The Standard Individual Program

Course term consists of 60 hours of individual instruction, using one of the following formulas:

• Formula 1: 2 hours per day, 5 days per week for 6 weeks
• Formula 2: 3 hours per day, 4 days per week for 5 weeks

Students can choose the number of terms they wish to study, from six / five weeks up to a full academic year or longer. One term of study at SIAL corresponds approximately to one university semester of Arabic. Half-terms are also available, for the convenience of the student.

It is recommended that beginning Arabic students enter into the Standard Course, since the initial workload for mastering the basics of reading, writing and elementary grammar is high.

Any instruction period less than one term will be charged at $15.00/hr.

The Individual Intensive Course

The Intensive Course term consists of 120 hours of individual instruction over a 6-week period, using one of the following formulas:

• Formula 1: 4 hours per day, 5 days per week for 6 weeks
• Formula 2: 5 hours per day, 4 days per week for 6 weeks

It is intended for advanced Arabic students who wish to focus on special topics such as translation, media, classical literature, poetry, and medieval texts. Beginning students may also enter into the Intensive Course if they wish, in order to cover more material during a 6-week term, but they should note that the workload will be heavy.

It is not feasible for a beginning student to complete 2 levels of study (one full University year of Arabic) in half the time by doubling the number of hours per day of study. Rather, students should enroll in the Intensive Course with the goal of further enriching their study of Arabic by increasing their classroom exposure to the Arabic language.