Course Tracks

All semester or longer study abroad students are strongly encouraged to enroll in Egyptian Arabic. Learning Egyptian Arabic is essential for a smooth transition to life in Cairo as many locals have difficulty understanding Modern Standard Arabic. Even those who are primarily interested in other forms of Arabic will find their experience in Cairo enriched by being able to communicate in colloquial. The level in which students are placed will be determined by their results on an oral exam. Outings with teachers during class time are sometimes used to give students more practice speaking the dialect in real situations. Where appropriate, the situations and materials used will come from the topics taught in the content courses.

Egyptian Arabic 100:

Colloquial 100 is for learners with no prior knowledge of Arabic. It presents an introduction to the Arabic sound system and script. Pronunciation and writing of every letter is given separately and in the context of words. It is a prerequisite to all other levels.

Egyptian Arabic 101:

This level is for learners who know the Arabic alphabet and know nothing or very little of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. It is also suitable for students who have a background in Modern Standard Arabic but did not study Colloquial Arabic before. 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.

Egyptian Arabic 102:

This level is for learners who have studied a semester of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. It aims at developing students oral communication skills.  It presents daily life situations that a foreigner living in Egypt is likely to encounter such as taking a taxi, ordering food and socializing.  Cultural skills are developed through discussions of the situations and the dialogues. Living in Cairo will provide daily opportunity for practice.

Egyptian Arabic 201:

This level is for intermediate learners who are able to speak with a fair degree of fluency on topics related to daily life. It presents diverse topic including lunch Invitation with the Family, Marriage Habits, Traveling, Carelessness and Road Accidents, In the Street, Housing Problem, Health, Poverty and Wealth, Love Affairs and Education.  By the end of the course, you will be able to discuss social issues quite easily. You will also have a deep understanding of the social problems that contemporary Egyptians face in the different facets of life. Cultural skills are developed through discussions of the situations and the advice to give.

Egyptian Arabic 202:

This level is for intermediate high learners who are able to speak with high degree of fluency on topics related to daily life and social issues. It presents diverse topic including Autobiography, Work Life, Crowded cities, Shopping and Negotiating, Football and Sports, Summer time, Married life, Memories of Old Days, Government.

Children are natural learners of foreign languages and Arab Academy’s Arabic courses designed especially for young learners are offered on-site. These courses are popular with expats who want their children to speak the language of the country in which they are living. Egyptians living abroad also sometimes send their children to Arab Academy during family visits to Egypt so that they can learn the language of their heritage.

We have courses for teenagers and younger children.

Teenagers

Middle/High School Arabic 0:

This course introduces students to the Arabic alphabet, both its writing and pronunciation.

Middle/High School Arabic 1:

This course introduces students to the grammar and vocabulary needed to describe and discuss personal, family, school, social and community life.

Middle/High School Arabic 2:

This course introduces students to the grammar and vocabulary needed to describe and discuss leisure time, student and home life, as well as vacation and travel.

Middle/High School Arabic 3:

This course introduces students to the grammar and vocabulary needed to describe and discuss personal and family life at a higher level, as well as teen culture, future plans and choices, current and historical events, as well as the environment.

Children

These courses are suitable for kindergarten age children through elementary school. They are to be taken sequentially unless otherwise specified.

Toutou:

This course is designed for young children who do not know the Arabic script or sound system.  Letters are introduced in sequential order. Each lesson presents 3 or 4 new letters (or is a review of previous letters). Words are introduced that are composed ONLY of the letters that students have learned. Children are able to learn the letters, words, and basic sentence structures simultaneously.

Sameh:

This course is designed for young children who have already learned the Arabic alphabet.  It helps students review the Arabic alphabet while enriching their vocabulary with additional vocabulary that is relevant to their lives (at this age).  Students get to see Loulou (the main character) at home, school, at the farm, in the garden, etc. Children learn to read and write words related to the world around them.

Let’s Play:

This course is designed for young children who can read and write but need more reinforcement.  It presents scenes with children playing, drawing, writing, reading, walking, visiting the zoo, at a restaurant, and at home.  The course further develops students’ vocabulary, adding words related to situations they may encounter.

Numbers and Colors:

Through a series of 8 stories, this course enables student to describe things in terms of quantities and colors.

Guess-Fruits and Vegetables:

This is the first in a series of courses that are based on guesswork. This active involvement of students in the lesson greatly increases their retention. The texts in the main lessons describe different fruits or vegetables, and students have to guess what they are. Students learn the names and characteristics of the different types of fruits and vegetables, as well as how to ask questions about and describe them.

Stories-Fruits and Vegetables:

This course can be completed in connection with, or after Guess-Fruits and Vegetables. Because students have learned how to describe a fruit or vegetable, they are ready to hear a story about them. The stories re-enforce vocabulary as well as introduce new words.

Guess-Animals:

This is the second in a series of three courses that are based upon guesswork. This course centers on birds and animals. Children will be asked to guess the animal that each lesson is describes.  They learn to describe birds and animals in terms of: color, size, where they live, body parts, as well as whether it is tame or wild.

Stories-Animals:

This course can be completed in connection with, or after, Guess-Animals. Because students have learned how to describe different animals, they are ready to hear a story about them. The stories re-enforce vocabulary as well as introduce new words.

Guess-Jobs:

This is a third in a series of courses that are based on guesswork.  This time children learn about the different professions.  They learn what different people do, wear, the tools they use, and the place where they work.

Stories-Jobs:

This course can be completed in connection with, or after, Guess-Jobs.  Because students have learned about different professions and how to describe them, they are ready to hear stories about them.  The stories re-enforce vocabulary as well as introduce new words.

Characteristics of Young People:

This course teaches children how to control and express their different feelings. This course accomplishes this through funny stories and interactive exercises. This course presents 8 engaging stories covering the following emotions: fear, boredom, aggression, pretending to know when you don’t, anxiety, being too quiet, liking to do the opposite of what people tell you, and being active versus being lazy. The children learn many useful vocabulary words related to expressing feelings.

Manners:

This course is designed to teach children about the cause and effect of different actions. It presents 10 different stories, 5 of which show how negative actions lead to unwanted situations, and 5 of which show how positive action brings about happiness.  It contains many entertaining characters, and the children get to see what happens to the characters based upon their actions.   The positive characteristics addressed in this course are: being helpful, clever, intelligent, loyal, and truthful (not lying). The negative characteristics addressed in this course are: being foolish, obstinate, liking to showing off, being greedy and lazy.

Adventures:

This course is composed of 8 short stories. Children are not only learning Arabic, but are also learning important life lessons (appropriate to their age level). They learn to be cautious while talking to strangers, to treat animals with kindness, to care about friends when they are sick, to take medicine when it is prescribed for them, to avoid eating dirty food, to use their brains to get out of a problem rather than their muscles, and to respect all creatures, even weak ones, to name a few.

At Home-Guess:

This course is designed to teach children about the different rooms and furniture within the home. Each lesson comprises activities where students are given a description of an article in the home, and they have to guess what it is. Students build vocabulary that is used in their daily lives.

Unpleasant Characteristics:

This course is composed of 12 funny stories. The stories are about a duck and a rabbit. The duck always does the right things and the rabbit always does the wrong things. The contrast between the two is what makes the stories engaging and fun. Children learn through the stories to distinguish between “good” actions and behavior and “bad” ones. They learn that doing good things brings happiness and success to all.

Animals in the Forest:

This course is composed of ten stories. The stories promote values, for example: one should not be greedy; the work of everybody is important; one should not show off; honesty and fairness are important, etc. The stories take place in the forest, and each story has a different animal as a hero.

Village of Peace:

This is a short story that shows how people can live happily when they cooperate. It also indicates how difficult life can be when people live alone and don’t get help from neighbors or offer to help them.

Animals’ World:

This course is based on ten short stories. Children view the world through the eyes of the animals and learn important concepts. For example: if you help people, people will help you; it is important to respect people and what they do; honesty makes people respect you; we should all do what we are responsible for; nobody will do your work but you; and we should not be greedy.

Safan and the Wise Sheikh:

This is a single story about a poor lazy man who seeks the advice of a wise sheikh to see how to attain his dreams of being happy and rich. On his way to the wise sheikh he meets a fox, a fish and a tree. They all ask him to seek the advice of the wise man to solve their problems. In solving the problems of others, the lazy man is able to solve his own problems. This story illustrates the importance of hard work and highlights the drawbacks of being lazy.

Guess the Message:

This course comprises 22 short stories. Children listen to and read stories; then they are asked to guess the moral of those stories. They should try to detect the piece of wisdom that we get out of each story.This course may be taken after completion of Animal’s World or Safan and the Wise Sheikh.

Serving Our Community:

This is a series of eight long stories, where each story is divided into sections. The stories all aim at reinforcing the concept of community services. Every story rotates around diverse social topics where students get to see the value of giving something of oneself to society. The more we give, the better life will be for all of us.