General information about ALIF

General information
Course descriptions
Current schedule
Housing
Fees
Applications
Other ALIF programs

ALIF boasts a specialized library focusing on Arab, North African and Islamic studies, as well as a modest yet growing collection of Arabic language videos and cassettes. The ALIF snack bar offers various refreshments, such as traditional Moroccan mint tea, and lunch service.

ALIF also shares its classrooms and grounds with a large, well-established English language school (ALC- Fez), thereby providing an ideal environment for interacting with young Moroccans. Recent additions to ALIF's facilities include a video-viewing area for students who wish to enjoy ALIF's collection of Arabic films, a modest computer center equipped with Arabic wordprocessing software, and a satellite television that receives over fifteen Arabic stations from across the Arab World.

Instructors
The Moroccan faculty at ALIF teaches both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Colloquial Moroccan Arabic (CMA). ALIF's MSA instructors hail from prestigious modern state universities in Morocco, like Mohammed V in Rabat, and traditional institutions such as the Qarawiyyin University, an Islamic institution of higher learning in Fez which ranks with Al-Azhar in Cairo as one of the oldest universities in the world. The rigorous grammatical training imparted at the Qarawiyyin University produces MSA instructors of exceptional caliber whose grasp of the structure and vocabulary of the Arabic language would be hard to duplicate even in the foremost western universities.

In teaching CMA, ALIF's instructors have developed a highly interactive teaching approach designed to get students conversing almost immediately with native speakers in a variety of increasingly challenging topics of discussion. ALIF's language coordinator is also one of the few CMA experts worldwide certified by the Educational Testing Service of Princeton to administer oral examinations in Moroccan Arabic.

Cultural activities
In addition to our courses, ALIF offers a range of optional outside activities to enhance the experience of learning Arabic in Morocco. Throughout the year, students may attend bi-weekly video showings of films in both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Colloquial Moroccan Arabic (CMA). Once or twice a month, students are also invited to attend presentations by Moroccan teachers in English, MSA or CMA on various aspects of Moroccan or Arab culture. Students of all levels are encouraged to attend these talks, as an opportunity to have discussions in Arabic - or merely to listen to spoken Arabic.

Students undertaking specific research projects in Morocco are also welcome to give presentations on their own work to other ALIF students and their Moroccan peers as a means of gaining response and input from others who may have similar interests. Also, throughout the year, ALIF offers a series of tours and cultural excursions (in the past these have included tours of Fez and nearby sites such as the Taza caves and the carpet souks of Khenifra). The cultural activities calendar regularly includes extracurricular courses in Oriental Dancing, Arabic calligraphy, Moroccan cooking and traditional music.

Transfer credits
For transfer purposes, ALIF can provide credit recommendations and any other relevant information needed by the student's home institution; however, that institution determines the final allocation of credits for ALIF course-work. Whether a student applies directly to ALIF or indirectly through a university with which ALIF maintains an overseas study partnership (see Jointly-Sponsored Programs), it is the student's responsibility to negotiate with his/her home institution the appropriate number of credits to be awarded.

Students wishing to obtain university credit may be required to take a proficiency examination at the end of their studies at ALIF. ALIF provides ACTFL proficiency examinations for a fee of 300 dhs; and on request can calculate a grade-point average.

Visas
Residency procedures vary depending on nationality. Most students automatically obtain a three-month tourist visa upon entering Morocco. Students who plan to enroll full-time can obtain a one-year residency visa. Students wishing to apply for residency should inform the administration as soon as possible after their arrival.

One residency condition is a bank statement from a local account showing that the applicant has adequate resources; therefore, be sure you are in a position to open a "convertible dirham" account with the equivalency of at least 20,000 Dh ($1 = 10-11 Dh) in foreign currency ( in cash or travelers checks), or are able to have this amount wired to you after your arrival. (This amount is in addition to funds required for tuition, immediate living expenses, and two to three months advance housing costs, as it should remain untouched in the bank for at least the first month.)

The Arabic Language Institute in Fez, B.P. 2136, Fez 30000, Morocco
Tel: (212/35) 62 48 50      Fax: (212/35) 93 16 08
Email:  info @alif-fes.com (to prevent spam, please copy and delete space after "info")

Last updated 04/13/06