Arabic Courses on AMIDEAST Programs

Arabic is a diglossic language. That is, there are two varieties of Arabic, one for reading and writing and another for speaking. The textbook series used in Arabic courses in all AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World, Al Kitaab fii Taallum al Arabiyya, introduces both from the beginning to help students engage easily in their host country and learn the language as its native speakers learn it. However, in the AMIDEAST programs separate courses address two the different varieties of Arabic – Modern Standard Arabic and the local dialect.

Nestled in the Middle Atlas Mountains, the Province of Ifrane is home to the largest cedar forest in North Africa and is the most biologically diverse area in Morocco.  Because of the year-round beauty of Ifrane’s natural surroundings, the town’s population of 12,000 swells to nearly 100,000 on weekends, holidays and in the summer. Both Fez, the intellectual capital of Morocco, and the imperial city of Meknes are approximately an hour away.  The capital city of Rabat is two hours from Ifrane; the Sahara desert is just six.

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.

Located on the Atlantic Coast, Rabat is one of Morocco’s imperial cities as well as its political capital. Rabat exemplifies Morocco’s unique cultural blend of Arab, the indigenous Amazigh (Berber), and European influences. While downtown Rabat is home to the austere Parliament building and the King’s Palace, just a few blocks away is the old medina; a fortressed city with labarinth alleys, markets, shops, and restaurants. Further down the road is the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Kasbah of the Udayas and the Bou Regreg River, with some of the best views of Rabat and the neighboring city of Salé. Al-Maghrib is a language enthusiast's dream as Moroccans speak multiple languages-typically including Moroccan Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, and French, as well as possibly an indigenous language (such as Tamazight, Tashleheit, or Tarifit), English, or Spanish.