Location:

Cairo, Egypt

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

You have spent some time studying Arabic but your conversation skills have not really taken off? Then this course is perfect for you. In four weeks’ time, we will get you up to an intermediate level in communicative skills in the principal vernacular of Arabic.

This intensive, interactive course is based on a communicative approach in which the oral communication between instructor-students and students-students are the main tools of teaching. Authentic tasks related to the language of everyday life are used in class activities as well as for homework. The course also makes use of peer-work and games in the classroom in order to enhance communicative skills. The 80 hours of this course will bring you to the level of intermediate-low according to the guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), and the A2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). By the end of this course, students will be able to: • Identify and reply to the most common greetings and phrases used in everyday life. • Introduce her/himself and other people. • Describe her/his family. • Conduct short conversations related to everyday life, including but not limited to taking a taxi, buying things, and renting a flat. • Use the present tense to talk about the daily routine.

NVIC’s language instructors, all native speakers, are formally trained to teach Arabic to non-native speakers, and have a long-standing experience in teaching Arabic (including Egyptian Colloquial Arabic) to undergraduate and graduate university students. Our teachers pride themselves in being up to date on the latest theoretical insights in language teaching, ensuring the efficiency of our teaching methods. For this course, NVIC has developed its own course book, Yalla Ma?r: A beginner’s course in Egyptian Arabic (included in the course fee), which contains grammar, vocabulary, and exercises. Based on authentic materials, it combines the strengths of other available handbooks, while avoiding some of their shortcomings. In addition, handouts and audio recordings for listening exercises will be provided by the course instructors as additional materials. The course has a work load of 5 ECTS credits. Please consult your own institution if you want to validate these.

Setting Description:

The Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo is an academic institute located on the safe and cosmopolitan island of Zamalek in the heart of Egypt’s bustling capital, ensuring a maximal immersion into an Arabic-speaking environment. It is one of five Dutch Scientific Institutes Abroad (NWIB) and is supported by the Research Fund–Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen). NVIC provides services to students and researchers of six Dutch and two Flemish universities. It fosters international research in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Egyptology and Archaeology, and Middle East Studies, and for over forty years now, offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the same fields. NVIC organizes three excursions for participants of this course, including visits to the Giza Pyramids and the Sphynx, Islamic Cairo and Khan al-Khalili, and the Citadel and Muhammad Ali Mosque. These excursions are included in the course fee.

Cost:

The course fee is EUR 850, including course materials and three excursions.