FAQ
Domande frequenti
We teach every level and follow the ACTFL proficiency scale, from Novice to Advanced, so your progress maps to a framework universities and employers recognize. Modern Standard Arabic runs through five structured levels on the Al-Kitaab series (Georgetown University Press), carrying a complete beginner into the Intermediate range, with specialized modules beyond taking strong students toward Advanced Low. Moroccan Arabic (Darija) runs from Novice through Advanced. A placement test puts you in the right level, and complete beginners start right away.
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 will not take the placement test, you will start the course directly on Monday.
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. Card payments carry a small processing fee, shown as a separate line before you confirm. Bank transfer fees depend on your own bank.
There is no deadline; you are welcome any time to benefit from our lessons and activities.
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.
You still run your course. In the intensive course, where fewer than three students share your level, the day runs three lessons instead of four, and the price stays the same. A smaller group means more of your teacher's time; your placement and content do not change.
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. Our focus is Arabic, but we also arrange French and Tamazight courses on request. Ask us and we will set it up.
Yes. Boren applicants design their own programs, and Boren students have studied with us. Three points help the application: our intensive program runs 18.3 contact hours a week, above Boren's fifteen-hour minimum; the Academic Year runs 28 to 36 weeks in country, beyond Boren's preference for study over 25 weeks; and because Arabic is an asterisked language that requires an alternate program in a second destination, Morocco is a natural choice for applicants proposing the Levant or Egypt, and we are glad to be named as the alternate.
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.
The interview is administered and rated independently by Language Testing International, ACTFL's official testing partner. The 20–30 minute one-to-one assessment evaluates spontaneous, unrehearsed speech through a blind double-rating process by certified testers. It assesses the student's demonstrated proficiency, not our curriculum.
The OPI is included in the Semester, Semester+ and Academic Year packages, and the official rating is issued directly to the student. This provides independent evidence of proficiency rather than an assessment issued by the institution providing the course.


Ready when you are
No deadlines. Group courses start every Monday, all year round.


