I've never heard of morning classes, but some universities and other institutions offer evening courses in Arabic, sometimes for free. Be aware, however, that these classes are often run by religious organisations who may have an agenda other than the strictly linguistic. That's fine if that's what you want, but is something to be aware of if it is not.
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| Is it possible to take conversation courses in the local variety of arabic, rather than the more archaic/classic variety? |
Almost all teachers, whatever their nationality, will want to teach you Classical Arabic or MSA, even if you insist that you want to learn the local dialect. |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:05 pm Post subject: re |
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| Quote: |
My experience has been that it is best to find a competent teacher and hire him (her ?) on a one-to-one basis. Difficult to find one who is competent. Remember that diglossia is the rule here. There is a huge gap between formal standard Arabic and what is actually used in everyday life.
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I have never really enjoyed one to one classes - in all my experiences, so far, they have never really been a success. I like the dynamics of small group learning, where you can feed off of and motivate yourself with other learners.
Same thing with online learning - good in principle, but I find there is no substitute for having a competent native speaker in front of you.....everything becomes so much more memorable and easy to acquire when you have a real body in front of you......in a small class setting. In my case, I don't really like one to one, unless the teacher is an exceptional one, and there are not many of those, who have your best interests in mind. In one to one learning you really have to tailor the lesson to the individual. Not easy.
If learning online were that easy, you would gradually not have the need for Native English Teachers, but that is not the case. Humans are naturally prone to laziness, and those online possibilities, tapes, cd's etc....often gather dust, once the initial frenzy of learning has diminished.
I have met a lot of people who have worked in the Midldle East and Gulf countries, and have never met anyone who even spoke elementary level arabic. Even Filipinos, who are pretty skilled at languages (usually speaking their local dialect, e.g. Cebuano, plus Tagalog plus English) typically only learn a few words of Arabic after staying for years in the Gulf countries, which also shows that you cannot pick up languages like Arabic by just living there. You need formal classes - at least initially. I am going throught the same thing with Korean at the moment.
The ratio of effort expended in learning Korean, to results gained is pretty low, and many give up learning Korean, but I think with persistence and a lot of exposure results will eventually come. There is no reason why Arabic should not be the same, despite the complexity of the grammar, and pronunciation difficulties (low throat sounds).
Perhaps the cultural differences in Saudi and the fact that most educated
Saudis speak very decent English do not help foreigners in learning Arabic during their contracts in Saudi. A pity, as most teachers have a lot of non teaching time when learning could take place.
Interesting topic.
Ghost in Korea |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Be aware, however, that these classes are often run by religious organisations who may have an agenda other than the strictly linguistic. That's fine if that's what you want, but is something to be aware of if it is not. |
What agenda? Is it a hidden one?
BTW, King Cobra 007 is offering evening Arabic classes to native English speakers, and his agenda is to promote the Classical Arabic language and Arab culture. 
His fees start from SR250 /Hour + VAT. |
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trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
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| Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 3:59 pm Post subject: |
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Cleopatra outlined the main reasons why a lot of expats don't pick up much Arabic here.
There *are* some places which offer classes in the big cities. LSI (Language Studies International) is a language institute which offers courses in Arabic. Perhaps Berlitz also does.
If you can find those courses, and have the time to go to them, that's great, otherwise the best way is to go to Jarir (the best local bookstore) and pick up a language pack with a combination of printed material and CDs. Then, you rip those CDs into MP3s, and download them onto your MP3 player (buy a cheap one for about SR. 200) and carry the conversational lessons with you. You won't believe how much time you have during the day when you can listen to them and read the book. And you won't have to spend extra time in the evening to take any classes!
www.rosettastone.com is touted as the best language software ever by the experts. It comes with a guarantee even, that if you are not speaking the language in e certain time (I think 3 months), you get your money back. Their method is used by Fortune 500 companies, the US State Department, and thousands of schools.
It is not available here, so get it before you come here.
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| His fees start from SR250 /Hour + VAT. |
If you are serious, that's pretty steep. The going rate for private tutoring in the KSA is SR. 175/200 per hour. |
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