Sidi Bou Said Center for the Arab Language and Humanities

  Tunisia

Tunis

Description: To date, students from outside the Arab world have little or no opportunities for intensive language and cultural study in a non-theological, academic setting that promotes understanding of a region, history, civilization, language and culture.

We believe that Tunis, Tunisia, historically for centuries a geographic and cultural crossroads between East and West, provides the ideal setting for language and cultural studies where students can learn the positive aspects of Arabic language, society and culture. Both students and researchers could pursue academic activities in an environment conducive to tolerance and academic freedom.

Purpose: To create a Center for Arab language and cultural studies located in Tunis, Tunisia, that would offer a comprehensive program allowing individuals or groups of students to focus on linguistic, cultural, historic and other humanities studies. The Center would provide an academic setting unlike any other in the Arab world and would have as its goal the promotion in students from Europe, the United States and Asia of a deeper understanding of the language and history of the region.

Audience: The Center envisages bringing students at the undergrad and graduate university levels to Tunis, where programs of studying of varying length will be offered. The Center will be housed in a large, converted traditional home located in a quarter of Tunis inhabited by Tunisians of a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds. Students are to have the option of undertaking a program of study during their regular summer breaks, or for specified periods during the regular academic year, and will be housed on the grounds of the Center itself. The Arabic language courses offered by the Center are:

* Advanced: For students and researchers in a variety of fields, including social sciences, literature, history and theology.
* Intermediate: For university students
* Beginning: Including an Introduction to the Arabic language and society, with courses intended to serve as a basis for subsequent, more advanced studies.

Highlights: Description of the Arabic Language Curriculum: Contents and Methodology

1. The curriculum

Teaching curriculum is considered the third support pole of any teaching institution, where it comes after providing the suitable place for delivering the class and having the experienced teaching staff. The curriculum is divided into two main parts: the contents and the pedagogical method on which the contents is given.

2. The contents

The center is based on many several topics that serve the needs of all students based on their backgrounds. For example:
- Original classes planned and produced by professional Arabic language teachers.
- Original classes related to the center goal and based on "Al Kettab" for teaching Arabic language that support both writing and oral communication skills for students.
- Religious and cultural classes related to the center goal and based on programs of Islamic Universities for Arabic teaching as a second language. This will enhance both cultural and social information.

3. Teaching philosophy

Teaching Arabic as a second language in the center is based on a method that combines between all skills using an easy and progressive approach that have the following foundations:
- Inclusiveness: the students are trained for all basic skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening in addition to the key skill of "Thinking Skill"
- Connectivity: all basic skills are taught based on actual and real examples of the Arabic life. These examples reflect all political, economical, social, cultural, and religious aspects. This will help the student mastering the foundations of daily political, economical, cultural, and religious activities.
- Interaction: the student will be included in the teaching process as an important element so that a student will be both a teacher and a learner at the same time. This will boost the student's communication skills specially the oral communication.
- Step-by-step teaching: this method will take the student from a lower level to a higher one based on pedagogical and scientific methodology. This approach starts from the simple and easy concepts and ends by more complicated and intricate concepts throughout daily training on vocabularies and sentences in all basic skills.
- Continual evaluation: the student is evaluated regularly in all skills in order to measure the progress and to predict the student's comprehension of the basic grammar and sought skills. There are two kinds of evaluation: 1) indirect weekly evaluation done by reviewing and training, and 2) periodical evaluation done at the end of each exam period to test the ability of the student of moving to a higher level.

4. Supporting activities
In addition to the focused and various classes during which the students enjoy the center administrative staff established several assisting cultural activities that include:
- Cooking: Cooking club provides the students with a weekly chance to introduce them the most famous and delicious dishes especially the Tunisian, Egyptian, Syrian, and Lebanese dishes. The objective of this club is to:
i. Giving the student the chance to know how to prepare some of the Arabic dishes
ii. Supporting some of the taught vocabularies and introducing the Cook Book and training the student on useful sentences which enable him/her to communicate with others without external help
iii. Introducing the student to the special characteristics of the Arabic food

- Music: the Music club offers the students a weekly chance to listen to a wide range of old Arabic songs which became part of old memories in the Arabic culture. The goal of this club is to:
i. Giving a general idea about the characteristics of the Arabic music and its roots and development
ii. Train the student the basics of playing some Arabic music instruments
iii. Explaining the relationship between the Arabic musical tunes and the Arabic poem

- Arabic writing: this club gives the students a weekly chance to know and get familiar with the Arabic writing characteristics and how this evolved during the history. The aim of this club to:
i. Train the students on the art of the Arabic writing
ii. Introducing the students to the characteristics of the Arabic writing and how it developed during history
iii. Explaining the relationship between registering the Holy Quran with the development of the Arabic writing

- Drawing and Ceramic processing: this club gives the students a weekly chance to get familiar with the main features of the Arabic Art and the processes of Ceramic drawing. It also enhances the students' vocabularies related to the handcrafting field.

- Cinema and Theater: this club gives the students a weekly chance to know the main elements and features of the Arabic Cinema and Theater by watching some movies and plays which reflect the political, economical, social, and cultural realities.

- Social activities: these activities offer the students with a true chance to interact with different groups of Tunisian society. The students are grouped into small research groups where they asked to prepare reports of certain activities that cover the real life of the Tunisian people like:
i. Markets
ii. Coffee shops
iii. Used stuff market
iv. Cinema and theaters

- Trips: The center offers many trips to some of the cities and villages that have historic and cultural value such as:
i. Doukah City
ii. Gandoubah City and Tabraqah
iii. Nabel City
iv. Mansteer City
v. Qayrawan City
vi. El-Mahdeiah City
vii. Tunis City

Cost in US$: Please inquire for more information.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Tunisia Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of 3-5

Application Process Involves:

• Other

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Sidi Bou Said Languages Center. 's Mission Statement: Our institute is located in a very good area in Tunisia. As for learning Arabic, the subject of our letter, there is a group of teachers from Tunisia, Syria, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia teaching in the institute. They are expert teachers of Arabic, with special skills in teaching Arabic to Americans, and with long experience in the best institutes of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers. The academic season runs throughout the school year, and we address the special needs of students wishing to take short courses for a month or two weeks, in addition to the flexibility in choosing the lesson times whether in the morning, afternoon or in the evening.

Year Founded: 2008