ALIF Course Descriptions
ALIF offers intensive Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Colloquial Moroccan Arabic (CMA) courses throughout the year. To ensure that every student gets individual attention, all ALIF courses are kept small, generally no more than ten students per class. In the summer there may be up to twelve students per class. Most courses consist of six-week sessions (120 hours of classroom instruction given four hours per day, as long as there are 3 or more students. If there are 2 students, there will be 90 hours of instruction. If only one student, the course will be considered a private class. For online classes the hours are the same, with a maximum of 3 hours per day of group classes, plus extra hours (individual or small group) as needed. Special content-based courses are six weeks in length (four hours of instruction per day, with reduced hours if there are fewer than 3 students. Please note that if there's only one student for a content course it's usually cancelled, or is offered as private instruction). Private or specialized lessons can also be arranged. Students may enroll for the first three weeks of any six-week course, but must indicate this clearly on their application forms. The language of instruction is Arabic in all but the most elementary courses, where the use of English is kept to a minimum.
The core textbooks for regular six-week MSA courses are Alif Baa (3rd edition) & Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya, Volumes I (3rd edition), II and III (2nd edition, Georgetown University Press). All course materials for CMA are ALIF publications.
Enrollment & Placement
Students are requested to indicate their preferred course and level on their application, but are required to complete the ALIF Placement Test before arrival. The Arabic language coordinator may adjust placement according to the student's Arabic ability. The language coordinator may also conduct an oral interview for placement purposes upon arrival.
The core textbooks for regular six-week MSA courses are Alif Baa (3rd edition) & Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya, Volumes I (3rd edition), II and III (2nd edition, Georgetown University Press). All course materials for CMA are ALIF publications.
Enrollment & Placement
Students are requested to indicate their preferred course and level on their application, but are required to complete the ALIF Placement Test before arrival. The Arabic language coordinator may adjust placement according to the student's Arabic ability. The language coordinator may also conduct an oral interview for placement purposes upon arrival.
U Minnesota students at ALIF
Click here to see course descriptions for Modern Standard Arabic or Colloquial Moroccan Arabic.
Private/specialized lessons
Any student studying either CMA or MSA outside the framework of the scheduled ALIF courses is considered a private student and may study between two and twenty hours/week. Private students may select from regular ALIF course offerings or request a tailor-made tutorial in a specialized field, such as Arabic Poetry, Advanced Grammar, Islamic Law, Commerce, etc. Advanced students or researchers may request to read specific texts with a private teacher. Private courses are available throughout the year but depend on teacher availability, so it is important for students to submit requests for private study as early as possible.
Private/specialized lessons
Any student studying either CMA or MSA outside the framework of the scheduled ALIF courses is considered a private student and may study between two and twenty hours/week. Private students may select from regular ALIF course offerings or request a tailor-made tutorial in a specialized field, such as Arabic Poetry, Advanced Grammar, Islamic Law, Commerce, etc. Advanced students or researchers may request to read specific texts with a private teacher. Private courses are available throughout the year but depend on teacher availability, so it is important for students to submit requests for private study as early as possible.
