Intensive Arabic Programs In Palestine (1-13 Weeks)

My name is Sophia and I am a BA student from the University of Saint Andrews studying International Relations. Therefore, it was extremely important to me not just to understand Palestine from the perspective of a textbook, but to experience the language, politics and culture for myself. In the Excellence Centre I chose to participate in the Intensive Arabic course for the whole month of August 2018.
During my time at the Excellence Centre, my knowledge and fluency regarding the Palestinian dialect increased tremendously. After studying Classical Arabic for a few months two years before, I arrived knowing close to nothing. However, with the fantastic one-on-one teaching which is largely directed by what you want to learn, I have left being able to hold conversations with natives here.
The environment in the Centre is extremely friendly, you meet many Palestinian children, teachers and international volunteers and students. I know that I have made life-long friends here and I plan to return as soon as possible!
The centre also provides excursions around Hebron, such as to the Fawwar refugee camp, glass factories and the centre of commerce. These experiences were some of my most valuable and to visit the refugee camp was incredibly eye-opening and moving.
Hebron itself is a city filled with culture and tradition. Although conservative at times, I would highly recommend staying here as oppose to other, more Western Palestinian cities as here you can truly witness and experience Palestine in its most original form.
Staying with a host family was an amazing experience. They have greeted us with open arms from the start, ensuring our comfort and helping us practice our Arabic. It is also a great opportunity to experience Palestinian home-cooking which is as authentic and delicious as I had imagined. Not only will you be able to eat with your host family for dinner, there are many restaurants and cafes where you can buy a variety of food: including falafel, maqloubeh, kebab and Shawerma, for very low prices.
During the weekends, the friends that I had made here and myself would visit different cities in Israel and Palestine. My favourites would be the bustling, multi-cultural city of Nazareth and the beautiful Golan Heights where we were able to visit the Sea of Galilee and look over to Syria.
My overall experience in the Excellence Centre and Palestine has been fantastic, although I felt very nervous at first, after a day I realised how safe, comfortable and friendly the country and the people are. The teaching is extremely high-quality, and the opportunity to travel is a huge bonus. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is on the fence, you won’t regret it!

I am a Ph.D. candidate and teacher educator, and I have wanted to learn Arabic for several years -- not for academic or employment purposes, but simply for fun and to be able to communicate with Arabic speakers in my city. I came to the Excellence Center to study Palestinian Arabic in an immersive environment. I chose the Center over other programs because of the flexible start and end dates, the personalized individual courses, and the opportunity to live with a host family. I also appreciated that the foreigners at the Center represented a range of countries, backgrounds, and ages.

When I came here, I could read and write the alphabet (very slowly), but I had no ability to communicate, and I don’t think I could write a single sentence. I was fortunate to have a teacher with whom I “clicked” and who was very good at teaching a beginner. I found that she was very perceptive about my needs and preferences as a learner. After just a couple of days, I started recognizing words she was teaching me when I listened to conversations around me. Now, after five weeks, I have made significant improvements in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Arabic. While I still have a long way to go, I now have a much better foundation. When I return home, I will be better able to engage the Arabic speakers around me in conversation. (I evaluate language teachers for a living, so I am pretty difficult to impress.)

I was lucky to live with two different host families, as my first family had a logistical issue when some members came home after living out of town. While I didn’t want to leave them, I really enjoyed getting to experience two different lifestyles (and I still got to visit them). It’s difficult to express how open and welcoming my families were. They included me in all of their activities and always made sure I had anything I needed. Members of both families enjoyed teaching me about Islam and the Quran.

Beyond your host family, you will meet friendly people everywhere you go in Hebron. For example, I was walking to school one morning during my first week when a car stopped and the woman in the passenger seat asked if I wanted a ride; she felt that it was too hot for me to be walking. [Though I was here in the summer and it was certainly hot, it wasn’t unbearable. I generally wore linen pants, t-shirts with ¾ sleeves, and a scarf. (Make sure your clothes are made from breathable fabrics!)] While getting in a car with strangers would be very unusual and certainly not advisable in my home country, I accepted her offer. I then learned that she and her husband were Palestinian Americans who were here visiting family in Hebron and Halhul. I went to a relative’s home with them to pick up their daughter, met their little nieces and nephews who all wanted to shake my hand, then was driven right to the door of the Center -- but not before they had stopped to get falafel for me, because they were concerned that I hadn’t yet eaten breakfast.

Life here is very easy for foreigners, and Hebron is much more than what you will see on YouTube or Twitter. To answer everyone’s question, yes, it is safe. Don’t go walking around the border between H1 and H2 after Friday prayers, but I can’t think of anything else to warn you about. I look forward to telling people back home about Palestine and especially about Hebron. After leaving Hebron to visit other cities like Bethlehem and Jerusalem, I was always happy to return “home.” I had several conversations with other foreigners at the Center about how comfortable we feel here.

Some recommendations for a successful experience studying Arabic at the Center:
* You will get the most out of your intensive Arabic study if you review and practice each day. Find time and space to study -- which may not be possible at home.
* Don’t neglect informal learning opportunities like attending weddings, meeting extended family, and so on. Just as people will want to practice their English with you, they will also be happy to help you practice your Arabic. Adapt as much as possible to your family’s schedule, diet, and so on. Stay in Palestine as long as your schedule allows; let yourself have time to “just hang out”.
* In terms of interacting with the other foreigners at the Center, you can be as social or independent as you want to be. However, you are likely to find some good friends and/or travel buddies here!

I will miss the people of Hebron terribly, and I plan to return to the Excellence Center in the future. I would be happy to answer questions from any prospective Arabic students about my experiences here.

My name is Sigrid and I went to Hebron and the Excellence Center to refresh my Arabic skills before taking up my studies in Arabic after a break of 1.5 years. I also wanted to improve my skills in colloqial Arabic and become better at speaking in general.
My teacher was Maryam and we met three hours a week and focused on basics and to reactivate much of the vocabulary and expressions I had forgotten. We also concentrated on specifically Palestinian vocab and expressions.
My experience at the center has been really great. The people are very nice and welcoming and Hebron itself is a nice city for foreigners because there are not too many tourists so you can practice your Arabic in the street, the shops, and the taxis as well :-)

As an immersive experience with the Hebron Excellence Center, the staff and the resources provided were of great quality. Arabic exposure was ideal, in my experience, due to Palestinian hospitality and the opportunities provided to speak throughout the course of studies. Arabic teachers here are also amazing with providing conversational practice to the students and helping with vocabulary retention and grammar correction. The visits to different areas also lent us a greater insight into Palestinian culture and the politics that make up a great part of the daily life in this area. It was overall a very rewarding experience and one that will continue to be valued.

I had a lovely experience with the Excellence Center in Hebron. The Arabic classes were very good and I learned a lot in a short time and feel much more comfortable in my Arabic. My host family was incredibly nice and allowed me to eat so much delicious local food and try dishes I hadn't before. The program also allowed me lots of free time to explore the city and travel around Palestine to see some of the sites there. Ibraheim was a great teacher and tons of fun to work with. Also the other internationals at the center were lovely.

My name is Qing, I am a student from China. I have spent six weeks learning Arabic with Excellence Center in Hebron. I am living with other volunteers and students in a dormitory. Though the wi-fi in our dorm is not very stable and water is some time cut off, the place and people are still lovely. My program is intensive Arabic course, I spent three to four hours with my tutor. The Arabic course tends out very worth and interesting. And I use rest of my time to join the tours provided by the center.

Staying Hebron also provide me a great chance to explore the local culture and have deeper understanding of the Palestine-Israel conflict. There are many tours provided by the center every week, from visit the old city of Hebron to local university and factory. Though it not a full-scale culture emersion, I obtain many facts and conduct many communications with locals. And as the biggest city in the West Bank, it is very easy use Hebron as base to travel around the West Bank and the transportation here is quite cheap and convenient. And it is safe to stay and traveling around the West Bank. The people in Hebron is also very friendly and even “militant” hospitality.

However, the most important part for me is learning Arabic. I have one-on-one class with my tutor, Shayma, 5 days a week. So, it is intense, but not overwhelming. Because it is unlike normal language class in university that strict follow the text book, we will spend a hour and half to talking about anything that interesting us that including local customs, culture, Palestinian cuisine and some politics. And we also learn all the basic grammar and useful words and phrases that really helpful during the daily life. Though 6 weeks are still a short time regarding learning a new language, the learning here is efficient and helpful for further Arabic study.

It is worthwhile to take the opportunities to study Arabic in the Excellence Center and explore the real situation here in the West Bank. In a word, if I have chance I will visit this place again.

My name is Wietske. I am a twenty year old university student from the Netherlands. This summer I participated in the Studying Arabic in Palestine program for five weeks. This means that I had five three-hour one-on-one classes every week with my teacher Afnan. I have to say, deciding to participate in this program was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not only did I improve my Arabic a lot, because of the amazing, personally tailored program, I also made a lot of friends, saw lots of places around Palestine and stayed with the best family.

Starting with my classes, Afnan ,my teacher, was amazing. She was patient, kind and very professional, but most importantly we had a lot of fun and developed a beautiful friendship I hope will last for many years to come. She made sure to incorporate all sorts of exercises in my classes that would stimulate both reading, writing and dialogue, sometimes in conventional ways, and sometimes through fun games or drawing. I couldn’t have wished for any more.

The whole environment of the Excellence Center also really enhanced my learning experience. There would always be people around willing to have a chat in Arabic with me, and we went on many fun trips with the volunteers and center personnel, including the old city, kaffieh factory, Kharas, glass and ceramics factory, Moscobia church, and more. Next to being a great place for studying Arabic, the center is definitely also a great place to make friends with interesting and kind people from all over the world.

I did a quite a bit of travelling through Palestine during my time at the center. I went to Ramallah, Jericho, Bethlehem, Jerusalem and the villages surrounding Hebron. Travelling is very easy, especially since you will find yourself often going with a group of volunteers/students. I also went on a trip to Jerusalem by myself, which was totally fine as well. I guess I never really felt unsafe travelling around Palestine or in Hebron. As a woman traveling alone of course you are going to find yourself in situations none of your male friends will be able to relate to. My one advice here would be to really make sure you are dressed conservatively. Not only will this prevent a lot of stares, which you are inevitably going to get, it will also make you feel more confident and in place in Hebron.

Last but definitely not least my family in Hebron was the absolute best. They made sure I always felt welcome, happy and well-fed. I stayed in the family together with another student, which has led to a wonderful friendship, next to of course the wonderful friendships I have made within the family, especially with Marwa, who I will never forget.

Over all I think it is clear that my time in Palestine has been absolutely wonderful and unforgettable. I am so grateful for my time in this beautiful, welcoming, friendly place and I wish for you to have the same experience. Of course I can do nothing but highly recommend!

I really enjoyed my time at the excellence center taking a weeklong cooking course with complementary Arabic lessons. Each day, my teacher and I went grocery shopping together and then cooked delicious and interesting meals. Even the recipes that I didn't personally enjoy as much were fun to make, and I hope to share the stories and flavors of this culture and these people with my family and friends back home. I would recommend the staff and community of the center to anyone interested in studying Arabic, Palestinian cooking, or the political situation on the ground here in Hebron. I absolutely hope to return in the future to this warm home away from home.