review – Arabian Misadventures

Summer in Marrakech

I use to be a fan of the summer season in any part of the world, but that changed when I visited Dubai one early August. Since then, I have avoided the Gulf countries in summer and kept myself under the shade in the Middle East generally.

I wanted to get familiar with the North-West African dialects and decided to give Marrakech a try. I contacted a language centre, asking about studying the Moroccan Arabic dialect, Darija, intending for some time in October. This was during the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic and I was unsure whether any centre was teaching face-to-face these days.

The director of Study Arabic Marrakech was positive and advised me that he was expecting level one students (more or less) in September, suggesting I consider this option. Determined to end my fear of contagion and be a global citizen again, I made plans to visit Morocco. I informed the director and completed the online enrolment form.

Initially, it was really nice to visit Marrakech. There is a lot to see and experience. There is the old city, which is the main attraction, then there is the new city where there are nice cafes, such as Cappuccino near Avenue Echouhada. Also, there is the countryside and mountains nearby.

However, due to the summer heat, I was unable to sleep. Also, I have never been a fan of air conditioning, but without it, being indoors was unbearable. Anywhere north of Marrakech would of been perfect. During the months of July, August and September, if you are planning to study, then Marrakech is better avoided. Having said that, the city is full of tourists throughout summer and if you are unlike me, then Marrakech will probably work for you – any time of year.

At the language centre, which turned out to be very genuine, all was well except that the other beginner students had not turned up. One was said to have arrived in Marrakech, but still sorting out accommodation. There was a level 2+, but the director’s opinion was correct, it would be counter productive. After losing a couple of days, the directors suggested I could take a one to one class, but pay for group tuition. If the others arrive, then great. If not, then we carry on. Sounded like a good deal and I accepted.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a cheap and comfortable hotel near the centre, which was in the suburbs, but eventually I settled in a hotel nearer to the city centre and found, to my surprise, taking a taxi everyday to be a way easier process (civilised) compared to other locations in the Middle East. Just needed to agree a price before getting in. I must admit, I had some interesting conversations with the drivers and they spoke good modern standard Arabic, or some mixture of the former and Darija. Most importantly, I understood them and they could understand me.

Another activity one can do in Marrakech is a bicycle tour of the city. I booked this with Pikala Bikes and it was certainly the highlight of my trip. Another trip they do is an Eco lodge visit near the Sahara. This might sound more challenging, but I think it is probably safer (than cycling around ther Old City, whereas the New City is a different story). There are often tour groups organising hikes in the Moroccan deserts and the climbing of Mount Toubkal, a popular activity. Marrakech is often the starting point of such trips.

You can also enrol at Study Arabic Marrakech for the long term and they teach Modern Standard Arabic too. Alternatively, you might want to try out other language centres around the country, while exploring the rest of Morocco. By train, you can get to Casablanca in three hours.

Should one learn Arabic in Marrakech? There are a couple of language centres in this city, including one that teaches Berber, and the Study Arabic Marrakech centre is perfect if you want to study for a few days only.

Alexandria Centre for Languages

After visiting Pharos university I came across the Alexandria Centre for Languages (ACL) where finally I found out what happened to the SOAS students (School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London). Apparently, since 2014 or earlier, for their year abroad, they had a choice between ACL, an-Najah university in Palestine and Qasid in Jordan.

The SOAS students appeared to be a lively bunch and on the first day spoke to me in Arabic, which naturally inclined me towards them. I worked out a deal with the director, Magda Abou Youssef, that I could try out the course for one week, which I paid for, and then decide whether to join the SOAS programme or not. I also took the placement test.

Continue reading “Alexandria Centre for Languages”

TAFL Center, Alexandria University

The last time I was here, one of the teachers insulted me in class.

In early January, while searching for a suitable center for teaching Arabic as a foreign language, I ended up returning to the TAFL Center (within the Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University). The last time I was there, one of the teachers had a problem and insulted me in the class. Thought it best to clear the issue before enrolling. Now I felt forced.

Continue reading “TAFL Center, Alexandria University”

Ali Baba

The Ali Baba International Center focuses on learning both German and standard Arabic.

Ali Baabaa is not very well known, which is probably why I was only able to study here for one month. After that there were no more students of intermediate level. Their busy period might of been during the summer and the month of January.

For a private institute, I was quite impressed. There was no bored director greedy for US dollars or playing games with the student’s level.

Perhaps more importantly, the teachers were very polite and clearly skilled professionals (or at least trying to appear as such). In fact, the teaching style was similar to that of the TAFL Center in Alexandria, but without the abuse and discrimination.

Yes, initially, the name made me laugh too, but in the end the joke was on me. This really is a genuine place for the serious student of Arabic.

Although I only studied here for four weeks, I gained a lot more than I expected, much more than from the so-called university opposite.

Qasid

I use to doubt an institute that grew out of a sufi order could teach me Arabic. I was probably wrong!

In fact, it is suppose to be the best centre in Jordan for studying Arabic. However, the way it was described to me by the director it sounded a little too intense. More than any US university and probably more than SOAS, he also claimed. It’s possible that he was not in a position to really know.

I use to fear that enrolling here might include being harassed to participate in extra-curricular activities. In fact, back at the TAFL center in Alexandria, I was pressured by the director to attend a sufi dance event (I think for cultural and entertainment reasons and not religious) yet it was being held on the same day as one of the centre’s weekly trips (how would I find time for all of this and still learn Arabic, especially with my troubles in the apartment full of cat fleas). On another occasion, I felt obliged to attend (by myself) a lecture in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic being held at the French institute. When it came to ECA I was weakest in my class, yet somehow I was the most suitable to attend.

However, having met the director of Qasid I feel it would have been a different story here. He seemed too humble, friendly and content to play that kind of game. So I reckon (and from what I have heard) the only harassment a student would face here is the teachers making him or her do the homework. And that’s almost always a good thing.

From the reception (where I ended up sitting for a long time so went looking for somebody helpful) when I first entered (perhaps it was just a caretaker/janitor) I did not feel very welcomed (as in, we have enough students and we do not care if you join or not). Perhaps that could be a good thing. I was tired of directors desperate after my money and totally uninterested in education.

With hindsight, this is probably all I needed to complete my Modern Standard Arabic studies. Too bad I never enrolled here.

Language Center, Jordan University

Finally, I had my last examination for level 5 at the Language Center, University of Jordan (UJLC). The teachers are okay and the style of teaching is not bad. However, I was really bored. It’s possible that I even loved the students in my class, but they did not speak Arabic. Some of my previous class-mates had been more advanced. Also, most of the grammar was the same as before or was too easy. I started to lose concentration and felt like I was going backwards.

To stop myself from dying of boredom I agreed to take on the language partners of my Chinese colleagues (as they were majoring in Chinese and English) and, in fact, not only did they make my remaining time more interesting, I also benefited from them.

Generally, I had found the language partner scheme a waste of time. It really depended on who you ended up with. Most times I spent chasing my language partners up (the ones allocated to me by UJLC) and agreeing to appointments that they could not honour. They usually lost interest after the first week. One of the better experiences I had also did not turn out very well when his friends did not think I was a real Muslim (since for them, that was the real reason I was learning Arabic) and started to preach to me because they felt sorry for me.

However, the language partners of my Chinese colleagues were more enthusiastic, professional, committed and helpful. On the other hand, there was only so much I could benefit from them and them from me (as they were suppose to be focusing on their own studies and they were already actually quite smart with English and were asking some difficult questions).

What was I doing there? For crying out loud, I paid for an Arabic course!

Therefore, I really wanted to move up to level 6, but it seemed almost impossible, even though I scored 65 in the placement test that made me eligible for level 8.
The new director, Fatima Omari, misled me and her colleague shouted at me when I asked about changing. According to the director, the grammar in level 6 is the same as the grammar in level 5. Either she was lying or this is the most retarded centre I have ever tried to study in. There was also discrimination with regard to choosing a level. Some people were given one day (for example, myself) whilst others were given ten days.

They were simply too lazy or too arrogant to make the change!

And I think my teachers did not want to confront her. Eventually, they had a chat with her, but she became a bit unstable!!

The following morning she was rude to me. She demanded that I write a report about the differences between level 4 and 5. How the hell would I get time to do that and it was not my job anyway. They were suppose to be teaching me Arabic. That’s what I paid for.

Enough was enough!!! I decided to listen to the advice of the Chechen guy and complain to the president of the centre (if there was such a thing, as nothing was very clear or consistent in this place). It’s a long story and there was no positive result. Eventually I did complained to the president of the centre (showing him the list of grammar that I had already learned, actually 90%).

Had I known the president of the centre existed I would have complained to him much sooner. Hopefully, a lot of lessons learned here.

It had been quite a stressful and depressing experience. Thought things had changed here for the better, but clearly for the better and for the worse.

Undoubtedly, some people in the centre hate me, but the main change was that the director was no longer confrontational. She was also asking what she could do to help, but it was actually too late and she already ignored my teacher’s suggestions and was uninterested in what I wanted and what my rights were.

So it was just a month more of boredom, then examinations. Or so I thought…

In the last week of term, the grammar teacher asked me why I had complained about her to the director (saying that she is a bad teacher) and I was so surprised to hear that. And I explained how all I’d said was that I’d already studied most of he grammar and wanted to go one level up, but that the director was indifferent to my request even though it was my right (I had scored more than high enough in the placement test). The teacher said that she believed me and offered me coffee.

There seemed to be no end to this saga. Admittedly, these were not my favourite teachers, but outside of class they were likable (decent perhaps). I did not actually want to leave their classes (and they were really trying to help me), but I needed to (learning was the whole point of being there and paying 1800 USD). I also liked the students in my class, but that not the point. I started to feel as though I was going backwards and losing interest in my studies, was not going to the library and began loitering more. Unfortunately also, as time went by, I felt my relations with my teachers were really straining. Of course, it was just suppose to be professional, but it still did not feel right.

I just could not believe that such a retarded issue could not be fixed. What could possibly be the motivation for this behaviour? Is Jordan really the Hashemite Kingdom of Boredom?

One thing they do right here in Jordan university is a conference known as the Amman Message. They claim that Islam calls for tolerance and unity and that true Muslims are totally against terrorism. They make the challenge that you will not find even one student (of University of Jordan) in the faculty of sharia who, after graduation, joins Al-Qaeda separatists in Iraq and Syria. Their point being that extremist groups recruit from those who are actually ignorant.

I think the Language Centre should also understand that their prophet said: “Allah curses the thief who steals (even) an egg” (Bukhaari).

Unfortunately, this experience has left me with the feeling that Jordan is a waste of time and waste of money for the student of Arabic. However, with not many choices of location, what can you do?

Always thought I’d end up returning to Alexandria, but the character of some of the people who worked at the centre there was in question. With hindsight, getting abused whilst really studying Arabic and then being able to go home on schedule (satisfied with what I had learned) seemed preferable to what had happened in Jordan. Some of the staff here were no better. Perhaps I had mis-judged Alexandria? Perhaps it was just all a mis-understanding!

On the other hand, I also believe that Jordan has potential, but that the corruption is holding the hard-working and talented people back. Sometimes I feel sorry for them. It is all about who you know and not what you know. There is hardly any meritocracy.

Jordanians have also told me that everybody wants to be a general without being a solider first. Consequently, there are too many cow-boys and not enough Indians.

Actually, my biggest regret was that I did not return to Egypt, though it just did not seem like a choice anymore and I knew no other useful centre. Cairo still was unexplored territory for me, but it seemed (perhaps wrongly) too plain scary (at the time). Much later, I heard that the language centres in the capital of Egypt are quite professional and well-known for their high standards, as opposed to those centres existing elsewhere, but perhaps I will never really know.

The only other location I knew at the time was Tunisia, but the security situation there was starting to look worse.

(Image Copyright Andres Rodriguez | Dreamstime).

An-Najah National University

Is situated in Nablus, in the West Bank (Palestine). Apparently, it is an excellent centre to study Arabic, but being surrounded by Israel, thought it might feel like a prison.

With hindsight, I think it would have been worth it. The feedback from students, enrolled at the School of Oriental & African Studies, was positive.

Besides, there are way more riskier places one could be, including Gaza and the TAFL center in Alexandria university.

Damascus

Damascus is the capital of modern day Syria and in a historical context is seen as the centre of “Sha’am”. Here, you could still feel the old world. Local tradition and culture is still alive here even with the abundance of satellite TV and Internet cafes.

Damascus is said to be the world’s longest continually inhabited city (I think there are even biblical references). At one time it was the capital of the Umayyad/Arabian republic.

More importantly, I use to regret not having studied in Damascus (before the problems). I had been put off by the racism in immigration against the Asian diaspora in Europe and America, and the lack of improvement for the most impoverished in Syria. Having said that, more recently the ‘animals’ stationed at the borders had been replaced with more cultured men, who warmly welcomed foreigners learning Arabic and would speak to them in standard Arabic.

Surprisingly, by returning to Jordan, I perhaps still attained some of what I originally wanted. Interestingly, one of my teachers in Jordan was a Syrian, who had been teaching Arabic to foreigners at the Damascus university before the civil war started in his country.

He did not like the Jordan university centre’s style of teaching and apparent lack of grammar in the textbook. He loved grammar and although we found it difficult at first, he eventually drilled it into us. It use to be that the only real benefit from Jordan was the vocabulary, but this Syrian teacher gave us that and much more. It’s even possible that he taught more than what the students in the level above us were learning. He had a unique and effective way of teaching.

A few of the students wanted less grammar in class and complained about him to the director. The teacher felt that we were weak in some of the basics and so he spent some of the first few weeks blitzing through what he thought we should already know. Most of us were content with that, but some were clearly not. I did not mind, since I believed he was really trying to help us, and it worked. The real issue for me was that he gave me that look of ‘why did you not complain to me first’ when actually it was not me who complained to anybody.

He would also go irate when I went in late for class or when I did not do all my homework (even when I was sick). I sometimes felt sorry for him because he was getting paranoid, he believed that there was some conspiracy against Syria. He use to share some of the horror stories regarding the conflict in his country.

I did not always understand his religious and political opinions, but after the lazy summer, this was just what I needed and I felt he gave a very good introduction to Arab culture.

After he left for Turkey, we really missed him. Those of us who remained in Jordan were left to face the UJLC bullshit and we quickly realised that we had not valued our Syrian teacher enough.

Arabi Center

After I finished my contract, I had a month to spare before enrolling at the main centre that I had decided to study in. So I decided to do a few weeks of private one-to-one at the markaz Arabe (or Arabi Center).

The Egyptian Colloquial went well, but the teacher was only half interested and a little boring. Probably not her fault as she was not a trained teacher, but the fault of the centre. I guess the director found her through her social circle.

The focus of this centre was really Modern Standard and Classical Arabic and for this I did notice a difference in teaching quality and enthusiasm.

My biggest issue with this centre was that they made a mistake with the dates on my certificate and when I mentioned it, the administration started to argue with each other and at the end of that they were rude to me and refused to make any changes.

Ibn Jabal Institute – Arabic Language Courses in the UK and abroad

It had been some years since I first heard about some entity by the name of Ibn Jabal Institute. As I did not actually sign-up for their mailing list, I originally thought it was some kind of scam.

However, over the years I heard some recommendations, including from volunteers of the Utrujj foundation and two students of the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), one who seemed to eternally fail his first year of a degree including the Arabic 1 module and the other who already knew Arabic and was just looking for an easy first.

I was already put off by the SOAS (quasi) Language Centre. I also did not want to return to full-time education, which is what a BA programme at SOAS (proper) would require. Nor did I want to go abroad again.

So I decided to give Ibn Jabal a go.

Despite the positives I had heard, I was not convinced by their strange claims of being able to deliver the SOAS (proper) programme in even less time. However, going against my better judgement, I went ahead anyway with the new plan for Arabic studies in the UK.

As the below letter of complaint illustrates (for which I never received a reply), it is an understatement to say that Ibn Jabal fell well below my expectations.

Ibn Jabal had been around for a long time, but it seemed that all of the teachers had either studied elsewhere or failed in their Arabic studies at SOAS. Either way, they were the ones that seemed to benefit the most (in terms of learning) from the Ibn Jabal programme.

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is a letter of complaint regarding a Level 1 course I attended. The name of the teacher was *****-***** *******.

Admittedly I learnt something from the course (mostly relying on the course notes), but was shocked to find that the course was continually interrupted by the teacher preaching spirituality and his own understanding of Islam, sometimes randomly quoting passages from scripture but not being able to relate them to the course content.

Furthermore, I noticed the teacher did not understand all of what he was suppose to teach us and relied heavily on the course notes.

Before enrolling I heard positives about ibn Jabal from a few people and for approximately £500 I expected a reasonable standard of teaching and professionalism. Instead I’ve been put off from enrolling on Level 2.

I hope you will take this matter seriously and make amends immediately.

Faithfully.