Arabic Language Study

Thanks to a generous grant from the Abbasi Center, last summer I had the opportunity to study Arabic through the Sijal Institute, a language school based in Amman, Jordan. Although all instruction and activities were conducted remotely due to the pandemic, my intensive five-week session at Sijal was still an unforgettable experience that facilitated vast improvements in my Arabic skills and cultural knowledge.

The rigorous program included 18 hours of weekly instruction split between a core class that integrated MSA and colloquial Arabic, and a cultural content class. Roughly 3 hours of homework were assigned daily for extra practice. Classes moved rapidly and it was often a challenge to memorize large amounts of vocabulary under limited time, but it was equally rewarding to see the results of my efforts in real-time. I had studied Arabic for one year at Stanford prior to attending Sijal, but the summer program offered me a valuable glimpse at how quickly meaningful progression can be achieved through full-time language study. Although my Arabic journey is just beginning, thanks to Sijal I am now more motivated than ever to seek out future opportunities for Arabic immersion and study-abroad.

My cultural content class covered the history of Arabic music, and I had the great pleasure of working with Dr. Ramzi Salti, who had coincidentally also been my instructor for First-Year Arabic at Stanford. The class was taught almost entirely in Arabic, and its small size encouraged frequent discussion that pushed me out of my comfort zone — exposing me to new vocabulary and expressions that were not covered in my formal core classes. The course emphasized music’s power as a facet of social protest, and it was eye-opening to examine the intersection of politics, social justice, and religion through the work of a diverse array of Arab musicians. Discussing these complex issues in my limited Arabic was difficult, but I felt steady improvements in my presentational and conversational skills as I grew more confident.

The Sijal Institute also offered weekly cultural activities that often featured guest speakers and covered a wide range of topics including Middle Eastern geopolitics, archaeology in the Arabian Peninsula, and the social importance of Arabic coffee. These talks were particularly enriching as they helped ground my academically-oriented exposure to the Arabic language within the wider context of the diverse social fabric of the Arab World — allowing me to gain perspectives that could not be found in a textbook.

Studying at Sijal was an invaluable opportunity that not only improved my language skills and my cultural awareness but also reaffirmed my desire to continue with Arabic and make it a core focus of my next three years at Stanford . I am especially grateful for the Abbasi Center’s generous support and I am eager to pursue opportunities for research and Arabic study abroad once international travel becomes feasible.