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Polis – The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities Modern Hebrew / Spoken Arabic / Modern Standard Arabic – Language Courses Fall Semester 2022
Polis – The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities

Modern Hebrew / Spoken Arabic / Modern Standard Arabic – Language Courses Fall Semester 2022

Jerusalem, Israel

4 Months

, Avestan, English

Part time

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Distance Learning, On-Campus

* open enrollment

Key Summary

    About: This postgraduate program focuses on Modern Hebrew, Spoken Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic. The course structure is based on practical language use and cultural understanding, enhancing both spoken and written skills. The courses are offered during the Fall Semester 2022, catering to diverse learners interested in these languages.
    Career Outcomes: Graduates can pursue various career paths, including roles in translation, diplomacy, international relations, and language education. Proficiency in Arabic and Hebrew opens opportunities in sectors like government, journalism, and cultural organizations.

Introduction

This fall we will be offering the following language courses at our Jerusalem Campus, and/or Online as indicated under course descriptions:

  • Modern Hebrew (All Levels)
  • Spoken Arabic (All Levels)
  • Modern Standard Arabic (Levels I & III)

What is Modern Hebrew?

Modern Hebrew is the majority spoken language in Israel, and one of the country’s two official languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by 9 million people worldwide, most of whom live in Israel. The language has its roots in Ancient Biblical Hebrew, dating back to the first millennium BC. At the turn of the 20th century, a number of scholars, teachers, and intellects used classical biblical, rabbinical, and medieval sources to revive Ancient Biblical Hebrew as a modern spoken language. Chief among them was Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. Modern (or Israeli) Hebrew, is essentially the modern form of the ancient language, making it one of the oldest languages spoken in the world today!

What is Spoken Arabic?

Arabic is the language of 22 Member States of UNESCO, a language with more than 422 million speakers in the Arab world (World Arabic Language Day, UNESCO, 18th December 2012). The Arabic language can be divided into three varieties:

  • Classical Arabic: considered to be the language of the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods.
  • Modern Standard Arabic (MSA): derived from Classical Arabic, this is the official Arabic language that is taught in schools and universities, and used by the media, etc.
  • Spoken Arabic: known also as Dialectal or Colloquial Arabic, constitutes the everyday spoken language with all its regional varieties.

As such, the Arabic language exists in a state of diglossia where its two separate registers, written and spoken, are used in different situations in life. For example, when Spoken Arabic is taught, it is usually done so using Latin script – not Arabic script. Recently, however, the lines are beginning to blur. With the advent of smartphones, Spoken Arabic is being written in Arabic script for the first time, mostly in the form of informal text messages. At Polis, Spoken Arabic is taught in Arabic using Arabic script because we believe that this facilitates a more authentic and direct approach to the language, and is a more natural way of introducing the student to future studies in MSA. The Spoken Arabic we teach is based on the Palestinian Urban Dialect, which is the prevalent dialect in the Jerusalem area. The advantage of the Palestinian dialect is its closeness to formal Arabic in pronunciation and vocabulary, a fact that makes it intelligible in other Arabic-speaking areas.

Why not learn Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) first?

The answer depends on the academic or practical needs of the student. In truth, to be fluent in Arabic you need both Spoken Arabic and MSA – and we do offer MSA during the semester. However, starting with MSA won't help you hold a conversation in the street, but it will help you read texts in formal Arabic. Since most of our students need Arabic for practical daily use, there is greater demand for Spoken Arabic courses. Registration for both courses is also possible (although not during the summer) and is recommended for students who are able to distinguish and assimilate the differences between the two linguistic varieties, with sufficient study time to dedicate to both.

The Polis Method of Second Language Acquisition

The Polis Institute employs a unique method of language teaching – the Polis Method, which is primarily based on total immersion in the target language, but also adapts other principles such as Dynamic Language Development (DLD). Our method enables students to advance more holistically as compared to a strictly grammatical measure. In the process of learning to speak, students acquire an intuitive understanding of the language. Students also benefit from ongoing research at Polis. Old ideas are constantly challenged, while new ones are illuminated. Our classrooms are living laboratories in which to test the most promising techniques. Currently, our instructors are experimenting with Living Sequential Expression (LSE), a principle that was first conceived and developed at Polis and inspired by the work of François Gouin. The Polis Method is constantly being refined as we incorporate new insights into Second Language Acquisition.

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