Learn Palestinian and Levantine Arabic Online

I am an autistic adult from the U.S. In order to prepare for an upcoming trip to Palestine, I decided to start studying Palestinian/Levantine Arabic. Since I'll be volunteering through the Excellence Center, I wanted to start my lessons through them. The application process was easy and fast, and I was connected with my wonderful teacher, Duha. I was anxious to try learning a new language as an adult, especially being autistic and having difficulties with processing and communication, but Duha immediately made me feel welcome and comfortable and confident. She's kind, patient, and encouraging. I wasn't sure how learning via video call would work, but it's been easy and Duha also sends along extra materials for studying in between lessons. I can't wait to continue my lessons before, during, and after my trip to Palestine.

The Arabic online program is fantastic for distance learners. I have been working with Lana for several months and have learned so much. People at the excellence center are true professionals and are dedicated to teaching the language. I am grateful for having started this program. It took my Arabic speaking and comprehension to another level!

I have been taking online Palestinian Arabic classes for almost a year. After trying different venues, I have to say that my classes with Saja via the Excellence Center have been the best fit. She is a warm encouraging teacher who is patient and helpful. I have learned a lot and am planning to travel to Hebron this year to continue my studies at the Center. I highly recommend Arabic lessons with the Excellence Center!

I cannot recommend the Excellence Centre enough for learning Arabic. I have been taking classes with Saja for a year and it has been an amazing experience. The classes are interactive, informal and great fun. It's been a great learning experience and I feel I have made great progress over the past year!

I highly recommend The Excellent Centre for learning Arabic. I have been studying with Ibrahim for half a year, and I am really enjoying the lessons. Every lesson is carefully planned based on my level and learning goals. I feel that I am seeing a lot of improvement and am grateful for Ibrahim’s strong and supportive instruction. He is a great teacher.

Lana is an amazing teacher. She is knowledgable in all the grammatical nuances and structures of the language, as well as the everyday language of locals in Palestine. As a Palestinian who grew up in North America without learning Arabic, I had a lot of fear and guilt about not being fluent in my mother tongue, and Lana has made me feel so comfortable and confident in learning. She insists that I speak up and ask questions about what's not clear so that I can really learn and correct my mistakes. A great experience that I'd recommend to anyone wanting to learn how to communicate with Palestinians in our native language.

The program so far has been fantastic. I have started as a complete beginner and i have been very lucky to also have a wonderful professor both as a person and as a teacher. I would recommend this program anytime all the time!

I have been taking on-line classes in Colloquial Arabic for about a year and a half now. My teacher is Haya Maswadi and she is really the best possible tutor. Starting as an absolute beginner, I have now learned the alphabet so that I can read and write simple sentences and messages. Learning Arabic this way has been an amazing adventure, and with the help and support of Haya I have made progress far beyond my expectations! My most heartfelt thanks to Haya and the Center!

I cannot reccommend Haya’s teaching highly enough. She is an amazing teacher, very patient and knowledgeable, and each class she delivered was effective and relevant to my learning goals. She is very supportive and her teaching style genuinely motivates you to study. I learned so much more than I ever expected to be capable of. I can’t wait to return to her classes in the future.

I enrolled in the Palestinian Arabic class and it was the best decision I made during my Arabic learning journey so far! My teacher Doha is very experienced and professional, she creates a challenging and engaging learning atmosphere. The price is more than fair for the quality of teaching received - including all the materials. The administrative staff was also very supported and took time to answer all my questions. All in all, I can only recommend this course to anyone interested in starting to learn or wanting to improve their Arabic skills!

The excellence center has incredible teachers and courses that teach a wide variety of topics. I highly recommend in person volunteering/interning they provide invaluable educational experiences. They assist in everything from questions about travel and accommodations, to daily trips and cultural experiences.

Over the past three years I have been trying and switching learning methods regularly. It gave me a basic vocabulary, but when I tried to speak my mind freezed. My teacher Duha helped me to overcome that obstacle. I noticed that she really made an effort to 'read' me. To try and find out which pace, variation and challenges work for me. The frustration I often felt when learning Arabic disappeared because I became confident I was making progress. I hope to continue soon, this time in Hebron.

I’ve taken standard Arabic classes before but wanted to focus on being able to speak better and specifically in the Palestinian dialect to understand the older generation of my family. Saja was my teacher and she helped me feel more confident in speaking even if I made mistakes. She helped me with grammar and vocabulary and using dialect instead of the standard which is more helpful to communicate with others. I’ve noticed I can understand more when people talk to me and I can form sentences better. I took the basic 10 class course and I really enjoyed it and looked forward to my classes if anything I wish I had taken more classes and that they were a little longer. Saja was always helpful, kind, and supportive of my journey and always made sure to ask if I understood or needed anything to help me succeed.

I have been reading at an intermediate level in Arabic for many years. It was mostly an internal process, my lips moving but making no sounds. If you are familiar with the stories of Juha, I often felt Juha-like; mumbling and rambling through the printed word expecting some comprehensible sounds to come out. Most of the times none ever did. Then, one time glancing through the internet reading Juha-like, I came across these courses at GoAbroad. Deciding I could do no worse than I have been doing for up-tine years, I took the Palestinian dialect course. From the first session presented by the outstanding teacher, Duha Amro, my crippled lips began to emit actual words under her supervision. Each subsequent lesson the tension lessened and I was able to fumble along more gracefully. Teach Duha was and still is compassionate and understanding. She never winched or quivered as I butchers the sweetest sounding words in Arabic; rather she prompt me to try again and again. Through her continual positive re-enforcement, I have shed the Juha feeling. In the years to come through her guidance I hope to acquire the passion of Nizar Qabbani and the eloquence of Sahar Khalifeh. I strongly recommend these course to anyone wishing to immerse themselves and arise changed and newly vocal.

I had online lessons with Saja. We initially discussed all my requirements and she fully understood what I was trying to achieve.I was looking for basic day to day conversation Saja subsequently implemented what we had discussed and put in place a well structured series of lessons tailored to my needs and objectives and I was able to achieve my objectives fairly quickly Saja was fun to work with and made learning enjoyable.Highly recommended. Am looking forward to my visit in person next year,

I started my Arabic lessons as a complete beginner but after 10 hours with Saja I can read and write in Arabic and hold basic conversations. She is very helpful and knows how to encourage her students to keep going and not give up. 10/10 experience for me.

I have been taking on-line lessons with Doha Amro for a couple of months. Since I was an absolute beginner, we started with the alphabet. Doha did a great job of introducing and drilling the forms of the letters. She also has presented basic Levantine vocabulary and grammar. And I had the chance to practice what I learned not only with Doha, but also with several of her relatives who made guest appearances during our lessons. I have enjoyed my classes, and I look forward to continuing the study of Arabic.

I have been taking online (Levantine) Arabic classes for the past few months, and it has been amazing! I was concerned at first about how well I would learn a new language in a virtual environment, but it's been great so far. The best part of the online classes is my teacher, she is kind, patient, and her style of teaching makes the lessons easy to understand for a native English speaker with zero prior Arabic language experience. Also, I am based in the US and most language classes here cost at least three times as much as the classes at the Excellence Center and don't offer 1-on-1 instruction. I plan to continue taking online classes with the Excellence Center for the foreseeable future and hope to visit the Center in Palestine!

I recently completed the 10 online Arabic classes focusing on the Shami dialect at the Excellence Center, and my experience has been nothing short of extraordinary. As a remote student, I was initially hesitant about the effectiveness of virtual learning, but Saja, my brilliant instructor, completely changed my perspective. Saja's teaching style is a perfect blend of brilliance and patience. She not only provided thorough explanations of the deeper meanings behind phrases but also delved into the cultural context, enriching my understanding of words. Despite the virtual setting, Saja went above and beyond, repeating sentences and offering invaluable guidance on pronunciation during our Zoom calls. She has an intuitive understanding of how much information is enough to push students just a little bit further each class. This personalized approach made every session engaging and productive, leaving me eager to explore more on my own and to practice before the next session. In conclusion, my time with Saja in the virtual space at the Excellence Center has not only enhanced my Arabic language skills but has also sparked a genuine eagerness to visit the center in person. I highly recommend the Excellence Center in Palestine to anyone seeking a transformative and culturally enriching language learning journey.

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I wanted to take a moment and thank you and the Excellence Center for a wonderful experience here in Hebron. 11 months ago, my friend and I decided to take Arabic together at our local community college. We enjoyed it so much we decided to look for a study abroad program. After looking at a few programs recommended by the college, my friend found your program and I’m glad he did. We compared it to the others that were available and reached out to get more information. We were kindly greeted; all our questions were answered, and we decided the Excellence Center was where we wanted to do our study abroad. When many people found out I was coming for a study abroad program in Palestine, they expressed concern and warned me about how they thought things were here in Palestine, but I quickly told them I would be fine and not to worry about me. After arriving here, I found I was completely right! The Palestinian people are some of the most friendly people I have ever met. Total strangers will see you looking for something and they will stop and ask you if you need help; everyone you talk to is your friend. I have never felt worried for my safety in Palestine. My first day I took an assessment of my language skills and was placed in a class with a wonderful teacher. She really helped me increase my reading, writing, and speaking skills. Other teachers were really friendly as well and were always willing to help students learn, and answer any questions we had. Not only was the language training excellent, but the cultural visits organized by the center were great as well. My first visit was meeting with an Israeli ex-soldier from an organization called Breaking the Silence. The organization is mainly comprised of former soldiers who saw the mistreatment of the Palestinian people and are educating others on what is really going on. He took us to the Israeli side of Hebron near the Ibrahimi Mosque. He explained about the Israeli settlements and how they are slowly encroaching on Palestinian lands, forcing the people out of their homes and businesses. My second trip was to a Palestinian refugee camp where we met with some of the refugees and they told us their stories of being forced off their land and about the restrictions put in place on them. We were given a tour of the camp, and it was sad to see the conditions there. It really opened my eyes to things I did not know were occurring. My third trip was a beautiful hike through a small valley just north of the city. We saw historical sites there and enjoyed the scenery. We even went in a cave! Afterwards we drove up a mountain and had dinner overlooking the beautiful city of Bayt Ula. It was a very nice experience. I do not regret doing my study abroad here and have grown to love the city and the people. My one regret is that I was unable to stay longer. It saddens me that it is time to return home already.

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