Location
  • Egypt
    • Cairo
Language
Arabic

Program Details

Immersion Level
Intensive Standard
Specialized Courses
Specific Purposes

Pricing

What's Included
Some Activities Classes
Aug 16, 2021
Dec 15, 2022
13 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

AUC’s Arabic Language Intensive Program (ALIN) offers intensive Arabic-language courses for students who need to gain a good command of contemporary Arabic language and culture as quickly and effectively as possible.
Established in 1921, the Department of Arabic Language Instruction (ALI) at AUC is the world’s leading academic center for the study of Arabic, providing both students and faculty with the most comprehensive and diversified Arabic-language instruction and training worldwide. It is fully accredited in Egypt and the United States, with an 80-year history of excellence.

Notable Alumni
Yuriko Koike (ALU ’71)
First Female Governor of Tokyo

Thomas L. Friedman (ALU ’74)
Three-Time Pulitzer Prize Winner, Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times; Best-Selling Author

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Survival Arabic - The Survival Arabic course at AUC is designed to help incoming international students with limited or no knowledge of the Arabic language get by during their stay in Cairo.
  • Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) - For half a century CASA has been helping U.S. students take their Arabic-language skills to native fluency.
  • Arabic Language Intensive Program (ALIN) - Courses are skill-based focusing on reading, writing and listening, as well as content-based using media, political texts, literature as well as other tools.
  • Arabic Language Classes (ALNG) - Students who wish to study Arabic for one or two semesters, as part of a study-abroad program, are enrolled as non-degree students.
  • Center for Advanced Arabic Study in Cairo (CAASIC) - Language classes use a theme-based, content-based instruction curriculum that makes use of authentic materials and integrated skills activities.

Program Reviews

4.91 Rating
based on 11 reviews
  • 5 rating 90.91%
  • 4 rating 9.09%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Instruction 4.65
  • Support 4.65
  • Fun 4.65
  • Housing 4.3
  • Value 4.4
Showing 1 - 8 of 11 reviews
Default avatar
Ismaeel
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

AUC experience

Amazing amazing faculty and a great opportunity if you want to learn Arabic but you have to make it happen for yourself as it is a bubble that it is easy to fall into especially given location of campus very far from the city centre. I lived in downtown which I liked a lot although do note that travelling in everyday can be very tiring because distances and traffic can be very long in Cairo! The campus is beautiful and has excellent facilities that rivalled most of what I’ve seen on any European campus

10 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Nevin
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Studying Arabic at AUC

Studying Arabic at AUC has been a worthwhile experience. My level of Arabic is very high. Therefore, I was quite worried that I would not find a class level that would suit me. Luckily I was allocated to a course that fits my level perfectly. My professor has been very supportive and helpful. Arabic professors at AUC are in general highly approachable, even on weekends and at late hours in the evenings! My Arabic class was merely constituted of four students including me. Therefore, the working atmosphere was highly comfortable.
All in all, I managed to further improve my Arabic language skills.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Try not to stay on campus. Cairo has other much more beautiful areas!
42 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Alejandra
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great experience, I have been learning a lot

I am absolutely thrilled to be in Egypt. It has been an amazing experience and I got to meet people from different cultures. I am very happy I chose this place as my number one destination. The landscape is beautiful and the people are wonderful, very friendly and always willing to help you in any way. I have felt wholesome overall. I would definitely recommend it for someone who seeks for adventure and wants to try new things and discover different places and people. Although is a very chaotic place, it has some magic in it.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
Crossing the street was definitely an interesting experience. At first it can be very scary
41 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Loeffler
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Cats, Koshary, and Sand

If you like Cats, Koshary (traditional Egyptian food), and Sand - this is you place to go! Except the Sand AUC offers all of this and so much more! It is a beautiful campus, has a lot of student facilities and is just a relaxing space to hang out. The cats are being the perfect addition to make the place feel like a very familiar space that will make studying an even better experience. The gardens, butterflies, and fountains are the place to hang out after classes and the many food and coffee places will make sure you’ll never crave anything. Egypt is an exciting and distinctive place, just come and experience it for yourself!

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
Walking through South Sinai Dessert at night with no proper navigation.
44 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Philip
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Study Arabic at AUC

Studying Arabic at AUC has been one of the best experiences of my academic life. Studying both MSA and Egyptian colloquial Arabic at AUC provided me with language tools for exploring Egypt itself and the language instruction is very good. Learning a language is an exercise in living, so you really get the chance to challenge yourself and live the language in the city. The academic environment is supportive and even though there is lots of work, the feedback is always helpful. It is easy to reach out to academic staff in order to get support.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Just lean into it. When you get here, you’ll get what I mean. Say yes, go with new people you meet, have a conversation with someone on the street - and grab chances you get to experience new things.
42 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Paige
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Incredible Experience

Ever since I was young, I wanted to live abroad long enough to say I really "lived" in that country. I'm so happy I chose AUC and Cairo. I'm doing my entire master's in Arabic literature while (trying) to learn Egyptian Arabic at the same time!
What you learn here depends on how much effort you put in. In the classroom, you can easily get by with only doing the bare minimum of readings, or you can participate more in discussions, ask professors about their research and tell them about your own, etc. Plus, the ARIC department always has interesting lectures and events about Arabic and Islamic studies.
Outside the classroom, if you choose to live farther away from campus, you will be sure to use Egyptian Arabic every day at the produce markets, in the cafes, etc.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Come with an open mind and a lot of patience, since at first there is so much going on in busy downtown that it can seem overwhelming. You will see how first hand, MSA/fusHa, the Arabic you probably learned in school unless you were lucky enough to have an Egyptian Arabic course, is not spoken in real life. This is challenging, but a lot of fun if you enjoy languages.
44 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Maé
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

AMAZING TRIP !

This semester at AUC was an opportunity to meet a great community, experience a dynamic American education with a tailored curriculum! I recommend this program with my eyes closed! The pedagogical support was present with a particular focus on mental health, necessary in these uncertain times. In addition, our safety was more than assured.

I didn't expect to have so many different teachers in their way of thinking and teaching, a real bonus for me coming from Europe! an enriching program that I recommend for its cultural dimension.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
I didn't expect to have so many different teachers in their way of thinking and teaching, a real bonus for me coming from Europe!
47 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ingrid
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Arabic classes at AUC

Learning Arabic at AUC was a wonderful experience! I chose to take both Modern Standard Arabic (formal) and the Egyptian dialect. If you want to be able to understand written Arabic, the formal Arabic is inevitable. If you want to learn the spoken dialect, I would choose Egyptian!

What I want to highlight the most, was how our teacher made us feel comfortable and at ease from the first day of class! We explored the language together as a group, and she created the best learning environment.

I highly want to recommend this course! You will get plenty of guidance and the chance to ask any questions you want, hear interesting and fun facts about the Egyptian culture and the possibility to learn the most beautiful language!

58 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers