Job Discussion Forums

[desert date]

[clandestino]

Well having studied Arabic in Fes (Morocco), Alexandria (Egypt), and Damascus and having spoken to loads and loads of people who have studied Arabic I would actually say that the best results I have seen and heard about are actually from an institute in France. This is hardcore though, it is in the middle of nowhere deep in central France, http://www.iesh.org/ . I know someone there who studied for a year with no Arabic at all and not even a GSCE to his name and walked into third year at a top British Uni (and i mean top) and got a first in his Arabic without really working hard at all in final two years. It is obviously a place which is deeply embued in Islam but I can honestly say that if you are serious about learning standard Arabic that is where to go! Plus, once you learn standard Arabic the dialects are a walk in the park!

I am sure that choice will cause lots of controversy and that you are also looking for a good time(at least in part). I think the Mahad in Damascus is o.k when i was there i knew a Polish guy who studied there and was very happy with the course! I think as a country Syria is awesome and I don't use that term lightly either! The dialect is a bit camp but really nice and nowadays very widely understood in the Arab world with the onset of a tighter knit Arab world.

Egypt is good for dialect! People are wonderful, always up for a laugh and while they are not rich in terms of money, they definitely are rich in terms of values and hospitality. Same could be said of Syria though. The one thing about Egypt though, they are rubbish at classical Arabic and only want to speak in A'mia (dialect). I also find that Egyptian Arabic sounds a bit ugly but obviously that is a highly subjective thought!

I know a few people who have said good things about Yemen too! I'd go there if you want a really full on, in your face experience! I think after Syria, Yemen is the Arab country that is most in touch with its roots. I know people who have studied and taught at MALI (great deal by the way) and have raved about it. Obviously though, the dialect is very obscure and isn't likely to be understood very widely, but for standard Arabic it is probably the best place going! Stick to Sana'a though!

Morocco- great people again but you just need to be sensible about who you hang out with! Anyone who drinks alcohol and is from a Muslim family in any of the countries I mentioned is viewed in the same way as we would view a crack addict in the U.K! So naturally, you wouldn't really see a crack addict as being a great best mate abroad! I studied in ALIF in Fes! Very good but unnecessarily pricey! This is probably the easiest introduction into the Arabic world and Moroccans are brilliant at languages generally and have a good knowledge of classical Arabic!

Anyway, would be great to hear what you decide and feel free to ask any more questions!

[smedini]

[veiledsentiments]

Smedini,

I learned the vast majority of my Arabic from taxi drivers and my first students in Egypt - who were factory workers out near the pyramids. But once you get to the Gulf, you have little chance to use it. The people in the shops and the taxi drivers use English (or urdu). Of course, I ended up with Egyptian dialect which everyone understands... and finds amusing from a Western female.

Oman and Yemen provide the most chance in the Gulf to meet the locals. But, then you encounter the problem that Omani and Yemeni Arabic are, like Morocco, dialects at the boundary of the Arabic speaking world and hard to understand for many Arabic speakers.

With your students, you are their only source of practice for English, so they don't provide much chance for practice. Of course, being married to an Arabic speaker helps.

VS

[smedini]

[desert date]

Hedayet Institute, Cairo

Any views on this school? I remember somebody asking about it on here before but I can't find it on Search.

[SongsOhia]

If anyone is currently, or is going to be looking for a Arabic language school..
I'm looking at three Arabic language schools in Cairo, currently.

These include: ILI Cairo, Hedayet Institute for Arabic Studies (as was mentioned in the previous post) and the Fajr Center for the Arabic Language.
Hedayet and Fajr have responded very fast by email, while I've only been able to get information from ILI on their website.

All three schools have Facebook groups to contact former/current students/teachers, which is nice. I believe all three have at least some sort of brief YouTube video as well. While ILI lacks online response, they look like the most lively option, and give the clearest dates and prices for classes. And through study abroad sites I've seen, ILI has been the predominant language school featured.

Each has accommodation services, and flat prices reflect the schools location.

[Clinique]

First off, I just wanted to say that this thread has provided a wealth of information. Right now I'm trying to determine where I want to study Arabic and am looking for some advice. I am a complete beginner and I plan to head overseas in January where I will spend 9 or more months studying Arabic. Prior to leaving, I intend to spend a few weeks learning the Arabic alphabet by studying from the book "Alif Baa - Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds."

Anyway, I'm really looking into studying in Sanaa, Yemen. This thread is a bit old so I wanted to know if anyone had any up to date information regarding Yemen and the safety of studying there. I know that the State Dept advises Americans to avoid any non-essential travel to Yemen but from my research it seems like Sanaa is safe and an ideal place to learn MSA. I'm planning on studying at either CALES and YIAL so if anyone has heard anything about quality of teaching at these schools or anywhere else (recent information would be preferred), I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

[helenl]

The Saudis are currently bombing along their border with Yemen in an attempt to keep "Yemeni rebels" (for lack of a better word) from making incursions into Saudi.

Government troops and the "rebels" have regular clashes in the north of the country I believe.

At least a dozen foreign tourists are kidnapped every year, some are killed in clashes with the government or die because of health issues.

I know several people who have travelled to Sanaa in the past few years for brief holidays - but not for extended periods of time.

[veiledsentiments]

Sanaa is probably fine as the problems have been up in the north for some years now. A friend of mine is planning to head to Sanaa in the next year to polish his Arabic. He lived there in the past and doesn't seem too concerned... but then again, he's also lived and worked in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last few years. All is relative...

VS

[scot47]

What about the Bourguiba Institute in Tunis ? Handy location - right next to the Synagogue !