منهج التعليم

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The Program

Come to Mount Carmel to study Arabic while enjoying family hospitality in beautiful and serene surroundings. Mount Carmel Arabic Immersion runs Arabic language study sessions along the following:

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Study tracks

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Class track
20 hours per week of lessons are given in a classroom setting, with the option of adding private lessons. The classes are held in the summer and winter (see below). The Class track includes weekly daytrips, lectures, workshops and other forms of cultural enrichment in Arabic. Beginning and intermediate levels are available.

Classes concentrate on spoken Arabic, alongside several hours each week spent reinforcing skills in classical Arabic (fus’ha ) as used in the media and literature. Beginning level classes will learn the alphabet and basic reading skills. Guided exposure is also given to similar Arabic dialects (among them Egyptian, Iraqi, and others).

Participants may add private lessons in spoken and/or literary Arabic, or concentrating on a variety of specific topical studies.
Prerequisite: Intermediate level class participants must have at least one year of university-level Arabic language study, or equivalent proficiency. If you feel you meet this prerequisite but are not sure, please contact us.

In both the Class track and One-on-One track the program includes individual homestay with a local host family for the duration of the stay and matching with local organizations for community involvement, to maximize your exposure to spoken Arabic within the context of a vibrant community.

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One-on-One track
Stay in the village anytime throughout the year, and enjoy a battery of private lessons at the level and pace that is right for you. The basic package includes 20 hours of private instruction per week, with the option of adding more or studying less. We will build a personalized weekly program for you, according to your specific aims, interests and input; You may concentrate on spoken Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, a topical study (such as the alphabet and basic reading, classical literature, newspapers and television, Quran, or business Arabic), or the desired combination.

There is no prerequisite for individual study on the One-on-One track, and beginners are welcome to build the course of study desired.

In both the Class track and One-on-One track and optional matching with local organizations the program includes individual homestay with a local host family for the duration of the stay and matching with local organizations for community involvement, to maximize your exposure to spoken Arabic within the context of a vibrant community.

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Upcoming sessions:
Class track courses are generally planned for the summer and for the winter breaks or January term. Contact us to ask about upcoming courses or to schedule your own.

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Materials

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Mount Carmel Arabic Immersion uses high-quality academic textbooks and study aids for both spoken and written Arabic. We will lend the appropriate textbook to participants in the Class track for the duration of your stay. You may also purchase your own copy.

For colloquial Levantine Arabic we generally use the Speaking Arabic series (J. Elihay, Minerva, Jerusalem), supplemented with use of the Arabic writing system, and other materials (such as song lyrics, poems, and short stories). For intermediate students and beyond we enjoy using a unique selection of plays written in the spoken language provided courtesy of the local theater for the use of our students.

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You are encouraged to bring your own dictionaries, as well as any Arabic book or reading material you would like to tackle with the assistance of our instructors.

Based on your interest in a specific subject of topical study, if applicable, we will be happy to recommend appropriate materials to bring from abroad.

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One-on-One track participants are welcome to bring your own textbook if you have a preference.

In particular, One-on-One track participants who wish to focus on written Arabic (fus’ha ) are requested to bring a copy of your preferred textbook. Recommended textbooks include:

Al-Kitaab fii Ta’allum al-‘Arabiyya (Brustad et al., Georgetown University Press), level I, II or III.

Teach Yourself Arabic Complete Course Package (Smart and Altorfer).
Living Arabic: A Comprehensive Introductory Course (Younes and Garen, Language Resource Center, Cornell University)
Intermediate Arabic: An Integrated Approach (Younes and Garen, Yale Language Series)

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Those studying spoken Arabic are recommended to purchase Elihay’s Olive Tree Dictionary of Palestinian Arabic (below) through us.

You may purchase several materials through us or our local associates, either before arrival or during your stay, including:

• Your own copy of the Spoken Arabic textbook used in the course.

• The Olive Tree Dictionary of the Palestinian dialect (J. Elihay, Minerva, Jerusalem). It functions as both an Arabic-English and English-Arabic dictionary.

• Topographical trail map of the Carmel region (Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel).

• Quran, Bible in Arabic

 

Please contact us for details.

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Sample weekly programs

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To give you an idea of what your weekly schedule at Mount Carmel Arabic Immersion will look like, below are samples based on the program for each track.

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