Program Reviews

I spent 2 months completing 240 hours of Modern Standard Arabic studies at MCAS and found the language courses to be exceptional. Taking the private lessons, I was able to absorb and understand the dynamics of Arabic a lot more efficiently as I was completely immersed in the language during my time at MCAS. The instructor was very reliable and helpful when it came to learning Arabic and even went above and beyond to ensure that we had discussions regarding topics in Arabic that were of interest to me and were ones that I studied within my academic program back home. I was doing all of this to fulfill my MA language requirements and upon return my supervisor was very impressed at the work that I had completed at MCAS and immediately approved that component of my degree.

Cannot recommend MCAS enough, such an incredible program were the courses were superb and the staff go so far above and beyond to help you and make you feel
Incredibly welcome. Whether it is tea and chats with Jihane or great tips and assistance from Ali or the local couscous and family hospitality of my host family, you will have the most welcoming and heart warming Rabat experince. Hopefully I will return again an Arabic pro.

Dt.: Gemeinsam mit meiner Tochter habe ich einen einwöchigen Arabisch-Kurs bei MCAS besucht. Wir waren ganz begeistert, von allem! Der Lehrer war ausgesprochen geduldig und ist sehr auf unsere persönlichen Wünsche und Erwartungen für den Kurs eingegangen, alles war ganz genau auf uns zugeschnitten.
Die Unterbringung im Riad war ganz toll. Besonders wichtig für uns war die Frage des Essens, weil meine Tochter vegan lebt - MCAS hat es für uns möglich gemacht, vegan zu essen, zum einen im Riad, aber es wurde uns auch gleich ein entsprechendes Restaurant genannt. Meiner Meinung nach wird bei MCAS jeder menschenmögliche persönliche Wunsch erfüllt.
Bei den gemeinsamen Mahlzeiten haben wir sehr viel über die marokkanische Kultur gelernt und es war sehr schön, dass wir alles fragen konnten. Selbst für die Freizeitgestaltung wurden uns sehr praktikable Vorschläge gemacht.
Alles in allem: Ein rundum beindruckender und toller Sprachkurs.

Eng.: My daughter and I took a one week semi-intensive Arabic class at MCAS. We were really thrilled, about just everything! The teacher was soooo patient and he always met our personal expectations and wishes for the class, it was just perfectly shaped for us.
The accomodation in the Riad was great. Of great importance for us was the food, because my daughter is vegan. MCAS made it possible for us to eat vegan, both in the Riad and also in a restaurant they recommended. I'd say that in MCAS every wish would be fulfilled if just possible.
At the joint dinners were learned a lot about Moroccan culture and it was great to be able to ask just everything. And even for our free time we got suggestions about where to go and what to do.
Altogether it was a very impressive and great language class!

Our group traveled to Rabat in June to teach English in a local school. The experience couldn't have been better.

The staff and students were so welcoming and genuinely excited to get to know us. The accommodations we great. It was easy to get around and very safe. I have never felt so welcomed not only into a home but a city before.

We all felt like we were immersed in the culture and didn't feel like outsiders or tourists.

I highly recommend MCAS. I now consider them friends,

Gayle Hendrix

Translation:
I've done a month last summer volunteering through MCAS, which I also received two-hour Arabic lessons. The first 3 weeks I have been teaching English to girls of around 12 years since the project was last below I helped last week in an orphanage. My experience with MCAS was very good, I've done more often courses and volunteering in other countries, but never had such good support. I could always ask anything with the project / school owner and he was always ready to help and make it myself. I would first instance but one week teaching (because the project then stopped for the summer) and then three weeks to work in the orphanage, but because I loved teaching so much he had arranged for me anyway this could continue. In teaching myself, I got completely released and there was not really a program or method that had followed the children in terms of English, so I had to improvise a lot, they also had no books or anything. But that made it a fun challenge and I noticed just for me that I came up with many creative solutions and finally I certainly feel that I've made up their level of English. I also lived in the student residence with many other volunteers and people who followed Arabic lessons or walked internship. The house was very nice with good facilities and every morning and evening we ate all together, very cozy, there was in fact cooked for us! And on weekends I usually went to travel to other cities with the other students. I can recommend this project, anyone is intrested wants to do in Moroccan culture or volunteering with children. MCAS here is a very good and helpful organization that hard to do their best to make everything to your liking.

Original Review in Dutch:
Ik heb afgelopen zomer een maandje vrijwilligerswerk gedaan via MCAS, waarbij ik daarnaast ook 2 uur per dag Arabische lessen kreeg. De eerste 3 weken heb ik Engelse les gegeven aan meisjes van rond de 12 jaar en omdat dit project hierna was afgelopen heb ik de laatste week meegeholpen in een weeshuis. Mijn ervaring met MCAS was erg goed, ik heb al vaker taalcursussen en vrijwilligerswerk gedaan in andere landen, maar nog nooit zo'n goede begeleiding gehad. Ik kon altijd alles vragen met de projectleider/schooleigenaar en hij stond altijd klaar om te helpen en het naar mijn zin te maken. Ik zou bijvoorbeeld eerst maar 1 week lesgeven (omdat het project daarna stopte vanwege de zomer) en daarna 3 weken in het weeshuis gaan werken, maar omdat ik het lesgeven zo leuk vond had hij ervoor gezorgd dat ik toch hiermee door kon gaan. Bij het lesgeven zelf werd ik wel helemaal vrij gelaten en er was ook niet echt een programma of methode wat de kinderen hadden gevolgd qua Engels, dus ik moest veel improviseren, ze hadden ook geen boeken of iets. Maar dat maakte het voor mij juist een leuke uitdaging en ik merkte dat ik met veel creatieve oplossingen kwam en uiteindelijk heb ik zeker wel het idee dat ik hun niveau Engels omhoog heb gehaald. Verder woonde ik in de studentenresidentie met veel andere vrijwilligers en mensen die Arabische lessen volgden of stage liepen. Het huis was erg mooi met goede faciliteiten en ook iedere ochtend en avond aten we met z'n allen, erg gezellig, er werd namelijk voor ons gekookt! En in het weekend ging ik meestal reizen naar andere steden met de andere studenten. Ik kan dit project iedereen aanraden die geintresseerd is in de Marokkaanse cultuur of vrijwilligerswerk met kinderen wil doen. MCAS is hierbij een zeer goede en behulpzame organisatie, die hard hun best doen om alles naar jouw wens te maken.

MCAS does a fantastic job immersing students from all over the world into Moroccan language and culture. The program is very flexible, and ensures that each student, intern or volunteer is participating in an individualized program that is enriching, educational and rewarding.

The arabic immersion program at MCAS is top-notch and facilitated by knowledgable and invested instructors. If you are thinking about studying arabic in Morocco, MCAS provides high-quality instruction at competitive rates.

The student housing at MCAS is clean and safe, and MCAS also provides the option to stay with host families, who are caring and accommodating.

MCAS is unmatched to any other provider in Morocco and is the best choice for studying, interning, or volunteering in Morocco, and the Arab World.

I have completed a number of in-country Arabic language immersions in ten years of study and find MCAS to provide the best value and experience of any. This is my second experience with MCAS. MCAS sets itself apart by taking on the role of being a host for your entire visit, not just a provider of classroom instruction. Their instructors are highly skilled in Modern Standard Arabic, and they are entirely flexible in crafting an immersion experience around your interests and specific language objectives. The instructors also helped expand my vocabulary, which played a key role in improving my performance during a subsequent test.

I have studied at several foreign language immersion programs in two languages and this program rates among the highest on all accounts, especially in being flexible to the student's academic needs. MCAS is the best program I have experienced in terms of hospitality and getting students oriented to life and culture in Morocco.

MCAS is, with a doubt, the perfect organization to volunteer and/or intern in Morocco. The staff really work hard and are dedicated to match you with the perfect opportunity that fits your interests. Their interest and friendliness really made my experience much more enjoyable and they were always there to help whenever I needed. I interned at a children's hospital for two months and it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. I learned things that I will cherish forever. The traveling opportunities were amazing and I was able to travel to different parts of Morocco as well as network with other MCAS volunteers and interns from all over the world. I definitely recommend MCAS to everyone looking to volunteer and intern abroad!

In June I traveled to Morocco and I had an incredible experience the whole time. This experience can be credited to MCAS. They provided us with everything from housing to food to finding us the school where we would be teaching English for the two weeks we were there. The school, Abdasalam Saya Middle School, is where our host, Ali, attended when he was in school. Many of the teachers at the school were there when he was a child and this component added another piece that helped integrate my team and I into the school and culture. Ali and Jihane also did a fabulous job of letting us see the Moroccan culture. Through walks in the heart of the Rabat medina and going on several home visits with our students and having conversations with their families through the use of translators we learned about the culture and lifestyles of the Moroccan people. MCAS was an essential part of the success of my Morocco trip and I highly recommend it!
If you would like to hear more about my trip read my blog: http://cottonsarah.blogspot.com/

Couldn't have asked for a better time volunteering in Morocco! With MCAS, our group did amazing work in Morocco and got to learn about Moroccan culture at the same time. Ali and Jihane were very accommodating and made sure that we experienced as much of Rabat as possible. Our time teaching at Abdasalam Saya was incredible and I wish it lasted longer! We made lifelong connections in Rabat and with Ali, Jihane, and our translators at MCAS and I hope I get the chance to go back someday!