The Arabic Program

The Center for Language & Culture offers intensive courses in the Arabic language. Our teaching staff are experienced in TAFL (Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language) and provide effective and fun instruction in the beautiful Arabic language. College Credit is available for CLC Arabic courses.   For more information concerning the program, email us at info@clcmorocco.org

In addition, the CLC staff will make every effort to help visiting students who request it with housing, transportation, and aspects of Marrakesh life. For more information contact the Onsite Study Abroad Program Coordinator Mr Emmanuel Weinman

Read more about the Arabic program, application, tuition and fees.

"Seeking Knowledge is an Obligation"  _Arabic Saying

 Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)

Overview

The CLC offers intensive courses in Modern Standard Arabic comprising between fifty and sixty hours depending on level (see below) and equivalent to 4 units of university-level Arabic ⁽¹⁾. In addition to classroom work, students should expect 2-3 hours or more hours a day of homework and review.

Courses are taught with an emphasis on activating communicative skills, as opposed to simply “mastering grammar.” In addition to the main textbooks, material used in class includes audio recordings, video clips, authentic material from TV, newspapers, and the internet, and short stories.

Teaching Staff 

CLC Arabic Courses are scheduled with university students in mind. For Summer 2010, the courses will run:

• Summer Intensive I:: June 7 – 25: 4 hrs/day, 5 days per week, weekends free. Courses offered: 1001 (60 hrs), 2003 (45 hrs classwork, plus at least 5 hrs supplementary practice in conversation and pronunciation) and 3005 (45 hrs classwork, plus at least 5 hrs supplementary practice in conversation and pronunciation).

• Summer Intensive II: June 28^th – July 10^th 5 hrs/day, Sundays off.  Courses offered: 1001 (60 hrs), 1002 (60 hrs), 2003 (45 hrs classwork, plus at least 5 hrs supplementary practice in conversation and pronunciation), 2004 (45 hrs classwork, plus at least 5 hrs supplementary practice in conversation and pronunciation) and 3006 (45 hrs classwork, plus at least 5 hrs supplementary practice in conversation and pronunciation).

course description

MSA 1001 (4 units)

          This course begins with the phonology and alphabet of the Arabic language and gives students a foundation in both spoken and written Arabic. Even as they gain familiarity with the Arabic alphabet and sounds, students will begin acquiring some basic vocabulary and phrases to use in class and in everyday life using material prepared by the CLC staff. They will then move on to cover the first five units in the main textbook,  al-Kitāb fī ta‘allum al-‘arabiya  by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to--

• Express basic information about themselves to a native speaker

• Aurally distinguish sounds, words, and short phrases and to write these down in dictation exercises

• Understand and produce the “noun phrase” sentence (al-jumlat al-ismiyya), the construct phrase (idafa), nisba, and the verbal phrase  in the present tense (al-jumlat al-fi‘liyya fi‘l-mudari‘),  

• Understand and recognize the parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, particles) in Arabic sentences.

• Recognize consonantal roots of nouns and verbs for the purpose of dictionary work.

Students will also gain a working vocabulary of approximately 200 words in Arabic and some basic cultural knowledge of Morocco in particular and the Arabic-speaking world in general.  

Pre-requisite: Although this course assumes no previous studies in Arabic, it is nonetheless recommended that students who plan to enter the course do some preparatory work with recognizing and writing the Arabic alphabet. 

Textbook: Alif-Ba and al-Kitāb fī ta‘allum al-‘arabiya, part one (second edition), Units 1-5. both by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal,

MSA 1002 (4 units):

          This course is a continuation of MSA 1001 and takes students to a high beginning level of proficiency in Standard Arabic and covers units 6 through 10 in the coursebook.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to--

• Record longer passages in dictation exercises

• Further express basic information about themselves including personal preferences

• Recognize and produce verbal sentences in the past (al-madi) ; the forms of negation, attached pronouns, and ordinal numbers, and to be able to express the time and date in Arabic

• Read short partially vowelled authentic texts

• Write short authentic passages about simple subjects

 They will also increase their working vocabulary to approximately 350 words and broaden their cultural knowledge of Morocco in particular and the Arabic-speaking world

          Pre-requisite: Arabic 1001 or the equivalent as determined by the instructor.

Textbook: Al-Kitāb fī ta‘allum al-‘arabiya by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal, Part One (Second Edition), units 6 to 10, plus authentic material prepared by CLC staff.

MSA 2003 (4 units)

          This course is a continuation of  MSA 1002 and takes students to a low intermediate level of proficiency in Standard Arabic.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to--

• Recognize and understand approximately 600 words

• Speak for at least one minute, without preparation or interruption, on a simple topic in Arabic (description of a place, description of one’s family and home; or narrative of a past event )

• Understand and use the derived forms (I through X) of the verb and case endings (al- i‘rab )

• Read short, intermediate texts without vowels

• Take notes on factual information contained in a 5- minute talk or video clip.

They will also increase their working Arabic vocabulary to approximately 600 words and gain understanding of certain aspects of the Islamic religion as it relates to language and culture.

Pre-requisite: Arabic 1002 or the equivalent as determined by the instructor.

Textbook: Al-Kitāb fī ta‘allum al-‘arabiya by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal, Part One (Second Edition),  units 11 to 15, plus authentic material

Please Note :

(1)     For information concerning university certification for CLC Arabic courses, contact Dr. Honerkamp, Arabic Program, Dept of Arabic, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.  Georgia residents also enrolled in universities in Georgia should contact Dr. Honerkamp about using HOPE scholarships to cover tuition for MSA courses done at the CLC Morocco.

Links:

A newspaper article about last year's Legacy Arabic Program:

http://www.phoenixvillenews.com /articles/2009/09/26/news/srv0000006483054.txt

"I could never have imagined that I would learn so much Arabic in only five weeks. The intensity with which I was taught Arabic is unparalleled. My beginner class was instructed in, and I spoke, only Modern Standard Arabic; because of this we were able to cover a remarkable seven chapters in the five weeks I was in Morocco. My instructors were the best I’ve ever had in any subject area. Their passion for not only teaching us students Arabic but also for teaching us about their culture is amazing and inspiring. My teachers were more than just that; they became trusted friends, opening up about their lives and families, recommending delicious restaurants, and even fixing my camera when it broke. :)  My home stay family was awesome.  I had an older sister and two younger brothers as well as a mom and dad; I was also paired with another American student. I learned a bit about how to cook Moroccan-style from my mom and sister, and my siblings helped me with my homework almost every night. I had such great times with them! I will always look back fondly on my memories of Morocco. Based on my experiences with those associated with the CLC, I highly recommend this institution to anyone wishing to learn or improve upon their Arabic language skills."   

__Maddy Bersch, currently continuing her Arabic studies at the US Naval Academy.

    "On the first day of  my stay in Marrakech, I was told by Mr. Fitzgerald that there are maybe 5 people in the world who can correctly teach the Arabic language to non-native speakers, and that one of those is Mr. Zoubairi.  I was right to place my trust in Mr. Fitzgerald's words for I received exemplary Arabic instruction that far exceeds that of the Arabic program in my high school.  My Arabic improved dramatically.  Apart from the instruction, my experience in Morocco was life-changing.  The host families are unbelievably kind and the field trips were phenomenal.  I look forward to one day returning to Marrakech to hopefully continue my studies.                              __Connor Murphy  Brian McMahon High School '11

."I loved my time in Morocco. The right balance between freedom and structure     
allowed me to learn both inside and outside the classroom.  Living there as a student     
(not as a tourist) made my experience much richer, and much less superficial."     __Rachel Mulbry       Montgomery Blair High '10

"After only six weeks of studying,  I had gone through about a year of     
university Arabic material and was able  to enroll in the third semester Arabic     
class upon my return to the United  States."

_Kole Mantengalafe Bowman  North Atlanta High School '09
UGA '13

.   The activities we do in the  classroom as well as for homework     
honestly help the learning  process excel quickly. I got along  with the entire host familyand formed strong bonds  that I hope will last my  entire life. I had an incredible experience and  would do it all again in a heart beat.   __Ariel Andrew  Bennington '13

The instruction I received was top-notch and I felt challenged daily in class. My teacher's use of Arabic only in class went a long way towards improving my speaking and listening skills, which for me are the most difficult parts of learning Arabic. CLC also used the al-Kitaab textbook series, the most widely recognized Arabic textbook, making it easy to convert the progress I made in Morocco to terms my university's Arabic program could understand. My program at CLC was intensive and involved a lot of homework, but I feel that I learned more than I could have in months of high-school Arabic. More importantly, learning with CLC gave me confidence with the Arabic I knew prior to the program and the material I learned during my six weeks in Marrakech. I left CLC Marrakech feeling much stronger in Arabic, and my time in the program helped me immeasurably in continuing to learn Arabic at the university level. 

____Kiera Zitelman                           University of Maryland '13