Department of Arabic Language Instruction

Chair of the Department of Arabic Language Instruction: D. Abo El Seoud

Arabic Language Teachers: H. Abdel Wahab, N. Abdel Wahab, D. Abo El-Seoud, J. Allam, N. El Assiouti, S. Attalla, K. Al Ekhnawy, S. El-Ezabi, I. Hafez, A.Haidar, N. Harb, M. K. Hassan (Director, Arabic Language), A. Hassanein , S. Massoud, M. S. Moussa, I. Saad, H. Salem, L. Al-Sawi (Director, Arabic Language Intensive Program), S. Serry, I. Soliman (Executive Director, Center for Arabic Study Abroad), A. Waked, L. White and S. Yacout. (Director, Summer Program), A. Hamdi , H. Abdel Mobdy , H. Kamal Hassanein, M. Mohamed Al-Qaffash, R. Hassan (CALL Director), S.Ismail, W. Farouq, A. Abdou

The Department of Arabic Language Instruction (ALI) is responsible for Arabic Language Instruction within the university’s academic structure. The ALI administers regular non-intensive and accelerated courses in Arabic offered for academic credit (ALNG). This Unit offers courses that cater to undergraduates and graduates who need to fulfill their Arabic requirements. It also serves non-degree and study abroad students. ALNG Unit offers courses at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels in both Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. There are two tracks for Modern Standard Arabic classes: normal and accelerated.

Under the umbrella of the Department of Arabic Language Instruction, three intensive programs are administered: the Arabic Language Intensive Program (ALIN), Arabic Language Intensive Summer Program (ALIS), and the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA). ALIN students who are qualified to change to undergraduate programs may receive up to 12 undergraduate credits in the fall and in the spring semesters from AUC, except elementary undergraduate students who can receive 10 credit hours. In the Summer Program (ALIS), students can receive up to 6 credit hours. Students may be able to obtain credit toward an academic degree at their home institution for their Intensive Arabic Language (ALIN) coursework. They should determine their institution’s policy regarding transfer credit before coming to Cairo.

Students registered in the ALIN and wishing to change their program to AUC undergraduate, graduate and non-degree programs have to satisfy the admission requirements listed in the catalog for these programs.

Arabic Language Undergraduate Credit Courses (ALNG)

Director: M. K. Hassan

All Arabic language credit classes at AUC are administered and taught by the Department of Arabic language Instruction. For details of university Arabic language requirements, see the “General Academic Requirements” section.

Arabic Language Undergraduate Credit Courses (ALNG): To see all ALNG courses, please go the “Courses” link in the homepage.

Arabic Language Intensive Program (ALIN)

Director: L. Al-Sawi

The Department of Arabic language Instruction offers intensive Arabic language courses for students, businessmen, diplomats, scholars, and others needing to gain a broad command of contemporary Arabic as quickly and as effectively as possible. For over sixty years, first through its School of Oriental Studies and then through its Center for Arabic Studies, AUC has taught Arabic to foreigners. Since the inception of what is now the Department of Arabic language Instruction, in the 1970s, this program has attracted students from the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe, offering intensive courses in both modern standard and Egyptian colloquial Arabic. A summer program is also offered.

Arabic Language Intensive Program (ALIN) is part of the Department of Arabic language Instruction program. Students must register for a minimum of twelve credit hours per semester, while the normal course load is twenty contact hours per week. All courses are taken for grades, and credit is granted as indicated at the beginning of each course listing. ALIN students who are qualified to change to undergraduate programs may receive up to 12 undergraduate credits in the fall and in the spring semesters from AUC, except elementary undergraduate students who can receive 10 credit hours. Summer students can receive up to 6 credit hours. (see “Non-degree Academic Regulations” for transfer of credit to other universities under “Undergraduate Academic Requirements and Regulations”).

Elementary Level

The course for beginners runs from the first week of September through May. The main emphasis is on modern standard Arabic, but Egyptian colloquial Arabic is simultaneously offered (about thirty percent of class time is devoted to colloquial). Arabic is used as the main medium of instruction in the second half of the program. The course comprises up to twenty hours per week of classroom instruction, including language laboratory work, and up to twenty hours of home assignments.

A student who successfully completes the first year of intensive study with the Department of Arabic Language Instruction can expect to possess a working competence in reading and writing modern standard Arabic and understanding and speaking Egyptian colloquial or modern standard Arabic.

Intermediate Level

Courses at this level are designed for those who have completed a year of intensive study at the elementary level of the Department of Arabic Language Instruction or who have studied two or more years elsewhere and can demonstrate a similar level of competence. The program runs from the first week of September through May in the following year.

Arabic is the chief medium of instruction. Students continue work in modern standard Arabic and Egyptian colloquial Arabic. Interested students may, at this level, begin to acquire familiarity with classical Arabic. Attention is given to the Arabic of print and broadcast media, while special lecture courses in Arabic are offered in response to the special interests of the students, such as Middle Eastern economics and politics, business correspondence, medieval and modern Arabic literature.

Students who complete this second year of study should be able to read and write modern standard Arabic with some fluency, to pursue study in topics that specially interest them in Arabic, and to converse freely in Arabic. Intermediate-level students will also have had an opportunity to acquire vocabulary and terminology related to such special fields of interest as business and diplomacy.

Advanced Level

Exceptional students may wish to take a third year. These courses are arranged according to demand, but they typically include advanced work in reading and writing and lecture courses in special topics. At the end of such a course a student should be able to compete with Arab students at the university level. Alternatively, the student should be able to employ Arabic with competence and confidence in the fields of business and/or diplomacy.

Certificate and Program Requirements

ALIN fulltime students must take twenty contact hours per week for which they are awarded twelve to fifteen program credits per semester.

At the end of students’ enrollment in the Department of Arabic Language Instruction, certificates of achievement will be awarded from the department (specifying their level, i.e. elementary, intermediate or advanced) (See the Intensive Arabic Language Course listing and the number of program credits awarded for each course).

Arabic Language Intensive Courses (ALIN) (To see all ALIN courses, please go the “Courses” link in the homepage.)

ALIN courses are listed sequentially by area. In this three digit system, the first digit represents the level of the course: 1 for elementary, 2 for intermediate, and 3 for advanced.

Prerequisites are not listed for every course. However, entry into all intermediate and advanced courses presupposes that the student is of intermediate or advanced standing. The instructor’s permission may also be required. Standing will be determined by written and/or oral placement tests for incoming students and sometimes for continuing students.

Arabic Language Intensive Summer Program (ALIS)

Director: S. Yacout

The Department of Arabic Language Instruction offers an intensive summer program from the second week of June until the last week of July. Students must take twenty hours of class per week to be considered full-time. The summer curriculum includes either Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) at all levels, or Modern Standard Arabic only, both options as a full load.

In addition, a number of electives is also offered depending on the students’ level.

Students in summer receive from six to eight credit hours depending on their level. A certificate of achievement from the Department of Arabic language Instruction is then offered upon successful completion of the program.

Extra Curricular Activities/Student Cultural Activity Program

An integral part of the intensive language program, both full year & summer, is an extensive series of tours of Cairo and trips to the easily visited sites of interest all over Egypt. These tours and trips are supplemented by a lecture series. While the department subsidizes a large portion of the expenses, including transportation (except where air travel is involved) and entrance fees, students are required to pay for their food and lodging.

The Department of Arabic Language Instruction cultural program also includes a cultural component featuring activities such as calligraphy, music, folkloric dance and an overview of Egyptian films.

In addition, the program includes an end of semester summer party which is organized with the active participation of the students.

Arabic Language Intensive Summer Program Courses (ALIS): To see all ALIS courses, please go the “Courses” link in the homepage.

Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA)

Director (U.S.A.): Christopher Stone, Hunter College of the City University of New York
Co-Director (Cairo): Dalal Abo El Seoud

Executive Director: Iman Soliman

AUC’s Department of Arabic Language Instruction also houses the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA), an intensive advanced Arabic program for American graduate and undergraduate students who have had at least a minimum of 3 years of formal instruction in Arabic prior to joining CASA. CASA is a consortium of 35 American universities and colleges including AUC. CASA receives its primary funding from the United States Department of Education, under the Group International Study Abroad Program. In addition, CASA is currently supported by two endowments from the Ford and Mellon foundations, with additional funding from the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt, in addition to program fees paid by participants. Its objective is to raise the level and broaden the base of Arabic Language competence in the American academic community.

AUC’s Department of Arabic Language Instruction offers a CASA I, twelve-month program beginning in June. Students in the full-year program develop a facility in the use of the four major language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. The CASA II program aims to provide further opportunities for CASA fellows, who have completed the CASA full-year program within the past five years, to continue to enhance their language skills and advance their Arabic-based research in Egypt. The CASA II program offers the opportunity to study for one or two semesters (fall or spring or both). In addition to these programs, CASA Cairo offers a CASA III program intended as an Arabic “refresher” course for professors in various fields of Middle Eastern Studies who are interested in improving their language skills or in further developing their ability to use the language in context appropriate for their own research areas. The CASA program offers three or four CASA III fellowships each year, funded by the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt and the U.S Department of Education. CASA III participants have the option of attending during the CASA summer session, or choosing a period ranging from 2 to 4 months in length in either fall or spring during which to complete their CASA III program of study.

Students are chosen to participate in the program on the basis of a competitive examination given every February in the United States. They must be American citizens or permanent residents, and be enrolled in a recognized institution of learning in the United States or Europe. During their CASA studies they are enrolled at AUC.

Students enrolled in AUC’s academic or intensive Arabic programs are eligible to apply for CASA. The CASA examination is given in Cairo at AUC every February at the same time that it is given in the United States.

Applications and further information on fellowships can be obtained from: Director of Center for Arabic Study Abroad Christopher Stone, associate professor of Arabic and head of the Arabic Program at Hunter College of the City University of New York. cst@hunter.cuny.edu and from the CASA Blog: http://casa-egypt.com/

Center For Arabic Studies Abroad Courses (CASA): To see all CASA courses, please go the “Courses” link in the homepage.

Personal Website: http://www1.aucegypt.edu/faculty/imansoliman/

Courses

Arabic Language

Arabic Language Intensive

Arabic Language Intensive - Colloquial Arabic

Arabic Language Intensive - Egyptian Culture

Arabic Language Intensive - Literature

Arabic Language Intensive - Media Arabic

Arabic Language Intensive - Reading the Qur’an

Arabic Language Intensive - Supervised Readings

Arabic Language Intensive - Translation

Arabic Language Intensive - Writing Arabic

Arabic Language Intensive Summer

Arabic Writing

Center For Arabic Studies Abroad

Page: 1 | 2

AUC New Cairo Campus

AUC Tahrir Square Campus