Fluency in Arabic

May 14, 2006 8:51 AM

I've just been rejected from ALI. How am I ever going to get fluent in Arabic?

I've been learning Arabic for about two years now, and I'm really getting to the point where, if I don't take it to the next level, I'm going to start stagnating. (Other language students can sympathize, I'm sure.) I've just been rejected from the American University in Cairo's Arabic Language Institute, which I was really counting on to give me a solid year of in-country experience. I've been in Israel this past year, which doesn't have great options for learning Arabic, and that stamp on my passport now disqualifies me from most other Arabic-speaking countries. I'm also Canadian, which disqualifies me from CASA.

Given that it's now really late in the game, application-wise, I'd love some suggestions on how I'll ever get fluent in this language?

posted by awenner to education (16 comments total)

Go to Middlebury. There's nothing better than it.
http://www.middlebury.edu/ls

You'll have to wait until next summer, probably, but will provide one of the greatest learning experiences available.
posted by anonymoose at 8:57 AM on May 14, 2006

Could you renew your passport early to get a stamp-less one?
posted by reverendX at 9:24 AM on May 14, 2006

Definitely get your passport renewed so that you have one without an Israeli stamp. Many countries will issue you multiple simultaneous passports for purposes such as this.

Also, I presume that when you applied to ALI, you listed wherever you studied in Israel on a transcript. I don't know if this made a difference, possibly not at AUC, but it might be a problem in other Arab countries.
posted by atrazine at 9:35 AM on May 14, 2006

Do you speak any french? If so, contacting La Francophonie might be helpful. As you know, there are many Arabic countries (in addition to Canada) that are members of this club.
posted by randomstriker at 10:20 AM on May 14, 2006

Don't know about Canadian passport autorities, but in the UK you can have two passports to get round the Israeli / Arab stamp problem.
posted by TrashyRambo at 10:38 AM on May 14, 2006

authorities - that is
posted by TrashyRambo at 10:39 AM on May 14, 2006

How about Morocco, you can go there
posted by zouhair at 11:40 AM on May 14, 2006

Assuming you're in the US, you can definitely get a second passport so you have one without the Israeli stamp. See here for example. (Though that link says only Syria and Lebanon refuse entry to those who have been to Israel, I believe you can get the second passport for entry to other Arab countries as well.)

(Not that this is helpful on the broader question of how to learn Arabic....)
posted by raf at 11:54 AM on May 14, 2006

How can it be hard to learn Arabic in Israel? The place is full of Arabic speakers and it's easy to get newspapers, books, etc. in Arabic; couldn't you just hang out with Arabs and speak it? Immersion is usually more effective than any course.
posted by languagehat at 12:07 PM on May 14, 2006

A bunch of my friends are going to that institute next year. One friend who didn't get in is going to go anyway (as part of an internship programme for the visa) and sign up for one of the many language schools there.

Middlebury's a great programme but terribly expensive.

My university has a fantastic Arabic program, by the way. If you can come to London for a year or even a summer, you can take some pretty intense Arabic here while trying for the Cairo programme next year.
posted by k8t at 12:19 PM on May 14, 2006

Seconding Soas, they possibly have the best Arabic program outside of the middle east.
posted by atrazine at 12:43 PM on May 14, 2006

Why on earth would you want to enroll in a language course if you've been learning the language two years and already have the basics covered?
Instead, enroll in something real that interests you (biology, music, international relations, whatever) at an Arab university. Most universities in the Arab world would probably be thrilled to have a Canadian student.
And the place is so cheap that you can always hire tutors to teach you the language on the side.
posted by sour cream at 2:06 PM on May 14, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

He probably learned the Standard Arabic which is fine for written language-but in order to be a fluent SPEAKER you have to study a specific Arabic dialect.
posted by konolia at 6:25 PM on May 14, 2006

I received this email semi anonymously from a student who's currently at CASA. I'm posting it here since I'd be inclined to mark it as a best answer.

_____________

I *highly* recommend Middlebury - crazy expensive, but students take it very seriously, and it is your passport to both language competency and connections amongst the elite of arabic pedagogy. Egypt is fine, but it shouldn't be your only option if you are able to get a new passport
- which is ridiculously easy for americans, I doubt Canada would make it more difficult. This program in Syria, for one, is supposed to be great:

Arabic Program--Institut Francais d'Etudes Arabes Damas IFEAD
PO Box 344
Damascus, Syria
phone: [phone] fax: [phone]
Contact Institutes for information on terms of instruction and fees. Modern Standard and Syrian Colloquial offered. Limited dormitory housing in the Institutes itself. French is helpful. Longstanding program.

As for Cairo, which is really my area of expertise, there are tons of schools here. Some are really cheap, and many are not too bad. I actually composed an advice email on this already:

----------------------
I don't have any first hand experience with schools besides AUC, but I hear things. My boyfriend attends DEAC, a school run by the French government that is muchmuchmuch cheaper than AUC (around 1000 Euros for a year). They cater mostly to Europeans and specifically to French speakers. Their website is here:
http://www.ambafrance-eg.org/cfcc/article.php3?id_article=11

Here is Fajr Center, the place that started it all-
http://www.fajr.com/

Here is where a friend studied, which he thought was the best place:
http://www.qortoba.com/


This place has gotten pretty well known because they lauched online courses with real teachers so you can study in the U.S. with real instructors.
http://www.arabacademy.com

There is ILI which I have heard is okay, though the word on the street is that most of the teachers don't take it very seriously because most of the students don't take it very seriously (it's seen as the "party school"). They have classes starting all the time though, which is nice.

http://www.arabicegypt.com/index.php

You might also just find a private tutor. they aren't too expensive, and you get lots of one-on-one attention.
--------------------------
Anyway, my advice to you - if you don't want to get a new passport - is just pop over to Egypt and try some schools out. No one really cares where you studied in the end (unless you want to teach Arabic at a university), they only care how much you know. You can live really cheaply in Cairo (if you live like an Egyptian and not like a Westerner) and as long as you make any small effort you will be speaking Arabic every day and making Egyptian friends.
So - good luck!
posted by awenner at 8:52 PM on May 14, 2006 [2 favorites has favorites]

My friend went to Lebanon and (I think) took a cheap language program there, and found that helped him a lot with his Arabic (being in immerison).

Another friend (French specialist in Arabic literature) advised against Morrocco; she said that many people in the Arabic schools there are French Army officers who don't take the language study seriously.

You should call the Canadian passport agency, and ask about whether you can get another passport without the Israel stamp.
posted by jb at 5:14 AM on May 15, 2006

I third, or whatever, getting a new passport.

If you want to go to Cairo, you might check out Kalimat. It is a relatively new language school in Mohandeseen and I have heard good things about it from students who attended. It is generally considered more rigorous than ILI. However, having siad that, I attended ILI for two summers and while it wasn't great, it certainly wasn't a wash. You might check out classes at both places - they are comparably priced.

Have you looked at the Arabic program at Birzeit University? Or at the AUB? It might be a bit late to apply, but you could always contact the administration and see if they have any openings. I have also heard that Syria is an excellent place to study Arabic as there is much less English being spoken than in places like Cairo.

If you can wait a year, I would apply to Middlebury. They offer very generous grants (which you may be eligible for). Be forewarned though, you must apply early as funds and places run out.

I would take this last piece of advice as a general rule - these programs are incredibly popular these days and fill up in a flash. I would not wait until the deadlines (listed by the programs themselves) to apply.
posted by anonymous78 at 8:50 AM on May 15, 2006