Why Arabic at Middlebury Language Schools?

Why Arabic?

Algebra الجبر, alcohol الكحول, coffee قهوة.

These are just a few examples of words that have Arabic origins. The Latin numerical numbers also originated from the Arabic Language.

You have been speaking and using Arabic without even knowing it.

A common misconception is that Arabic is difficult to learn, due to its alphabet that consists of 28 letters, many of which do not sound and definitely do not look like any letters that we use in Latin-based languages.

However, with dedication and help from the Middlebury Arabic School, you will be on the path to using Arabic in your everyday life, aside from ordering قهوة from your local coffee shop. 

Learning Arabic at Middlebury Language Schools

At the Middlebury Arabic School, you will encounter students, faculty, and staff that come from all over the Middle East and North African region.

You will gain a sense of community as you live, eat and study with a diverse group of individuals, all with the same goal, to become fluent in Arabic.

Through our co-curricular activities, you will be exposed to the rich Arab culture that spans from the western border of Africa to the edges of the Arabian Sea. Though there is nothing like traveling to these spectacular countries, why not begin by having them all in one place?

At the Middlebury Arabic School, you will gain the linguistic and cultural skills you need to go abroad, work with people from the MENA region, and better understand the historical and present-day complexities. All while meeting others who have the same interests. 

Too often students and professionals go abroad and return with little to no gain in Arabic proficiency. This is mainly due to American and European influences on Arabic countries.

As the western culture becomes more prevalent and the English language becomes more sought after, many residents of these countries tend to want to make westerners feel welcome, by using English, while also using the opportunity to practice their own language skills.

Though this is not always the case, many students claim that they did not feel fully immersed, even though they were in an Arabic speaking country, many times falling back onto their native language, either due to the other students they surround themselves with or from natives of that country wanting to speak with them in English.

At the Middlebury Arabic School, this is not an option. Everyone who comes to the program signs the Language Pledge and is committed to speaking Arabic 24/7. 

Arabic Language Dialects

Going abroad is an important part of learning and experiences the cultures firsthand.

However, Middlebury is a great way to gain proficiency and become comfortable with the language as Arabic is uniquely complex due to the many countries that speak the language.

There are over 30 different dialects ranging from Moroccan to Levantine to the Gulf States. Not to mention the dialects within each country which can differ between cities.

At Middlebury, we want students to become comfortable in the most standard variation of the language, which is Modern Standard Arabic (MSA).

In class, students study in MSA but have the opportunity to learn one of the many different dialects, through our dialect sessions. This is a great stepping-stone for those who do ultimately go abroad, while also maintaining the core skills needed to read, write and listen at a professional level by using MSA.

MSA will also allow students to learn many different dialects since the core language skills have already been learned.

Not convinced? Read more about our Arabic School.