Rabat is one of Morocco’s “imperial cities,” and its modern capital.  It is home to the leading educational institutions in the country and offers students opportunities to move from the shops and cafes of the “European” city to the winding alleys and exciting markets of the old “medina” in a few minutes’ walk.  The AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program in Rabat offers a Summer Intensive Arabic Program that focuses on Modern Standard Arabic at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.  Students in the program live with Arabic-speaking Moroccan families and attend classes at AMIDEAST’s facilities in the bustling Agdal area of the city.

The program offers two 4-week sessions, allowing a student to move through two levels in one summer. The curriculum is based on AMIDEAST’s Arabic Language and Culture Curriculum, which is functional and communicative in its approach.  The teachers are carefully selected native speakers with excellent language teaching experience and skills.

Academic Information

The Summer Intensive Arabic Program offers Modern Standard Arabic in two 4-week sessions. Classes meet 5 hours per day, 5 days per week. Each session therefore includes 100 hours of instruction in Modern Standard Arabic (5 credits) and colloquial Arabic (1 credit) for 6 total credits. One summer session covers the material usually presented in one semester on a U.S. campus.

All students enroll in Modern Standard Arabic and in colloquial Arabic at a level appropriate to their proficiency. MSA meets for 4 hours a day and colloquial Arabic for 1 hour a day. Students are given placement tests on arrival and placed in the level appropriate for their Arabic language proficiency.  The following levels are offered (see course descriptions for more detail):

Beginning Modern Standard Arabic I (Arabic 101; 5 credits)*
Beginning Modern Standard Arabic II (Arabic 102; 5 credits)
Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I (Arabic 201; 5 credits)
Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic II (Arabic 202; 5 credits)
Advanced Modern Standard Arabic I (Arabic 301; 5 credits)
Advanced Modern Standard Arabic II (Arabic 302; 5 credits)

Colloquial Moroccan Arabic I (Arabic 111, 1 credit)
Colloquial Moroccan Arabic II (Arabic 211, 1 credit)
Colloquial Moroccan Arabic III (Arabic 311, 1 credit)

For students whose proficiency is beyond the advanced level, a tutorial program will be arranged to address their specific interests (Media Arabic; Arabic literature; Classical Arabic texts, etc.)

*Note: Arabic 101 is only offered in summer sessions if there are a number of applicants who do not have any background in the Arabic language. We do not guarantee that this course will be available. Please indicate on your application if you are hoping to enroll in 101.