I am in desperate need of advice in regards to what country to study Arabic in. I will be taking a short 1 month trip on September of this year and would like to take advantage of this opportunity by immersing myself with the locals. I understand that 1 month may not be enough but due to work I wont be able to get any additional permission. I have been debating between Egypt and Jordan but other choices would be great. Morocco and Lebanon are out of the question because of the mixture with French. I would prefer a country where the crowd isn`t as westernized.
There's no French in Lebanese dialect. And you should know that Cairo is crowded. I don't know about Jordan, but maybe Lebanon or Egypt is a good choice.
@xarmanla: no matter which country you go to, no one speaks فصحى in their daily life. When you ask which one is better to learn MSA or dialect, some people would say MSA because everyone can understand you when you speak in MSA. That's right, we'll understand you, but you won't understand us!
I loved my trip to Jordan. The language of Amman is great, but it is not فصحى
Thanks guys any particular institution that you guys recommend? I am right now down to
Fajr Institute (Cairo Egypt)
Drayah School (Cairo Egypt)
Arabeya Institute (Cairo Egypt)
Ahlan Jordan (Ammam)
I am open to others with good reputation.
Hi,
that depends on where your learning focus is...I've only been to Egypt and Morocco, so I can just tell you about my experience there...
If you're also learning a dialect (especially Egyptian, of course) Egypt would be a great place. There are many language schools and the Egyptians are generally wonderful people willing to help you...if you speak Egyptian, that ist :) It is abolutely impossible to have a conversation in Fusha with "normal" people on the street (don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise :)) - except if they happen to be Arabic teachers. An advantage would be that there really are many Egyptians who don't speek any English, so you will be forced to talk Arabic to them.
I was very surprised by how much I could use my Arabic in Morocco. If I consequently spoke Arabic to people they very rarely changed to French. They would also speak something like MSA to foreigners since they usually won't expect you to know the Moroccan dialect, something that won't happen in Egypt.
And consider the general athmosphere of the place you'll be staying at - Cairo really is very loud and stressing, some people find it hard to concentrate there. But it's a great experience! (Should your girlfriend visit you, I sadly would currently advise against Egypt...being constantly sexually harassed is no fun)
Bottom line: Egypt is great if you learn Egyptian, if you're concentrating on MSA, maybe choose another country.
Have fun wherever you'll go!
you should try lebanon because they're arabic doesn't have any french in it (unlike morocco) but most people do speak french and english which might help you in some cases. the second best choice is definitely egypt
