The Excellence Center

Why choose The Excellence Center?

Founded in 2011, the Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine offers intensive Levantine and Palestinian Arabic courses, online Arabic lessons, and a variety of volunteer, internship, and community programs in Hebron, West Bank. Participants can learn Arabic, meet new people from around the world, and engage with local communities, contributing to meaningful educational and social projects that make a lasting impact on Palestinian children, refugees, women, and youth.

In 2018, the Excellence Center expanded to Halle, Germany, offering volunteer and internship programs that allow international participants to develop intercultural skills, contribute to community development, and support local initiatives, while connecting with locals and international peers. Both Excellence Centers empower participants to learn a new language, make a meaningful impact, and foster cross-cultural understanding in Palestine and Germany, providing a unique global experience for students, interns & volunteers

Website

excellencenter.org

Founded

2011

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Impact 🌎

Ethical Impact

With all our Arabic courses and volunteer programs, we aim to make a long term difference for the Palestinian local community through the exchange of ideas and “walking in each other’s shoes”. Our programs and courses foster shared learning, for both our community and you. During your Arabic course, you will get to learn so much more than just the language. You will also get to learn a lot about Palestinian culture and customs and the political situation in Palestine. Additionally, you will have many opportunities while outside the classroom to practice your Arabic in a natural and authentic way while navigating your new life in Hebron. Your time with us in Hebron will also provide you with many opportunities of cultural exchange and mutual learning, both with local Palestinians as well as with our other international participants.

Reviews

I absolutely loved taking online Arabic classes with Haya. As a complete beginner, it was intimidating to start from scratch but Haya was so welcoming, accommodating and fun and I really looked forward to our lessons each week. She is a fantastic teacher and I was so happy with what I achieved under her guidance over the course. The classes were very good value for money too and being online meant that I could learn from my own home. I can’t recommend her and The Excellence Centre enough and I can’t wait to return to classes again in the future!

I stayed at the Excellence Centre for two weeks and had a wonderful time. It was a deep learning experience, and I was fortunate to meet so many amazing people during my time there. At the centre, when we weren't out and about, I took Arabic language classes with another student under the tutelage of Haya. Haya is a wonderful teacher and person, and I learnt an abundance of Arabic in such a short period, from starting as a complete beginner. I still retain my notes from the classes and much of the Arabic I learnt. I look forward to returning to the Excellence Centre in the near future to continue building relationships, learning, and speaking Arabic.

My experience with the Excellence Centre was great. I did 20 hours online with Haya, she was an excellent teacher, friendly, and it was a fantastic experience all round. Communication and organisation of lessons was flexible, and payment was straightforward. I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a professional, accessible online approach to learning Arabic. Unfortunately my schedule means further lessons are not currently an option for me but I certainly hope to come back to Excellence Centre some time in the future.

Pros

Fantastic teacher
Flexible planning
Effective class materials

The Excellence Centre is a welcoming place to volunteer and leave a lasting, meaningful impact on your students. From the moment you arrive, the kind and attentive staff make you feel instantly at home. While the volunteer experience itself is unparalleled, the connections you make with fellow volunteers and the dedicated team are what truly make it worthwhile. Every morning, we shared breakfast and discuss our teaching schedules, bond, and share a few laughs. I also had the opportunity to study German with Muaz, who was an outstanding and patient teacher. A longer stay will greatly improve your language skills, but even a short visit equips you with the conversational basics. Rafat, the Centre’s manager, is incredibly helpful in organizing your teaching schedule and always fun to chat with. Ultimately, a journey here is a fantastic opportunity to help others learn English while becoming part of a caring, tight-knit community.

I am Costa Rican and I was at The Excellence Center for one month, which was an overall great experience. I’m so glad to have found it, because there are not many options of an internship in Germany for people over 50. I was able to improve my German and to help others learn English, along with other volunteers that became dear friends. Rafat, Dušan and Muaz help you in those first days, when everything is new. They are wonderful, kind people, who want to help others. During each of the 3-day-long weekends, I visited other cities: Berlin, Leipzig, Erfurt, Munich, Postdam, Merseburg and others. Plus, Halle is a beautiful city as well. Germany has amazing places that are all worth visiting. The shared accommodation was very convenient and nice. I fully recommend coming to The Excellence Center in Europe.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

Don’t be afraid to come. You will not regret it! I know it seems uncertain in the last days before your arrival, but once you’re here everything just clicks into place.

Pros

Very free, nothing strict.
Available for 1 to 13 weeks.
You can start whenever is convenient for you.

Cons

Sometimes the students say they will come, but then they don’t.

4.92 •39 reviews

The Excellence Center in Halle (Saale), Germany, offers students the...

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

When I saw the situation in Palestine I knew I needed to do something to help. The volunteer organizations in the US weren't really for me, but I had the time and the means to go help in person. I looked up volunteer opportunities and the Excellence Center had the best reputation. I found out its reputation is well-deserved!

What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

The Excellence Center helped me with everything I needed. They gave me a flat, free breakfast, volunteer work, Arabic lessons, and guidance for anything else I asked about, including finding more work with other organizations.

All I organized on my own was getting other meals and traveling around Palestine independently.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

If you're coming to Palestine you need to be aware of the political situation. It sounds obvious, but one would-be volunteer had her visa denied because of her radicalism on social media. Don't do that. You're here to help - maybe by teaching kids English, or advocating for women's rights, or volunteering at a hospital. Don't get carried away.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Your daily activities change as you spend more time in the program, but for a beginner: Eat breakfast with other volunteers at 10 AM, and study Arabic from 11 to 12 or 1. Then, go on a trip to somewhere in or near Hebron to learn about life in Palestine and experience the culture, do volunteer activities, and spend the evening studying and hanging out with other volunteers.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear when I came to Palestine was that I'd be a victim of the current situation - hurt or worse, by one side or the other. Talking to the other volunteers before I came eased my anxiety. After spending time here I feel my fears were unfounded. It's clear what places and situations are dangerous and as foreigners, we're free to avoid them.

You can volunteer in Palestine without having specific views about the situation. You don't have to have an opinion about Zionism, or the Nakba, or the war in Gaza, or anything else. If you see people suffering and you want to help then you'll be welcomed here. You'll be making the world a better place while experiencing a unique culture and learning a complicated, tragic history first-hand.

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Nicholas Lecchi

Rosalind Dyveke Dale

2019 Alum

Dana Visalli

Ellen Munk Ebbesen

2016 Alum

Jim Chandler

2015 Alum

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Many people who come to the Excellence Center with the goal of volunteering to teach English are curious about the teachers.

We thought it would be a good idea to sit down with one of the English teachers at the Excellence Center and ask him a little bit about himself, in order to give those thinking about studying at the Excellence Center a chance to learn a little bit more about the teachers they will encounter and work with in Hebron.

Meet Ibrahim Zahda, who started teaching at the Excellence Center as an English teacher 3 years ago.

What’s your daily routine like?

I split my time between the Excellence Center and a local public school. I’m an English teacher at both locations. Once I finish at the public school, then I head over to the Excellence Center.

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How do you like working with Palestinian students?

I really like working with them. These kids have something to tell the world. I want to give them the tools they need to deliver our message to the world. That message is simply that we are here and we believe in nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation.

How about foreign volunteers?

They help me a lot as teaching assistants. The help they provide basically falls under several levels. First, they empower the idea of volunteering to the students. Second, they help the students with their pronunciation and expose them to the way English is spoken by native speakers.

The cultural aspect of their presence is also important. Volunteers come from all over the world and bring new ideas and concepts to us. It helps the students learn about the ways other people think about problems and give them new perspectives with which to face their challenges. It’s not just the students, teachers also learn in this way from the volunteers.

What’s it like working with Marwa, Khitam, and the other staff members?

The working relationships at the Excellence Center are really great, everyone is kind and everyone is eager to help each other out. The people I work with feel more like family than coworkers.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

You'll mostly find me playing football and computer games, I’m actually addicted to computer games (laughter).

What do you wish foreign volunteers knew before coming to Hebron?

I think the administration has provided a lot of good information for future and potential volunteers on their website. I would urge them (the volunteers) to learn about the center and its mission.

Most of the volunteers I’ve worked with have had a good idea of that part. Learning about the Palestinian culture beforehand would also be helpful.

What do you think are the biggest challenges for Palestinians trying to learn English?

There is this stereotype that English is an impossible language to learn. That really puts the students at a disadvantage so I try to break that stereotype and tell them that English is just like any other language. It is fun and can be learned.

Another challenge is that public schools in Palestine tend to focus on traditional teaching methods. In fact, newer methods which teach English in a practical way are needed. This is what the center is for, it emphasizes the students' speaking and listening abilities so that they can use English in the real world.