Arabic: Tangier, Morocco


Location: Tangier, Morocco
Dates of program: June 19 – August 22, 2012
Hosting institution: Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM), in partnership with the American School in Tangier
Language offered: Arabic
Levels offered: Advanced beginning, intermediate, advanced

Program Structure

The Tangier Arabic institute covers approximately one academic year of university-level Arabic coursework during the eight-week program, and is designed to meet the needs of students from a variety of language levels and backgrounds, from students who have one year of university-level Arabic training or the equivalent (advanced beginning) to advanced learners.

Formal classroom language instruction is provided for an average of four hours per day, five days per week, with a minimum of 20 hours per week of classroom instruction. The instruction will be balanced between Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the Moroccan dialect. Extracurricular activities are designed to supplement the formal curriculum, including regular one-on-one meetings with peer tutors for conversational practice, as well as cultural activities and excursions designed to expand students’ understanding of Moroccan life and culture within the broader tapestry of the Arab world.

CLS Morocco students in a calligraphy class.

Students will be housed in double-occupancy dormitory rooms on the campus of the American School in Tangier. Some meals will be provided, and a stipend will cover additional meals and incidentals.

The American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) was founded in 1984 to promote the systematic study of North Africa among interested scholars, specialists, students, and others concerned with the region. AIMS sponsors The Journal of North African Studies (published by Francis and Taylor), publishes a biannual newsletter, sponsors annual academic conferences in North Africa, provides funding support for students and scholars to undertake research in the region, maintains overseas research centers in Tunis (CEMAT) Oran (CEMA) and Tangier (TALIM), administers a yearly dissertation workshop for students, and provides other professional services to its members.

Much of the experiential learning by students takes place in association with TALIM. The American School in Tangier (AST) provides housing, classroom space, and many amenities.

Outcomes

In 2010, the CLS Program adopted the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as an additional measure of the effectiveness and quality of the institutes overseas. Before the program, students take a diagnostic OPI test; at the end of their eight-week course of study, they take an ACTFL-certified post-program OPI assessment. The scores on these tests give students a concrete, widely-recognized measure of their speaking skills in MSA. In addition, students’ writing and reading abilities are assessed throughout the program in a variety of ways.

Student Activities

CLS Arabic students in Morocco, participating on a
cultural immersion experience by camel caravan.

Our activities at the CLS Tangier site are set up to help facilitate individual participants making connections with organizations downtown. Each week CLS participants worked alongside members of the community on projects ranging from literacy classes to cooking. One week, for example, CLS participants collaborated with the NGO Fondation Tanger al-Medina at the American Legation in order to participate in literacy classes in Arabic. Sitting alongside women learning to read and write in Arabic, the CLS participants assisted by sharing lessons in grammar and by discussing their general interests in Arabic.

Alumni Highlights

Margaret Robinson was a 2009 CLS participant in CLS Tangier, Morocco. Margaret recently completed her junior year at Williams College, where she is majoring in Physics and Arabic. Margaret writes, “this past semester, I studied abroad in Aleppo, Syria where, I found, very few people spoke English, or indeed had ever met an American. While I was there I had the opportunity to participate in a small group meeting with Ambassador Robert Ford, who spoke at length about his life as an Arabist and career diplomat. This strengthened my resolve to pursue fluency in Arabic and eventually take the Foreign Service Exam. Unfortunately, due to the upheaval in Syria, my group was evacuated before the end of our program. While I was in Syria, I served as a correspondent for Glimpse Magazine, and I am currently completing a story for them on recent Syrian events and my experience in the country.”

Program Highlights

View videos, read highlights, and more on the CLS Blog!

Alumni Ambassadors



Erica Vasquez, '11	Sam Jespersen, '09	Anne Lippitt, '10 (Jordan)	Leanna Pohevitz, '09, '10, & '11 (Egypt '09, Tunisia '10 & '11)	Nicholas Martino, '11 (Oman)