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mishmumkin · Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 929

A close friend of mine recently returned from a year of teaching in Tunis. After having spent extensive time in Oman, Jordan, and Morocco, she found that Tunis was far from an ideal place for those who want to learn Arabic. She was most commonly addressed in French, and when she responded in Arabic it was often demanded that they speak in French or at least a combination of French and Arabic.

Zajko · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:41 pm Post subject:

A couple of good friends of mine studied at CALES (Centre for Arabic Language and Eastern Studies) in Sana'a, Yemen, and spoke very highly of it. Pricewise it's extremely reasonable - USD 700 per month for 4-5 hours per day individual tuition or USD 400 per month for the same in a group - plus they arrange accommodation for USD 200 or so a month as well. All the teachers were highly qualified and most worked at the University. Plus Yemen (particularly Sana'a) is a truly fascinating place to be able to spend time in.

007 · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:25 pm Post subject:

desert date · Joined: 19 Jul 2006 Posts: 67 Location: Australia

Wow! This thread is alive again. Thanks for the fresh responses. Yemen is an interesting suggestion. Is Yemeni society segregrated like the Saudis? I don't see any female teachers at CALES from the pics on their Web site.

007 · Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject:

Zajko · Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:00 pm Post subject:

Yemen is one of the most fascinating countries I've ever had the privilege of visiting - not segregated in the same way Saudi is, as 007 says, but don't expect to be chatting up girls in the street. It's a unique, conservative society with its own particular culture (the qat is very much a part of this!) but is an excellent place for learning Arabic: very reasonable cost of living, Sana'a is 7000-odd feet above sea-level thus pleasantly cool through the year (as well as being a UNESCO world heritage site) and has a wealth of Arabic language schools.

I'd better not post any links here but in addition to CALES, there's MALI (Modern American Language Institute), the British Yemeni Arabic Institute, the Yemen Institute for Arabic Language, one or two others and some courses at the university. Most charge similar fees though I couldn't give an honest informed opinion as to their relative academic standards vis-a-vis each other.

desert date · Joined: 19 Jul 2006 Posts: 67 Location: Australia

Zajko · Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 9:13 am Post subject:

Be sure to post and let us know how you get on there if you do finish up going to Yemen to study.

desert date · Joined: 19 Jul 2006 Posts: 67 Location: Australia

I'm bumping this thread up for elsteacherjasmine.

elsteacherjasmine · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 18

Quote:

I'm bumping this thread up for elsteacherjasmine.

Thanks desert date. Btw, have you started your studies yet?

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

Is it possible to do a 2 weeks intense course in Sana, Yemen? I don't have much time, but would 2 weeks be possible?

Two weeks does not sound like much, but is enough to get a good 'base' knowledge, which you can follow up with more study on your own following the course.

I recently spent 2 weeks studying Bahasa Indonesian Language in Yogyakarta (http://www.puribahasa.net) and the course was very good.

Thank you.

Ghost in Korea

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

To be serious, a 2-3 week course would teach you very little. In the standard MSA course the beginning gets rather bogged down in the alphabet and other esoteric details of the grammar. Personally I dropped very quickly out an MSA class as they were directed towards Muslims that wished to be able to read the Quran.

Arabic teaching has unfortunately taken little advice from ESL and basic communication classes are very hard to find. In Cairo they offered them, but with teaching and my MA classes I had no time. But, I did buy the book and play about with it. It would probably be more useful to get yourself some tapes (or an internet class) and learn basic greetings. Rosetta Stone would probably be a better investment than flying off to Sanaa or Tunis for such a short class. (though both places are worth a visit)

Once you get settled, then you can decide if you want to seriously get into an MSA class.

VS

Dedicated · Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 972 Location: UK

Some students have just returned from an intensive 4 week Arabic course at the Bourguiba Institute of Modern Languages in Tunis (mentioned previously).

They left here as complete and absolute beginners, yet after 4 weeks of 5 hours per day, they can understand basic conversations, read text, speak clearly and authoritatively about themselves and friends, write letters and count from one to 2,000. After only 4 weeks.............

A month's intensive tuition costs 500 dinars (just over �200) which includes textbooks and materials. Accommodation is in university halls of residence which costs 250 dinars for a single room for a month. Rafiia is the cleanest, most charming residence, with 20 rooms set around a courtyard. Accommodation with a host family starts at 500 dinars (single room, half-board). Apparently it is very hard work, but within a week, they could comfortably write and read out all 28 consonants of the Arabic alphabet.

When they conducted conversations with locals in Arabic, they were greeted with delight, as Tunisians are so used to addressing foreigners in the colonial language, French.

Definitely worth checking out!