Arabic Language Study Abroad - Learn Arabic in Morocco

Course Prices Accommodation Prices School Facilities Course Details Accommodation Details

Learn Arabic in Tetouan, Morocco

Though just an hour's ride on the ferry from Spain, Morocco seems at once very far from Europe, with a culture - Islamic and deeply traditional - that is almost wholly unfamiliar. The country's physical make-up is also extraordinary: from a Mediterranean coast, through four mountain ranges, to the empty sand and scrub of the Sahara. All of which makes Morocco for Arabic Language Study Abroad. Morocco is also a safe and politically stable country to visit and it's difficult for any traveler to go for long without running into Morocco 's powerful tradition of hospitability, generosity and openness.

The meeting place of many peoples, religions and cultures, Tetouan is a welcoming city, and mixture of cultures and colors, located near the Mediterranean coast. The white dove for Arab poets, the daughter of Grenada or the little Jerusalem for others, Tetouan is the meeting place of several peoples, religions, and cultures: Andalusian, Ottoman, local and European.

Tetouan is only 60 km from Tangier and less than an hour's ride on the ferry from the Spanish coast. Tangier has an international airport at Ibn Batouta (previously known as Boukhalef), and ferry connections with Algeciras, Gibraltar and the French port of Sete.

The city of Tetouan is surrounded by beautiful green mountains and has an extremely pleasant weather (the temperature ranges between 10 degrees C during the winter and up to 30 degrees C during the summer season). With its excellent local beaches, Tetouan is a popular Moroccan resort.

The historical city or Medina of Tetouan, classified by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage, is a glorious labyrinth, dotted with squares, souks and buildings from its fifteenth-century founding by Andalusian refugees. The refugees, both Muslims and Jews, brought with them the most refined sophistication of Moorish Andalusia, - an aristocratic tradition that is still reflected in the architecture of the Medina. Their houses, full of extravagant detail, are quite unlike those of other Moroccan towns; indeed, to the old Arab quarters of Cordoba and Seville.

The Spanish connection was reinforced by colonization in the early years of the last century, Tetouan becoming a provincial capital of the Spanish northern protectorate, encompassing the Rif Mountains. Although French is the official second language (after Arabic) throughout Morocco, Spanish is widely spoken in Tetouan. There are also many reminders of mainland Spain, particularly in the cuisine and in el paseo - the summer evening stroll.

Arabic Courses in Tetouan, Morocco - Fees

Accommodation Fees

Our Arabic Language School in Tetouan, Morocco

Our Arabic Language school is located in the center of downtown Tetouan, overlooking the city's most beautiful public square in the historic Spanish quarter of the city, Place Moulay Mehdi, with the Spanish consulate, post office, Catholic Church and main banks.

The school is fully equipped with the latest audio-visual equipments including television sets, VCR and DVD players, wireless headphones for each student and ADSL connection to the internet.

The number of students in each class is limited to an average of six students in each class in order to permit the maximum individual participation of each student.

The benefits of studying at our school include:

Our Flexibility

Enrolment any Monday, all levels catered for, anytime throughout the year. From one week to one year (the longer the course, the cheaper the price per week).

Our Quality Tuition

Delivered by friendly and qualified teachers.

Our Location

Ideally located in the center of downtown Tetouan, declared a World Cultural Heritage City by UNESCO in 1997. The city of Tetouan is less than an hour by ferry from the Spanish coast and has an extremely pleasant weather.

Our Cultural Activities

Our cultural activities and excursions give you every opportunity to experience Moroccan culture, complementing the language you are learning.

Our Arabic Language Courses in Tetouan, Morocco

We offer intensive Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Colloquial Moroccan Arabic (CMA) language courses throughout the year. To ensure that every student gets individual attention, all our Arabic courses in Tetouan are kept very small, generally no more than six students per class.

Most courses consist of a total of 20 hours per week divided into daily 4-hour classes, from Monday to Friday. The language of instruction is Arabic in all but the most elementary courses, where the use of the students' native language is kept to a minimum.

All Arabic course materials have been elaborated by specialists in teaching Arabic for foreigners and are approved by some of the best universities in the world. In our elementary courses, the textbooks are selected according to the students' native language (English, Spanish, French or German). Examples are: Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-‘Arabiyya - Georgetown University Press, Ahlan Wa Sahlan - Yale University Press and Al-‘Arabiyya Al-Mou'aasira - L'institut Bourguiba.

Besides the Arabic courses, the students benefit from a program of excursions and cultural activities

The students are granted a certificate after attending the last class.

We also offer an evaluation test upon arrival to determine the most appropriate level for them.

Private/specialized lessons

Any student studying either MSA or CMA outside the framework of our scheduled Arabic courses is considered a private student and may study between two and thirty hours/week. Private students may select from our regular official courses or request a tailor-made tutorial in a specialized field, such as Arabic Literature, Advanced Grammar, Islamic Studies, Diplomatic Studies, Commerce, etc. Advanced students or researchers may request to read specific texts with a private teacher. We can offer special tutorial classes and supervised research projects by highly qualified teachers of Arabic with post graduate university degrees. We can also orient research students in the proper use of the city's public and private libraries such as the General Library of Tetouan, Muhammad Daoud Library or the Library of the Faculty of Letters at Tetouan. Private courses are available anytime throughout the year.

Excursions and Cultural Activities

Along with all our courses, several excursions and cultural activities are programmed such as the following:

• Presentation of the history, Islamic architecture, culture and traditional arts of Tetouan, declared a World Cultural Heritage City by UNESCO in 1997;
• Visits to the Medina of Tetouan;
• Visits to Museums and historical monuments ( Archeological Museum, School of Traditional Arts and Crafts, Ethnographic Museum, etc…);
• Lecture on Arabic Caligraphy;
• Lecture on Islam;
• Diner and chat on Tetouani-Andalusian cuisine, musical concert in a traditional private house (optional: 15 euros);
• Projection of Moroccan films;
• Lecture on the painters of the School of Tetouan by a tetouani painter;
• Camel excursions in the desert (optional: 90 euros - departure from Marrakech). The package includes transportation and two nights at a hotel -half board).

Arabic Language Courses in Morocco - Accommodation

Students may choose from the housing options detailed below:

• Home stay with a Moroccan family
• Hotel
• Apartment

Home stay

Home stays with Moroccan families entail room and board for a fixed fee and provide the student with a window into family life in Morocco.

It may not always be possible to provide a home stay within walking distance of the school. Please note that our number of home stay families is limited.

Other concerns: Participants who feel they may have difficulties adapting to life with a Moroccan family should consider other housing options. Among the difficulties experienced by past participants: (1) Lack of privacy (2) Unfamiliar meal times and dietary habits (3) Unavailability of study space (4) Unfamiliar sanitary fixtures (in some cases, "traditional" toilets) (5) Location of host family (in some cases involving a bus ride to the school). However, the positive aspect of the cultural and possibly emotional experience of living with a traditional Moroccan family and sharing its cultural values and traditions outweighs any possible shortcomings.

Hotels

Students may choose from several hotels in Tetouan. Please ask our staff for our list of hotels.

Reservation procedures: Students wishing to have hotel reservations made prior to their arrival should request it on their applications. With its excellent local beaches, Tetouan is a popular Moroccan resort and rooms in July and August can be in short supply.

Apartments

For lengthy stays, furnished apartments can usually be found for students, especially in the nearby beach town of Martil, only 10 kilometers from the school in downtown Tetouan.

Please note: All prices are quoted in Euros. For the equivalent in your currency, please visit www.xe.com/ucc.

*In the event of no class for your level, you will be offered a 10 lessons private tuition per week