The AMIDEAST program at AUI begins with a 2-week academic pre-session in Morocco’s capital city of Rabat.  The pre-session consists of the following elements:

• A 2-semester credit hour course on Moroccan Arabic and Culture, including instruction in Moroccan Arabic and Moroccan culture
• Accommodation and meals with a Moroccan host family
• Cultural orientation
• Visits to key sites of historical and cultural significance in the Rabat area
  

Pre-Session Moroccan Arabic and Culture Course (3 credits)

This is an integrated course encompassing both Moroccan Arabic and Moroccan culture.  Students will be placed in Moroccan Arabic at a level commensurate with their previous study of Modern Standard Arabic. There will be 35 hours of instruction in Moroccan Arabic together with a series of 10 lectures on Moroccan culture during the three-week program. Precise topics for the lectures are determined about one month before the Pre-Session begins.

Colloquial Moroccan Arabic I
Students are introduced to words, expressions, and structures used frequently in everyday life. Students practice them in class before they are given assignments to carry out with native speakers in real situations. Evaluation combines performance in class and successful interaction with Moroccans. By the end of the course, students are able to ask essential questions and understand the responses, express basic facts and opinions in simple sentences, and engage in basic conversations in Moroccan Arabic with native speakers. Living with a Moroccan family provides daily opportunity for practice.

Colloquial Moroccan Arabic II
Students who have already studied Modern Standard Arabic are introduced to words, expressions, and structures used frequently in everyday life in Morocco. Students practice them in class before they are given assignments to carry out with native speakers in real situations. Evaluation combines performance in class and successful interaction with Moroccans. By the end of the course, students are able to ask essential questions and understand the responses, express facts and opinions in simple as well as complex sentences, and engage in conversations in Moroccan Arabic with native speakers about non-academic topics.  Living with a Moroccan family provides daily opportunity for practice.

Colloquial Moroccan Arabic III
Students with a strong background in Modern Standard Arabic are introduced to vocabulary, expressions, and structures used frequently in Moroccan everyday life. Students practice them in class before they are given assignments to carry out with native speakers in real situations. Evaluation combines performance in class and successful interaction with Moroccans. By the end of the course, students are able to ask questions and understand the responses, express facts and opinions in complex sentences, and engage in conversations in Moroccan Arabic with native speakers about a wide range of topics, both academic and non-academic.  Living with a Moroccan family provides daily opportunity for practice.