Program Structure
Alexandria University’s Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) Center aims to create a linguistic environment similar to that of the native Arabic speakers outside it. Students will be able to carry what they learn in the classroom into the environment outside the center as they learn to interact effectively, both linguistically and culturally.
At the TAFL Center students will receive 20 hours a week of classroom instruction in both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA). The aim of MSA courses will be to improve students’ proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing through authentic materials reinforced through classical and modern literature, Arabic media language, and translation. Students will also enhance their ECA skills in the classroom through enhanced interactions with professors, learning how to manage everyday situations such as shopping, transportation, listening to music and watching movies.
Students also participate in a variety of cultural enrichment lectures and activities. These activities cover a broad spectrum of experiences, from lectures about the history of Alexandria, to calligraphy workshops, music performances, cooking lessons and others. Excursions and extracurricular activities provide valuable insights into daily life in Egypt as well as rich opportunities for language practice.
The TAFL Center was established in 1985 by Alexandria University under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts, to meet the demand of Arabic Departments at European and other international universities. The TAFL Center offers a unique experience for students to study the Arabic language first hand, alongside native speakers. To date, hundreds of students have graduated from the TAFL Center and are now dispersed around the world with high ranking positions in their respective fields.
Outcomes
In 2010, the CLS Program adopted the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as an additional measure of the effectiveness and quality of the institutes overseas. Before the program, students take a diagnostic OPI test; at the end of their 8-week course of study, they take an ACTFL-certified post-program OPI assessment. The scores on these tests give students a concrete, widely-recognized measure of their speaking skills in MSA. In addition, students’ writing and reading abilities are assessed throughout the program in a variety of ways.
See the 2011 CLS Program Speaking Proficiency Results.