Arabic Program

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CLC ARABIC

At Dar America in Casablanca

In addition to our extensive English program offerings, the CLC has a wonderful assortment of Arabic language programs and cultural immersion opportunities. We specialize in offering high-quality linguistic and cultural immersion programs that are tailor-made to the specific aims and parameters of our partner institutions. Possible focus areas that the CLC specializing in include:

  • Colloquial Moroccan Arabic - Darija
  • Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)
  • Cross Cultural Studies: Including Intercultural Dialogues and Cultural Sensitivity Training
  • Moroccan Guest Speakers on a wide variety of subjects
  • Educational excursions around Morocco
  • Academic Research Support

The CLC has designed and run programs for the following partner organizations:

University Programs:

Lewis & Clark College (LC)

University of Georgia at Athens (UGA)

Cambridge Muslim College (UK)

Northeastern Univeristy (NEU)

Cambridge Muslim College Academic Year Program - 2020

High School Programs:

Mirage Academy

French American International School of San Francisco

US Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs:

National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) in partnership with American Councils

Fulbright-Hays Program in cooperation with University of California, Berkeley

To apply for any of these programs, you'll need to apply through the institution listed above. Feel free to send us an email if you need more information - info@clcmorocco.org

In-Person Summer Arabic Program (Open to all)

We also offer Arabic intensive courses in Modern Standard Arabic, which are open to all applicants. Go to 2022 Courses for more information.

Virtual Arabic Courses (Open to all)

One-on-one private tutoring (online or in-person)

Marrakesh is one of Morocco’s major cities, with a population of about one million people.

Djema Fna Square at Night1
Jemaa el Fna square at night, with the Koutoubia mosque in the background

The city was founded around 1,000 years ago and boasts many historical sites including the iconic Koutoubia mosque and Jemaa el Fna square, a U.N. World Heritage site. A short walk away from this historical side of town is the Guéliz, the part of Marrakesh originally built by the French, complete with malls, restaurants, and supermarkets.

gueliz
Marrakesh Place mall, Guéllz

The new train station, 10 minutes by taxi from the CLC, links Marrakesh to the major cities of northern Morocco: Casablanca (2.5 hrs), Rabat (4 hrs), Fes (6.5 hrs), and Tangier (8 hrs).

Gare de Marrakech in November 2015 300x192

Getting there

Marrakesh has a state-of-the art international airport (about 15 minutes by taxi from the CLC) which is a hub for many flights from Europe and the Middle East.

airport marrakesh 420x217

Climate

From December through February temperatures can go below 40 degrees, especially after the Atlas Mountains, 40 km away, become blanketed with snow. From late June to mid- September, temperatures sometimes exceed 110 degrees, with fall and spring see days in the 70s and 80s.

morocco marrakech skyline

Getting around

City bus and yellow « petit taxi » in downtown Guéliz

taxi gueliz 300x169

Marrakesh is generally flat and so an easy city to walk around or ride a bicycle (daily rentals available).

MedinaBike Marrakech.jpg.696x0 q80 crop smart 300x225

Alternatively, there is no shortage of taxis (between 6 and 15 dirhams to get nearly anywhere in the city) and also fairly reliable bus system (ALSA) that reaches nearly every part of the city.

Since 2017, the city has added an electric buses (see below) which run silently and without pollution between downtown and Masira suburbs with six stops along the way. The fare per ride is 4 dirhams (about 50 cents in US currency).  

bus electrique marrakech 2 87254

Why CLC

"Of all the varied activities and experiences of our 5-week program in Morocco...the hospitality of the CLC staff and the homestay families stand out as the most enriching."

Peter Fraunholtz, professor of history, Northeastern University, Boston.

The Center for Language & Culture in Marrakesh, besides teaching English, offers Arabic courses for non-native speakers of Arabic, and hosts several study abroad programs in Moroccan culture.

Support staff

CLC RECEPTION
Main reception office of the CLC with Mohamed Ait Outmghart (right) and Khadija Sakhaoui (left).

The CLC has been working with educational institutions abroad for ten years. We handle all the logistics necessary for a successful program: pre-program planning by email and/or virtual meeting software, setting budgets, arranging living accommodations for students and faculty, scheduling outings and trips inside of Morocco, arranging guest speakers, and so forth. We are also on standby for all the little things that may arise during a program: doctor’s visits, special needs, and general advice and guidance to make the students’ stay in Marrakesh safe and memorable.

Teaching Staff

Our Arabic teachers are all highly trained and qualified in teaching Arabic to non-native speakers of the language. We follow a communicative approach which aims at helping students to start using the language from day one. Normally, only Arabic is spoken in the classroom, but our teachers know how to make it comprehensible even to beginners. The other very important element of our classes is to make them enjoyable. Using games, songs, poetry, and skits helps towards that goal.

Campus & Location

CLC GARDEN FRONT 2
Front outdoor space of the CLC

The CLC is housed in four villas surrounded by a garden and a space for basketball and ping pong. Besides 25 classrooms, the CLC offers a small library and the Amal cafe. The whole CLC is covered by Wifi.  

CLC GATE AND FLOWERS
Spring flowers in front of the CLC's hand-carved front gate.

The CLC's location in the city of Marrakesh is midway between the old city and the new in a mostly residential neighborhood next to a large elementary and middle school, a clinic, and several cafes (see Google map on home page).  

CLC Student Demographics

The CLC specializes in both Arabic & English language instruction. Our English students are mostly Moroccan, and are approximately 15 % children, 40 % young teens, and 45 % adult learners, including a large number of professionals. It is from this large pool of Moroccan students that we recruit most of our homestay hosts for visiting programs that wish to offer them.

Whenever possible, we try to promote interaction and exchange between our Moroccan students and students in visiting programs.

Erin Church
University of Georgia
I spent 6 weeks this past summer 2021 studying Arabic at the CLC. I absolutely loved it. My professor Sara was so beyond helpful and genuinely cared about my education and growth in my language skills. The school itself is stunning with amazing staff that are always excited to see you and talk for a little. The CLC felt like an oasis in the middle of a busy city and despite traveling during Covid-19, all went perfectly and I was well received into the city. This summer was unforgettable and I owe it all to the CLC for making my experience so wonderful and for making me feel so loved and safe during my stay in Marrakech. Miss you all so much!
Frank Cortez
Georgia State University, CLC Arabic Student 2010
Never having been to Morocco and not having studied Arabic in years, I was nervous about studying at the CLC for so long. Those feelings were immediately eased when I met the staff and people I now call friends. They were honest, sincere, and treated me a returning family member. The entire staff took a vested interest in my learning. I never felt alone or abandoned in my work. I am still touched by the kindness and desire of the entire staff to share not only Arabic but also their culture and families. I’ve made relationships that have enhanced my life just as my Arabic. I have a stronger urge to improve my Arabic than ever before and cannot wait to go back to the CLC to help do so.
Aidan Kaplan
Yale College, Linguistics, Class of 2017, NSLI-Y Program, Summer 2011 and Academic Year 2012-2013
There is no better place to study Arabic than the CLC. Not only will your command of the Arabic language remarkably improve under the guidance of the most skilled, dedicated, and enthusiastic language teachers I have ever met, but you will also have the benefit of becoming a part of the vibrant and supportive CLC family. The communicative approach used in the language classrooms ensures that students learn and retain new vocabulary and grammatical constructions at the same time as they are gaining a deep understanding of Moroccan society and culture. As an alum of both the summer intensive program and the academic year program, I owe virtually all of my ability in Arabic to the wonderful teachers at the CLC, who prepared me so well for both further Arabic study and continued work in Morocco.

Course schedule for Summer 2022

The CLC is offering two back-to-back intensive Arabic courses in late June and running through July, 2020. During each session, students can complete one semester's worth of university level Modern Standard Arabic (MSA).

  • Suggested Arrival: Friday, May 27
  • Orientation Session: Saturday, May 28
  • Session I: Monday, May 30 through Friday, June 17 (5 days/week)
  • Session II: Monday, June 20 through Friday, July 8 (5 days/week) 

Students can sign up for one or both sessions. Classes run Monday-Friday (Session 1) or Monday-Saturday (Session 2). Classes typically start at 9am and include a break in the middle.

Daily Schedule

Courses run five or six days a week, Monday through Friday/Saturday. There are 3-4 contact hours per day (depending on the level), with a 20-minute break in the middle. Typically, students then have lunch on their own and have the afternoons free. There will normally be 2-3 hours of homework per day. Students can also opt to participate in a language partner exchange program where they practice Arabic with a similar-aged Moroccan student in exchange for helping them with their English studies. The CLC also offers various learning opportunities such as guest lectures, intercultural discussions, activities, volunteer opportunities and excursions depending on students' interests.

  • Beginning Modern Standard Arabic (1001 and 1002) = 60 contact hours per level (4 hours/day - 20 hours/week)
  • Low Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic (2002 and 2003): = 45 total contact hours per level (3 hours/day - 15 hours/week)
  • High Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic (3005 and 3006): = 45 total contact hours per level (3 hours/day - 15 hours/week)

For full course descriptions, click here.

Textbooks

Students should bring their own copies of the books. Currently, the CLC does not have any in stock.

(all by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal)

* Please confirm with the program coordinator, Mr. Brahim Zoubairi zoubairi@clcmorocco.org, concerning the textbook you will be using for your level.

Miscellaneous Registration Information

UNIVERSITY CREDIT: Students applying for these courses (for university credit hours) through the University of Georgia, Athens, should be familiar with the information provided here .

PAYMENT: Tuition may be paid in dollars, Euros, pounds, or dirhams by direct bank transfer. Please email info@clcmorocco.org for details on how to do this.

  • We are unable to accept payment by check or credit card from abroad, although credit/bank card payments may be made by someone already in Morocco.

CLASS SIZE: Normal class size at the CLC is 3-8 students.

  • Tuition is based on a class that has 3 or more students enrolled in it (with the limit being 10).
  • If the class you sign up for has 1 or 2 students in it, the total number of hours offered will be reduced proportionately, since the students will be given a greater amount of personal attention and participation time.
  • The CLC maintains the right to cancel classes with fewer than three students, while providing a full refund for all payments received. This decision will be made no later than 30 days before the beginning of the course.

REIMBURSEMENT POLICY:

  • Refunds requested 30 days or more before the first class of the session = 100% of tuition; admin fee non-refundable.
  • Refunds requested 29 to 15 days before the first class of the session =  50% of tuition; admin fee non-refundable.
  • No reimbursements are possible after fifteen days before the first class of the session.

DEADLINE TO RECEIVE APPLICATIONS: There is no deadline, however note that classes can fill up and in other cases                               some classes can be canceled due to lack of registration.  

APPLICATION: If you would like to apply for the Arabic program, please use the form provided through this link:

The CLC offers intensive courses in Modern Standard Arabic comprising forty-five or sixty contact hours, depending on level. Each course is equivalent to 4 credit hours of standard American university-level Arabic1. Courses generally take three weeks to complete, with 3-4 hours of class per day, 5 days a week. In addition to classroom work, students should expect daily homework and review to take 2-3 hours. For higher level courses, the CLC also organizes small discussion groups and speaking partners with native speakers.

MSA 1001 (Beginning Arabic I, 3 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 three units in the main textbook, al-Kitaab fii taallum al-arabiya, third edition,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-filiyya fil-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-Kitaab fii taallum al-arabiya, Part One (third edition), both by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal

MSA 1002 (Beginning Arabic I, 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 4 through 7 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-Kitaab fii ta‘allum al-‘arabiya by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal, Part One (third edition), plus authentic material prepared by CLC staff.

MSA 2003 (Intermediate Arabic I, 4 units)

This course is a continuation of MSA 1002 and takes students to a low intermediate level of proficiency in Standard Arabic and covers units 8 through 11 in the coursebook.

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-Kitaab fii ta‘allum al-‘arabiya by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal, Part One (third edition), plus authentic material prepared by CLC staff.

MSA 2004 (Intermediate Arabic II, 4 units)

This course is a continuation of  MSA 2003 and takes students to a  mid-intermediate level of proficiency in Standard Arabic. This level consists of units 12-13 in Al-Kitaab Book 1 and units 1-2 of Al-Kitaab Book 2.

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

  • Compose medium-length paragraphs
  • Speak for at least three minutes, without preparation or interruption, on random topics in Arabic
  • Use and understand the derived forms of the verb (I-X); the forms of the conditional sentence, and case endings of nouns;
  • Read short authentic texts in Arabic without vowels.
  • Navigate the internet in Arabic and search for specific topics.

You will also have increased your working vocabulary to at least 1000 words.

Pre-requisite: Arabic 2003 or permission of instructor

Textbook: Al-Kitaab fii ta‘allum al-‘arabiya by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal, Part One (third edition) AND Al-Kitaab fii ta‘allum al-‘arabiya by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal, Part Two (third edition) , plus authentic material prepared by CLC staff.

MSA 3005 (Advanced Arabic I, 3 units)

This course is a continuation of  MSA 2004 and takes students to a high intermediate level of proficiency in Standard Arabic.

In this course, students will continue in Book Two of al-Kitaab and will cover units 3-5. Courses will be augmented by an emphasis on conversational fus’ha, fully vocalized reading, task-oriented writing, and a careful review of i’rab and conjugation.

Pre-requisite: Arabic 2004 or permission of instructor

Textbook: Al-Kitaab fii ta‘allum al-‘arabiya by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal, Part Two (third edition), plus authentic material prepared by CLC staff.

MSA 3006 (Advanced Arabic II, 3 units)

This course is a continuation of MSA 3005 and includes the same emphasis on conversation and discussion in fus’ha, reading, and task-oriented writing, and i’rab and conjugation. The course will cover units 6-9 of the textbook.

Pre-requisite: Arabic 3005 or permission of instructor

Textbook: Al-Kitaab fii ta‘allum al-‘arabiya by Kristin Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal, Part Two (third edition), plus authentic material prepared by CLC staff.

Tuition and Fees

SUMMER 2022 COURSE OFFERINGS

  • Arabic 1001 (60 hours) _____________ 9500 Moroccan Dirhams (Session 1 only)
  • Arabic 1002 (60 hours) _____________ 9500 Moroccan Dirhams (Session 2 only)
  • Arabic 2003 (45 hours) _____________ 7250 Moroccan Dirhams (Session 1 only)
  • Arabic 2004 (45 hours) _____________ 7250 Moroccan Dirhams (Session 2 only)
  • Arabic 3005 (45 hours) _____________ 7250 Moroccan Dirhams (Session 1 only)
  • Arabic 3006 (45 hours) _____________ 7250 Moroccan Dirhams (Session 2 only)

1. RESIDENCE MOUNA: For CLC students who wish, they can choose to stay at the Residence Mouna, which offers one and two-bedroom apartments. The apartments are air-conditioned and each has a kitchenette. It's a 5-minute walk from the CLC and is very conveniently located in terms of restaurants, grocery shopping, catching taxis and so on. Prices range from 200-450dhs/night depending on whether a student chooses single, double or triple occupancy.*

See it in Tripadvisor : RESIDENCE MOUNA

2. HOMESTAYS: The CLC can arrange homestays with Moroccan families for students who would like this experience. There are CLC host families throughout Marrakesh, with average commute time of about 15-20 minutes using public transportation. Homestays may have air-conditioning, but it is not a requirement for the families. The families will provide breakfast and dinner to their guests during the week and lunches on the weekends. This option is not available for all visiting students and students must sign a CLC homestay agreement. The cost to stay with a host family is 210dhs/night.*

3. FIND YOUR OWN: All visiting students are welcome to find their own accommodation. The only thing we ask is that you provide us with your address and a scan of your receipt so that we will know where you are staying in case of emergency.

For more information on housing, contact info@clcmorocco.org
*For options 1 and 2, there is a one-time 1200dhs Accommodation Fee.