The Ali Baba International Center offers different types of course to different types of learners – students, diplomats, economists, businessmen, young learners, teachers, among others. These options include group courses, private individual courses, combined (group and private) courses, academic courses for college students, online courses, teacher training courses, and Bildungsurlaub Courses.
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)
The Ali Baba International Center teaches the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in all offered standard courses. It is the official language of 22 Arab countries extending from the Arabian Peninsula to the Atlantic Ocean. Modern Standard Arabic is the common medium for nearly all formal communication, both printed and spoken, in the Arab world countries. It is also the official language of all Arab countries, thus providing the most versatile tool for those interested in living or working in an Arab country. Our offered MSA courses will enable students to use the language across the Arab world for official correspondence, speeches, reading a newspaper, among many other usages.
Colloquial Spoken Arabic
Whilst the written Arabic is standard in the entire Arab World, the spoken Arabic varies as each Arab country speaks its own dialect. Colloquial Arabic, or the Spoken Aamieh, is also taught at the Ali Baba International Center, however, its only taught as a private course, i.e., in a one-to-one or a group-to-one setting. The different dialects spoken in the Arab World can be taught at the Ali Baba Center. The “Levant” dialect is the most popular dialect that all Arabs understand and gives the learners consistent and practical speaking skills. Major topics covered in the course are greetings; courtesy expressions; geography; counting; telling time; food; clothing; shopping; banking; travel; weather; health; professions; and personal, family, and home life.
Textbooks
Different international and local textbooks are used. The two mostly used textbooks are ‘Al-Asas for Teaching Arabic for Non-Native Speakers: I, II, III’ and ‘Al-Kitaab Series’ (Alif Baa, Al-Kitaab I, II, III). These textbooks are supplemented by selected materials and activities to cover different subjects and language skills.
Levels
Three language levels are offered each month: beginners, intermediate, and advanced. The three levels may get subdivided into sub-levels depending on the number of enrolled students. To determine the appropriate level for each admitted student, we typically conduct a placement test and an interview, both online, three to four weeks prior to the start of the course.
Weekly Schedule
The working week in Jordan is from Sunday to Thursday. A total of 20 teaching hours is offered every week (5 days per week, 4 hours per day). Therefore, a total of 80 teaching hours of modern standard Arabic (MSA) is covered every month. This is equal to 4 credit hours in most credit-based universities. One teaching hour is 50 minutes in classroom.
Daily Schedule
Teaching at the Ali Baba International Center starts at 9 AM and ends at 3 PM. Students who are signed up for a group course will have 4 hours of language instruction every day. The exact timing of the daily hours may vary from one group to ano