General Overview
The annual language program is organised by the Department of Arabic, Medieval and Modern Studies (Département des Études Arabes, Médiévales et Modernes de l’Institut français du Proche-Orient) at Ifpo, under the responsibility of Pauline Koetschet (Director of DEAMM) and Abdul-Hammeed al-Kayyali (pedagogical coordinator). It offers in-depth language and cultural training to trainees (students or non-students) who have already completed Modern Standard Arabic (MSA/fuṣḥā) with one of the following profiles:
Profile 1= advanced: between 400 and 600 hours of Arabic at least (from 3 years of Arabic and more)
Profile 2= intermediate: between 250 and 400 hours of Arabic (+/- 2 years of Arabic)
Profile 3= post-beginner: between 150 and 250 hours of Arabic (+/- 1 year of Arabic)
Ifpo does not teachs beginners in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA/fuṣḥā).
Candidates for the annual course must motivate their project to study at Ifpo by a letter of motivation where they will expose their research project or their professional project. The course is also intended for people wishing to prepare for certain competitions that require a good mastery of Arabic (National Education, Foreign Affairs, etc.).
Every year, the Arabic language course welcomes students from all over the world. In 2019, a dozen nationalities were represented, thanks in particular to agreements made with various universities and international institutions: IEP – Institute of Political Studies, Oxford University, Durham University, Edinburgh University, etc. In addition, the Institute welcomes annually 10 French scholarship holders from the Ministry of National Education, to which are added to other trainees enrolled in individual training (Middle East Studies students, NGO, journalists, experts, etc.).
The classes are taught in Arabic by Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian professors who have a solid background in teaching Modern Standard Arabic to foreigners.
Students are placed according to their level in small groups (12 students maximum). Teaching is organized in group courses (12 hours of collective courses per week) and private courses (4 hours per week).
The Arabic course offers several level groups in Arabic (MSA), as well as several level groups in Arabic dialect. It should be noted that it is possible to start dialect classes as a beginner.
Collective courses:
As for our collective courses, we suggest using Zoom application. A Google Drive will be available for students of each group to which they will have access to all the pedagogical ressources for their courses.
In addition, a folder of self-learning materials adapted to the levels of each group will be available on this drive for all students.
Collective courses offered in MSA are: Arabic grammar, written expression and comprehension, reading and dictation, oral expression and comprehension, written and audiovisual press, modern history, history of Arabic-islamic thought, culture and civilization, classical and modern literature. It should be noted that a course is exclusively devoted to presentations and debates of different kinds (contradictory debate, political, citizen or social debates, presentations, interviews, etc.). The objective of this course is to learn in real situations how to construct an oral presentation, to organize a speech, to develop the language practice, to master the expressions and formulas allowing to intervene in a debate or a discussion, to present and to confront its ideas, argue, refute, etc.
Collective courses in Levantine or Jordanian dialect integrate the course offer with the aim of quickly responding to learners’ needs for daily communication.
Individual courses:
For individual courses (tutoring), at Ifpo, we offer skype or zoom sessions between students and their teachers. The classes will take place according to the schedule of the session. Students availability will be taken into consideration, as well as time differences for those who are in their home countries.
For students who are already in Jordan or Lebanon or who would absolutely like to go there, it will be possible to take private lessons in person, in the premises of Ifpo, if the sanitary measures allow it.
The trainees formulate before the beginning of the annual course four wishes for courses they will then have, if they wish, the opportunity to change at the entrance of the second and third trimester. The courses offered are: dialect, written press, audiovisual press, social issues, grammar, written expression and comprehension, oral expression and comprehension, modern history, history of Arabic-Islamic thought, culture and civilization, classical literature, modern literature, translation (from Arabic into French or from Arabic into English, and vice versa), according to teacher’s availability in this subject.
A few former students talk to us about their online experience with Ifpo (a warm thank you to them!):
First Johanna Luther (Beirut 2019-2020):
Then Moritz Bender (Amman 2019-2020):
N.B. French is the administrative language of the program (emails, attachments and various posters); however, knowledge of French is not compulsory.
Terms and Conditions for Applying
Applicants for the yearly program must send us as soon as possible their complete application form by email to the following address:
cours.arabe @ifporient.com . The application must be submitted no later than September 10th 2021 (deadline). This application form must necessarily include :
an applicant information form (download below) + 1 identity photograph scanned into 1 single PDF file.
a short cover letter (one page maximum)
an Arabic written test (MSA) (to download below) and return as a single PDF file. The test is obligatory. Three levels of testing are available for download: you must download the one that corresponds to your profile (1, 2 or 3).
download the single application form 2021-2022 (Beirut and Amman)
download the Arabic language test (Beirut and Amman)
Profil 1 :advanced level
Profil 2 :intermediate level
Profil 3 :post-beginner level
Program Cost
The registration fees is 4 700 euros for the entire course and must be paid in full no later than September 15th, 2021 as follows:
500 € deposit paid no later than July 15th, 2021
4 200 € paid no later than September 15th, 2021
The amount paid will not be refunded after payment or in case of withdrawal, except for medical or professional reasons (duly justified). If the payment of the full registration fees is not made on the dates indicated, Ifpo authorizes itself to cancel your registration.
Bank transfer remains the simplest and fastest method of payment, the Ifpo bank account in France. You can download the Ifpo RIB (IBAN) below.
download the terms of payment of tuition fees for the 2021-2022 annual program for Beirut and Amman
download the RIB-Swift IFPO.
The registration will only be confirmed after the payment of the deposit (500 €) and will only be effective at the payment of the balance (4 200 €) before the start of the courses (see below)
Calendar
The annual offer is scheduled over 27 weeks, split into three terms with a one-week half term in each and two weeks of holidays between each term. The students generally enrol for the entirety of the program. It is possible to enrol for less than 27 weeks, however in practise a place coming available throughout the course of the year is rare and priority is given to students applying for the entirety of the academic year.
For any particular request (one or two trimesters, a semester), you are requested to indicate it clearly on the application form.
For special demands, contact the management team of the Arabic course: cours.arabe.ifpo@gmail.com
download the provisional term dates for the 2021-2022 Online program
Practical Information
For all information concerning visas, health conditions and safety and security instructions specific to each country (Lebanon or Jordan), please consult the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country you depend on, specifically the page ‘advice for travellers. You can also inquire at the embassies of Lebanon and Jordan in the country where you reside.
