Frequently Asked Questions

We teach both registers of Arabic at all levels, starting with complete beginners. Modern Standard Arabic has seven four-week levels, Levels 1 to 7, taking you from the alphabet to reading the press. We use Georgetown University Press's Al-Kitaab series: Alif Baa, then Parts One, Two and Three. We assess MSA levels against ACTFL proficiency guidelines, which US universities and employers recognize; specialized study continues beyond Level 7. Moroccan Arabic (Darija) has three broad levels, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, built around speaking from your first week.

It depends on where you start, how many hours you put in, and the program you choose: semester, intensive, or private. On-site, the learning continues after class: workshops, local excursions, and living with a host family keep you in Arabic all day. We will not promise fluency by a fixed date, but at placement we map a realistic path and the level you can expect to reach.

If you are a complete beginner, you skip placement and start at Level 1 on your first day. Otherwise, for Modern Standard Arabic, you take a written test before arrival and have a spoken interview online or on your first day. For Moroccan Arabic (Darija), placement is a short spoken conversation, online before arrival or on your first day. If your placement turns out to be a poor fit in the first few days, we move you to the appropriate level at no cost.

Yes. The usual way is our Combined Track: Modern Standard Arabic intensive in the mornings and Moroccan Arabic semi-intensive in the afternoons, on one timetable. You can also take one as your group course and add the other as private or semi-private lessons. The one thing you cannot do is run both as full intensive group courses at once, since they share the morning slot.

You can pay by card, in cash on arrival, or by bank transfer.

It depends on your course. With no deadline, join when you are ready: the Intensive course and Semi-Intensive course start any Monday year-round, and private lessons and online courses anytime. For semesters, other programs with fixed dates and the evening course, apply before the start date listed on our Dates & Fees page. The Atlas Scholarship has deadlines for each session on our scholarship page. If you need a visa or plan to stay longer than 90 days, apply early so our letter reaches you in time for your visa. We issue your enrollment and invitation letter after you enroll.

Many nationalities, including the US, UK, EU, and Canada, can enter Morocco visa-free for up to 90 days. The rules depend on your nationality and change from time to time, so check with a Moroccan consulate for your case. We issue an enrollment and invitation letter to support your visa application, and if you plan to stay longer than 90 days we walk you through the residency steps personally after you enroll. The visa and any fees are yours to arrange.

For Modern Standard Arabic we use the Al-Kitaab series (Georgetown University Press, third edition), the same sequence most universities use, so you can pick up where you left off back home. Your textbook is waiting for you at the institute, so there is nothing to buy before you travel. Moroccan Arabic uses its own materials, which we provide.

Yes, many of our students earn credit at home. Your own institution awards the credit, not us, so the surest route is pre-approval from your registrar or study abroad office before you arrive. We give you and them what the decision needs: contact hours, our levels mapped to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, the syllabus and assessment on request, and an official transcript at the end. Our For Universities page sets this out the way a registrar reads it.

Your course goes ahead at your level. In the Intensive course, where fewer than three students share your level, the teaching day runs three hours instead of four at the same price. The smaller group gives you closer attention from your teacher. Your placement and the content of your level stay the same.

You can enroll in a group course and add some private courses to complete the requested study hours during your time at Al Minbar.

Yes. We regularly offer a selection of weekend excursions from a full day to three days, and can arrange others by special request.

Yes, we arrange courses in French and in Tamazight, the Amazigh language, on request. Our focus is Arabic in its two registers: Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic (Darija).

Yes, Boren applicants design their own programs, and Boren students have studied with us. Our Intensive course runs 20 hours a week, above Boren's 15-hour weekly minimum, with the exact breakdown on our For Universities page. The Academic Year runs 28 to 36 weeks in Morocco, longer than the 25 weeks Boren prefers.

Yes. Fulbright is the flagship international academic exchange program of the US government, active in more than 160 countries. In Morocco it is administered by MACECE, the binational commission based here in Rabat, and Fulbright students have studied with us.

Yes. Most of our university students use departmental, faculty, or institutional funds. We supply whatever the disbursing office requires: a cost breakdown, enrollment confirmation, contact hours, and attendance records.

Language Testing International (LTI), ACTFL's official testing partner, runs and rates your interview independently from us. You have a 20–30 minute one-to-one conversation that measures how you speak spontaneously, without preparation. Two certified testers rate your interview separately, with neither seeing the other's rating.

We include the OPI in every program of eight weeks or more (Summer Program, Fall Semester, Spring Semester and Academic Year); the 4-week Winter Session does not include the OPI. Your official rating goes directly to you and provides an outside measure of your speaking level that your university or an employer can rely on.