FAQs Arabic

All Arabic courses are taught in German. This means that the course program, materials, grammar explanations, and assessments are in German.

If you wish to attend an Arabic course, you will need A2-level German. You may ask questions in English.

Arabic I, III and Arabic Fast Track run in fall semesters.
Arabic II, IV, V and the  Egyptian course run in spring semesters in which Arabic V and the Egyptian course alternate.

→ No, at present we only offer courses during the semester.

In principle, yes. Please contact your lecturer well in advance. They will ask you about your prior knowledge and will suggest which course you might like to take.

If you prior knowledge is slightly below the requirements of one of our courses, you can catch up by studying the language autonomously. If you meet the requirements of the course before the course begins, you can attend the course. If your language skills don’t match any of the courses we offer, your lecturer will suggest other ways to improve your Arabic skills.

In principle, yes. Please contact your lecturer well in advance. They will ask you about your prior knowledge and will suggest which course you might like to take.

If you prior knowledge is slightly below the requirements of one of our courses, you can catch up by studying the language autonomously. If you meet the requirements of the course before the course begins, you can attend the course. If your language skills don’t match any of the courses we offer, your lecturer will suggest other ways to improve your Arabic skills.

No. Arabic 1 A 1.1 is designed for complete beginners. We recommend that you work on your skills independently, using the same materials that are used by the Language Center. Materials are available at the Self-Access Center. A language meet-up run by the Self-Access Center would also be helpful. Please contact the lecturer to find out if your language skills are adequate to attend the beginner course.

You might like to consider the Arabic Fast Track course.

 

No. Our courses are performance based, and we award ECTS points for successfully completed course work. If you wish to brush up your language skills, we recommend that you do so at the Self-Access Center.

Under certain circumstances, you might like to consider our Arabic Fast Track course. Please contact the lecturer.

Follow your teacher’s recommendations. You will find more information on our website about how our courses progress. The services and events offered by our Self-Access Center will also help you to improve and practice your language skills.

The Language Center offers advanced courses at irregular intervals. Alternatively, you can study Arabic at the AOI (Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies). If you wish to start studying in the second semester there, you will have to pass the Arabic I exam first. However, please contact the AOI’s Arabic lecturer as soon as possible.

 

In our Arabic I-IV and Arabic Fast Track, we teach standard modern Arabic, which differs considerably from Arabic dialects. Standard modern Arabic is the variety used in writing and in formal contexts in the Arabic-speaking world; it is also used for communication across dialects. Our courses focus on oral expression in everyday situations, and in part, we include dialect elements. In our Egyptian Arabic course, we introduce participants to the dialect spoken in Cairo, which has a pre-eminent position within the Arabic world.

You can only take the Egyptian Arabic course if you already have good language skills, as the course requires knowledge of the Arabic script and of the most important areas of Arabic grammar, and as it repeatedly contrasts varieties of Arabic. The better you know High Arabic, the easier you will find learning a dialect. If you have studied Arabic at the Language Center, you must have completed Arabic III or Arabic Fast Track as a prerequisite for Egyptian Arabic.

If you have already learnt the Arabic script, we recommend that you take the Arabic Fast Track course.

Yes, we recommend Arabic I. For Arabic Fast Track, reading and writing the Arabic script is already required.

Yes, they can, if they enjoy independent study. The Self-Access Center provides various materials and consultations. A language meet-up provides an excellent opportunity to study Arabic regularly. If you then wish to take Arabic II in a subsequent semester, we recommend that you use the Language Center materials from the outset. Please note, however, that independent study takes at least as much time as attending a course does.

No. Although the course certificates we issue at the end of a course list the language level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, they do not represent an officially recognized certification of language skills.

If you have other questions, please consult the general FAQs that relate to all Language Center courses and services.