Study Arabic in Palestine

Hi, my name is Kristie. I am from the United States and in medical school. I came to the Excellence Center to study Arabic and to learn more about Palestinian life and culture. While I am only at the center for a short period of time, I hope to continue my studies and use what I learn in my future as a doctor.

I arrived in Palestine just days before the celebration of Eid Al-Adha, one of the two major holidays in Islam. I spent the holiday with my host family, learning about their traditions and eating amazing food. The children had a great time bringing me random objects from around the house and teaching me their names in Arabic. While “tray” and “table leg” might not be the most useful words at this point in my Arabic studies, we had a great time! Over the next two days, I met around 30 members of the family. For my second day in a new country, with a new language, it should have been an overwhelming experience. However, to my delight, they were some of the most enjoyable days I have spent in a long time. The whole family was incredibly warm and welcoming, going out of their way to make me, the foreigner crashing their party, feel comfortable and included.

Once the holiday ended, I began my Arabic lessons in earnest. 3-4 hours a day I had private lessons with my teacher Alaa. While the beginning of learning a language is always difficult and somewhat frustrating, Alaa made it manageable and fun. While teaching me the basics, she helped me focus on medical vocabulary so that I could immediately learn the Arabic most useful to me. Overall, the experience was fantastic and exactly what I hoped for by going to Palestine. I will hopefully be back in the future!

My name is Amalie, a 21 years old student from Denmark. I study Arabic and Islam Studies in Denmark. As a part of my education I travelled to Palestine to learn the shaami dialect and to improve my fusHa language.
I stayed at the Excellence Center for a month, and had classes 5 days a week, 3,5 hours per day. I had a great stay and the breakfast with all the staff and people staying at the center, was a good opportunity to meet people and personalities from all over the world.
I was taught by Shayma, a 23 years old girl from Hebron. She had graduated from her studies in fusHa from Hebron University, so she was an expert. She was an amazing teacher, always happy and she actually became more a friend than a teacher to me. She took me with her everywhere and showed me the Palestinian culture. This hospitality is also a characteristic of Palestine and the Palestinian people. They will treat you as their guest and will do anything for you to feel safe and happy. Therefore the security will never be a problem, though it is a country with problems and chaos. You will be treated as a part of their family or friends, and the Palestinians will not allow anything to happen to their guests.
During my stay I lived in the ground floor and had my own apartment at a Palestinian family. This was an amazing experience and the family made sure that I never missed anything, and I felt as a part of the family, but still I had the possibility to have my privacy, when needed, in my apartment. Furthermore they cooked and took care of me, and became my second family only after one month. I am sure I will see them again in the future.

The most unique thing about excellence centre is the atmosphere of the place. It reflects the Palestinian customs and culture and gives the students a good idea on the friendliness, generosity and good heartedness of the people. The program is well tailored for the individual student and this makes the actual learning experience even more fun. My teacher always thinks of new ways to get me engaged and I love the energy he brings to the class room.

Being at Excellence Center has been at enjoyable experience. You are not just a student here, but you are so part of a broader relationship between all people here. The friendly atmosphere between staff volunteers and students makes is a good environment for not only studying but so living. The course we have had was perfect for us, Because We got the opportunity to make it Exactly how we want it accordion to the curriculum provided from university. The center is located a few kilometers away from the city center. We have been living in Bethlehem and the services made ​​it easy for us, by stopping just in front of the door to the center. Hebron is a very interesting place to live if you want to understand the life of the Palestinians and the impact of the Conflict On Their daily life's. Nonetheless Excellence Center is located in a peaceful part of the city and we have never experience any trouble. We highly recommend Excellence Center Whether you just want to learn a few phrases or to continue to ongoing study.

Sallaam min ID Denemark! Morten og Marie

I wanted an opportunity for an intensive improvement of my qolloquial Arabic language, and this was the perfect fit. With daily classes and endless possibilities of practising conversation at the center, social gatherings and with my host, this was what I was looking for. The centre has a lively and fun atmosphere, with foreigners studying or volunteering, and the staff is friendly and fun. The classes are one to one, so the teaching and topics are tailored to your wishes and interests. I, for example had less interest in writing and more in speaking and expanding vocabulary.
With intensive classes, accomodation and social arrangements as well as good people, the centre did provide the full package one needed for a stay without other connections.
The centre arranges optional tours which are great for learning about the situation of daily, though normalised, occupation, even if your stay is short.
No city in the West Bank is alike, and with Hebron in the more conservative end, one should take time to visit other cities as well.

I've been studying Arabic at the Excellence Center for three weeks this summer, and I've loved every second of it. I had private lessons, and my teacher has been so, so kind and proficient. I knew some arbic before i came to Palestine, and my teacher has been very good at adapting the lessons and corriculum to my level and needs. During my stay, I've been living with a wonderfull host family. They have been so kind, and they are almost like my second family. The Excellence Center has not only provided arabic lessons, but also many trips in and around Hebron. We've learned lot about how people in Palestine live their lives, about their traditions and of course also about the Palestinan-Israeli conflict. I would really recomend studying Arabic at the Excellence Center, not only will you learn a new language, but also gain a lot of experiences which you will never forget.

I have just completed one month studying Arabic at the Excellence center in Hebron. The whole experience has been great. My teacher was incredibly patient and encouraging. And i am really happy with the amount and speed at which i have learnt in both conversational as well as reading and writing.I had lessons in the morning leaving me time to explore the city and the west bank in evenings and weekends. The staff are really flexible and accommodating. During my stay here i was able to immerse my self in the local culture and learn a lot about life in Palestine which was as important to me as the academic side. The people of Hebron are overwhelmingly generous and friendly making my stay here a wonderful experience.

Studying Arabic in Palestine was an amazing experience. I came here not knowing any Arabic as a complete beginner. As i'm leaving I can read, write and speak a fair amount of Arabic in a confident manner. The staff at the Excellence Center were more like a supportive family and this environment helped a great deal with the progression of my learning. As for the city Hebron, it is one of the friendliest and safest places I have ever stayed in. To anybody wanting to learn Arabic in Palestine, I have to recommend the Excellence Center

The program was great, teachers are very friendly and you feel like at home. It is very complete. I had courses in the morning and activities in the afternoon. You can also get free time to have your own activities.
A very complete program to get to know local life. Everything is kindly supervised from arrival until the departure.

I stayed at excellence center nearly two months in summer 2014, I came across that school by accident while still in France. Everything happened so fast and a few days latter I was in Hebron. My staying at excellence center turned out to be fantastic experience. With the one to one courses, and the very helpfull staff surrunding you at all time, you are ensured to improve your arabic skills. If you want to discover Palestine, and especially its people, I definitely recommend excellence center.

If you want to learn arabic outside of an NGO, and in one of the most interesting thought provoking situations in the world, look no further than excellence centre. I spent summer 2014 with them, and they are humble and grounded people who care about your learning. They are not there to hide the challenges in Khallil, but they allow you a way to feel hosted in a city that might otherwise be inaccesible. The teaching is great, the integrity is there and your money is going to a good place. You will stay with a family who will be curious to meet you ... And the rest is down to you

I learned a lot during my course, but the different levels were a challange in the beginning. Alaa solved the challange very well by writing the same words in 'soundlanguage' and aracbic. It was very usefull fo understanding and learning for both levels.
The classes were arraged after my wishes about learning the letters as first priority. And it was very helpfull. I could have used a little more homewrk in the first half of the lesssons, but it was not a wish from the other half of the calss.
I appriaciated the different learning 'games'. The calsses were never boring and most often we lost time, and the lessons ended later than planed. But nobody notised because we always had fun learning.
I and very satisfied for my time and for my teacher. I give her the best review.

I am very happy about this experience at the Excellence Center, Miss Racha has always been available to follow our interests and prepare special activities for us. She is really passionated by her job and an excellent teacher.

I learned a lot. I think the most important is the interaction with our teacher which has been very good.
I have been to arabic classes before but this time I think I have improved.
A problem could be the way to form good studygroups with equal level.
Another problem could be that the motivation among the students is shifting.
I think it is very good that my teatcher is listening to my wishes about
learning .
Of course I would like to go more than twice a week but it is difficult to coordinate with my work in TIPH. I hope to continue after Ramadan.

Excellence center is a school located in one of the most important street in Hebron. It is a school in wich you immediately feel the professionality of the staff: coordinators and teachers. The school strives to improve its standars, indeed they are always more than happy to receive feedbacks. I personally studied dialet and standard arabic, focusing more on the former. I really recommend this school to any newcomer and I am sure that you will enjoy the company and the kindness of these fantastic people like my teacher Dua'a, Marwa , Osama, Alaa and the two Ibrahim etc. etc.