Spring Term

Our Spring 2024 and 2025 Programs will be in-person

Students will follow a rigorous curriculum replete with enriching cultural activity and lectures. Students who are unable to attend in-person courses in the spring are encouraged to apply for private online courses.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

• In-person program: fifteen-week program with group classes according to students’ levels

• Immersive experience with rich cultural activities, film screenings and lectures

• Open to all qualified students (traditional and non-traditional)

• Meets FLAS fellowship requirements

• Credit transfer available through Sijal’s School of Record: The University of Montana

The Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture offers students the opportunity to study for the spring in an immersive environment, with lessons held by our experienced teachers. Our spring intensive program moves beyond pure delivery of language learning by fully incorporating Arab cultures into the curriculum with lectures, film screenings, cultural activities and local language partnerships.

Furthermore, our communicative, proficiency-based curriculum integrates Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Levantine dialect to get students interacting as native speakers do, even from the earliest proficiency levels. Based on the methodology of the popular Al-Kitaab textbook series, students systematically practice all four linguistic skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening) in their classes and can seamlessly transition from our coursework to that of their home institutions. For more information on what successful students will be able to achieve at each course level, please visit the following link.

Building on our belief that languages are not learned solely through textbooks, we offer ammiya courses based on a variety of authentic materials as part of our core spring curriculum. These colloquial courses are available from absolute beginner to advanced fluency levels and bridge the gaps between MSA and spoken Arabic as experienced in the Levant.

Our program and teaching staff are committed to offering a rigorous academic and intellectual environment that challenges students to engage both linguistically and culturally. For every challenge, however, we are there to offer support and guidance along the way. With daily open tutoring and weekly office hours, Sijal provides a warm and friendly environment where students and teachers alike form a close and encouraging community.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Intensive In-Person Spring program

• Competitive cost of attendance

• Beginning, Intermediate & Advanced coursework integrating instruction in MSA and Colloquial Jordanian Arabic

• Communicative teaching methodology that emphasizes all four language skills: speaking, reading, writing and listening

• In-person: 14 contact hours a week, for a total of 210 hours for the entire program (fifteen weeks)

• Daily open tutoring available for additional review or homework assistance

• A dynamic calendar of events comprising lectures, film screenings and other events related to the history, politics and cultures of the Arab world

• The opportunity to build relationships with native-speaker language partners

• Professional, experienced and supportive teaching staff trained in the latest Arabic language pedagogy

Classes are conducted in a manner which yields high degrees of language acquisition while maintaining a comfortable educational atmosphere. All instructors have significant experience teaching in an interactive, communicative manner. Our students from this semester and last have given feedback such as: 

"My teacher is incredible!!! She makes class fun, hands-on, and a great environment to learn in! I love her enthusiasm and understanding. I feel very supported and safe to grow in her classroom! The environment at Sijal has been very warm and welcoming to us! The entire staff has been great and helpful at every turn."

-participant from the Fall 2020 Intensive session

*Please note that any level with less than three students will have class hours reduced to 80 percent of the original class hours to account for the group size. 

SESSION DATES & TIMES

The in-person program will run from January 14 to May 2, 2024. Students will have 14 contact hours per week, for a total of 210 hours.

Classes will take place between 9:00 AM -4:00 PM (Jordan time). Each student’s final schedule will be determined according to their proficiency level following their placement tests.

Placement tests will be administered remotely prior to coursework commencing.

Please note: the standard work week in Jordan is Sunday-Thursday.

PRICING

The tuition fee for the fifteen-week in-person program is 2200 USD (1,560 JOD).

Tuition covers all coursework, cultural activities, and language exchange placement.

Our Intensive Spring Program is eligible for FLAS funding. We encourage students to seek scholarship opportunities through their home institutions and are happy to provide any documentation necessary to fulfill their funding requirements.

WORK-STUDY

Additionally, we award a limited number of work-study scholarships each term. Work-study applicants are evaluated on the basis of merit and need, as demonstrated in the application form. If you are currently the recipient of any scholarships or financial aid, we ask that you submit an official letter indicating that (e.g. from your university's financial aid office), as part of our evaluation process.