The Excellence Center Reviews

All in all I would say it was a great experience. The staff are extremely welcoming and social, always ready to help out. It was my first time teaching, and it was very fun! They throw you right into it, and provide you with materials to teach. They arrange tours to different places, so to experience craftsmanship, historic places or other interesting things. I would recommend for everyone to go there.

I spent two weeks in The Excellence Centre in Hebron. Overall, I had a fairly good experience.
I enjoyed teaching English. I had many classes ranging in level from beginner to intermediate.

Most of the students were friendly, and enthusiastic. In addition to classes, I participated in English Club. English Club is an hour-long, weekly visit to a school to practice conversational English with students and help them become more confident in their everyday English usage.

The centre has whiteboards, a projector, printer and photocopier at the teacher’s disposal, which is handy for planning lessons. However, I feel that the amount of photographs taken during classes can be a little disruptive and off-putting.

I also received some Arabic lessons from staff at the centre. I am a beginner, my teacher was excellent (very patient!) and I found the classes beneficial.

For me, what I enjoyed most about my stay was being with my host family. I’ve found Palestinian people to be really warm and hospitable, like nowhere else. I’m from Ireland and within a couple of days it felt like my home. Although we have a language barrier, we were still able to communicate and most of the Arabic I learned, I picked up in their home. This was easily the most enjoyable and memorable part of my trip.

Even though I was able to get along ok in the town and communicating in general, I do feel that for their own comfort and peace of mind, volunteers should have basic Arabic before coming here. Also, to research the culture and societal normalcies and etiquette before arrival is very important.

I spent two months volunteering at the Excellence Center teaching English. In addition to teaching English I took six hours of Arabic per week. My teacher was Du’a Qasim. Overall I was satisfied with her teaching methods and what I got out of the lessons. She’s very knowledgeable, communicative, and attentive to concerns. She has a lesson plan set up but she’s open to exploring personal interests her students may have. Moreover, she’s an exceptionally caring individual who is genuine in her goals and committed to her job. The staff at the center also encourage Arabic usage. This is helpful in applying what you learn in the classroom and translating it to everyday experiences. The fact that you’ll be living in a city of over 200,000 people who speak Arabic is just another incentive to learn and improve your language skills.

The center offers three hours of Arabic per week for every volunteer who works at the Excellence Center. However, one can certainly add more hours at a reasonable price. For those coming from the United States, it’s certainly more affordable than anything a university would charge per credit hour. And in my opinion, this is just as effective if not more. I’d encourage volunteers to take additional hours.

The Excellence Center is sanctioned by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and at the end of your volunteer period you will receive a certificate from the Center acknowledging your participation in the teaching aspect and completing the Arabic lessons. Moreover, one can certainly just enroll at the Excellence Center to take Arabic lessons. A few of the individuals I met in summer of 2016 at the Excellence Center attended the Center exclucivly for the Arabic lessons. Again, this a combination of reasonable cost, social environment, and a cadre of capable local teachers who take their profession seriously.

As I mentioned, my teacher was Du’a Qasim, who has been just wonderful in every sense of that word. Extremely helpful and effective as a teacher. I would strongly recommend her as my personal experience dictates as such. The Excellence Center’s staff are capable of working with people from beginner, to novice, to intermediate, to advanced levels. So if you want to learn basic Arabic to more advanced literary and comprehensive understanding of the language, the Center can provide teachers who are capable.

Lastly, the Arabic lessons are a good complementary experience that will certainly help you get around Palestine.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the center. I feel that it has been highly beneficial to my Arabic studies. One would be hard pressed to find a better program to learn Arabic in the land. The teachers are knowledgeable and more that helpful, and the staff is always looking for ways to improve the center to help both current and future learners. If you are wanting to learn Arabic, do yourself a favor and give this center a try.

I enjoyed learning Arabic. My Instructors were great at teaching. On my off time I found travel buddies to site see. I traveled to various cities and Bethlehem is only 45 minutes away via shared taxi. I suggest share taxis for just about everywhere you want to travel in Palestine or Israel. I visited Bethlehem many times and there are so many things to see in the Christian quarter alone. One thing I will miss is the amazing fresh food you can find everywhere. The falafel sandwich and lamb shawarma are my favorite.

My name is Harry, I am 19 years old and from London. I have just finished A-levels at school and my hobbies include playing football and swimming.
I participated in the Volunteer Palestine programme. I chose to volunteer in Palestine because firstly, I want to help people in Palestine learn english as it a universal language and an important skill to have when applying for a good job. Me being a native should help the students practice their conversational english, which is the most important element of learning a language. Secondly, coming out to Palestine on my own is a fantastic experience as I will meet new people, learn about a new culture and improve my independence skills. ( Not to mention I will be able to visit all of the historic sites!).
I felt very safe in Palestine because the Center provided me with lots of information about how to travel to and from / around the country. Furthermore all the locals were very welcoming and always helped me if I needed help, even if they spoke no english.
I do recommend students learn a bit of arabic before they come here. Although not a necessity, learning a few words or sentences will make you feel a lot more confident, particularly whilst on your journey to Hebron. Furthermore, locals love it when internationals speak arabic, even if its just a greeting, so learning a bit of arabic can help you integrate.
My best memories in Hebron are the people at the Center who made this trip possible and who were so kind and helpful. Additionally, I loved visiting the glass and kufiya factories as it gave me an insight into local trade. Finally the random people I met and spoke to in the street or taxis was definitely memorable .
I ate lots whilst I was here so I tasted many new foods and dishes such as maklooba and knaafe. I also got an incite into grape farming and local trades such as glass and ceramic production.
Overall I had a fantastic experience and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested. Although I was slightly nervous when I first go here, good food and friendly people made me feel very welcome. The teaching aspect of the trip was great as I got to prepare my own lessons and the students were very enthusiastic which made things a lot easier. The people at the center were fantastic! They were very kind, funny and helpful and they organised some very memorable trips. Getting around Hebron was very easy and cheap, once you knew what to do. My commute was around 15 minutes by taxi and only cost 5.5 shekels. There are tons of restaurants and small shops selling falafel and shawarma so you will never get hungry. Locals are very welcoming and you will 100% get offered food or tea from someone you have never met before, whilst you are in Hebron.

The Excellence Center provided an original insight into Palestinian life. Volunteering as a teaching assistant meant that I accessed classes that were taught over a range of ages and abilities with English. I met other teaching assistants and people who came to the centre to learn Arabic, people from all over the world. Would recommend to anyone wishing to improve their skills in education as well, encounter different ways of life and expand their mind.

I'm a 26-year-old Italian girl and I participated in the TESA program (teach English & learn Arabic) at the Excellence Centre in Hebron from August to September 2016.
I came here after graduating at the International House in Chang Mai in the CELTA. I wanted to put into practice the teaching techniques I learned in Thailand and work with students with different levels of English. Also, I wanted to learn more about the Palestinian culture and history and study Arabic. Thus, the TESA program was the perfect combination of everything I wanted to do here. Not only did I get the chance to teach many classes and private students, but I could also build a great relationship with the learners, get to know their daily lives and problems, and see how young people live in Palestine. I had three hours of Arabic lessons every week, and I could practice the language everyday, with the staff and the students at the centre and with my host family.
Furthermore, the centre organised tours and excursions in Hebron and nearby cities; these were invaluable opportunities as I could see these realities through the eyes of local people.
I always felt safe in Hebron and Palestine, people here are extremely welcoming and friendly! (It is not uncommon that you are offered food or coffee whilst walking on the street!).
What I liked the most here was the friendship with the International and Palestinian teachers at the Centre. Often after class, we would have dinner or coffee together and talk about life in the West Bank; not only about the problems and difficulties, but mainly about the daily lives and traditions, such as weddings and religious celebrations. Those were precious moments as I got to know more about the culture and the traditions of the people.
I will always be grateful for the hospitality and friendliness of the school's staff and of my host-family. I really felt at home here, and I will definitely be happy to come back one day.

My name is Fredy Gumpert, I am from London and I am 20 years old. In a few days I will return to London to complete the final year of my bachelor degree in International Relations at King’s College London.

At the Excellence Center I participated in the ‘Volunteering in Palestine’ programme. There are multiple reasons why I participated in this programme. Most importantly I wanted to experience the joy of teaching. My mother is a teacher and I know she enjoys her job. The opportunity to experience what it would be like to teach a class was one I could not pass up. Furthermore, I wanted to gain at least a basic grasp of the Arabic language. With a degree like mine the ability to speak and understand Arabic would be a highly valued skill.

I felt extremely safe for my whole time in Palestine with the exception of my first night. The first night of my arrival was slightly scary because I was living on my own and the electricity was not working. However since then I have felt safe throughout my stay. The only other moments I felt slightly uneasy was when walking through H2 (the Israeli occupied part of Hebron) surrounded by soldiers with automatic weapons. In the Arab part of the city there is absolutely no reason to fear anything, the people are too kind to do anything bad to you. My only advice is to be careful crossing the road!

I had absolutely no knowledge of Arabic before my arrival in Hebron. My advice to participants would be at the very least to learn the alphabet before travelling to Hebron. In doing so they will save a lot of time in the Arabic lessons they have here, when they can focus instead on reading and writing, which is impossible unless you know the alphabet.

My best memories in Hebron would have to be the time spent with fellow volunteers or Arabic students. I was lucky to be here with some very friendly people who I got on with very well. Time spent playing cards and smoking shisha with these people I now consider my friends are moments I will treasure. If asked to choose my favourite memory here in Hebron, it would be when myself and two other volunteers went to a traditional Palestinian wedding party. Despite being uninvited the hosts were so kind to us, it was difficult to leave after several hours.

The Palestinian foods I learnt about were: mansaf (a lamb dish served with a milk sauce, traditionally served at weddings) makluba (a chicken dish served with rice) and the sweet knafeh (a sugary treat with goat cheese inside).

My experience at the center has been very enjoyable. As stated the people I have met have been very friendly and fun. Furthermore I have appreciated the chance to teach a class of my own. The intermediate 2 class that I have been teaching are all very interesting, hard-working students.

My name is Amir Meskaldji, 22 years old. I'm currently studying environmental engineering and sciences in Lausanne, Switzerland. I have both Swiss and Algerian origins.

I was volunteering at the excellence center for one month. Helping teachers with english lessons and giving some courses as well.

I felt very safe in Palestine, the people were always warm and welcoming.

Before coming to Palestine, I think that people should learn the alphabet at least, which is not so hard. It is not necessary but It can be done almost entirely alone with the use of internet and youtube videos. It just takes some time. If you already know the alphabet, you will make much more of your time here and you will really have the opportunity to build a good arabic foundation during your stay in Hebron.

Something that made my experience better was the fact that I could already speak some arabic.

I had so many great experiences. Teaching classes with the awesome teachers, going and visitting around with the other internationals and enjoying the moment. Some of my best times where the various trips around Palestine outside of Hebron as well.

Visitting Jerusalem, the dead sea, Jericho, Bethlehem, Nablus..

All in all, it was an awesome experience, the best of my life actually!
And I'm really satisfied with everything. It was amazing. Thank you very much for everything!

10/10 I would do it again :D