Program

Group/Customized Programs

Since 2018, Noor Majan has been providing tailored academic year programs for diplomat students from the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. Additionally, starting in 2019, we have successfully hosted various groups participating in the Project GO summer program. We are proud to have also developed a semester program specifically designed for students from USMA West Point.

We also teach Arabic to various local companies and their international employees in Oman, among them Oman aviation and several foreign embassies.

Over the past few years, Noor Majan has worked with various universities and organizations, helping them create programs to meet their goals and needs. We understand that some groups may want a more rigorous academic environment or may desire a combination of cultural tourism and academic study. We can accommodate different timelines and are flexible with specific academic requirements.

In the past, we have worked with the Grand Valley State University, implementing the Arabic language and cultural component of their Oman-Emirates faculty-led trip, and with Central Connecticut University to develop a program focusing on the Arab/Persian Gulf in the 21st century.  We have worked with the Critical Language Scholarship program since 2013, which requires a more intensive academic environment, and collaborated with the Al Amana Centre in developing a joint Arabic language and cultural program with their center.

We welcome any questions on how Noor Majan can meet your organization’s or university program’s goals.

Inquire here for how we can work with you

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    Group/Customized Programs2023-05-14T02:00:39+02:00

    What is the Rihla Program?

    The immensity of the Arabic speaking world poses challenges for students to gain sufficient exposure to various dialects of Arabic and adequate cultural exposure to the diversity of the Arab world. To address this issue, Noor Majan and the Arab American Language Institute in Morocco (AALIM) teamed up to provide students the opportunity to study in Oman and Morocco under one program called Rihla, named after the Arabic word “journey”.

    Noor Majan and AALIM are both recognized as the leading Arabic institutes in the their respected countries and are sister sites for the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship program. Together, the two institutes aim at closing the cultural and linguistic distance between two ends of the Arab speaking world. By collaborating on curriculum and cultural programs, the Rihla Program, allows students to experience the similarities and differences between the two regions.

    The Rihla program is offered as a summer and semester option. We divide both offerings, summer and semester, into two distinct “journeys’” or parts. The Rihla summer program focuses on Arabic language and culture; with the first journey taking place in Morocco for 4 weeks and the second journey for 4 weeks in Oman.

    The semester program differs from the summer program through its goal of broadening students understanding of the MENA region through economics and Arabic. The first journey takes place in Oman for 6-7 weeks, where the student will work on building a strong foundation in the Arabic language. Then the second journey, which lasts 10 weeks, will take the student to Morocco where the focus will be on both economics and Arabic. The student will dually enroll in AALIM and the University of Moulay Ismail (UMI) in Meknes.

    Rihla Summer

    Rihla Summer 2017 Participants (Left to Right) Yanzhe Li “Arthur”- Princeton University, Melita Piercy- Princeton University, Maggie Dene- College of William and Mary

    2017 Summer

    2017 Summer Participant, Melita Piercy, exploring the history city of Ibri, Oman

    Rihla Summer 2017 participant, Melita Piercy, posing by the traditional blue doors of the mountain city of Chefchaouen, Morocco

    QUOTE BLOCK

    “Studying at Noor Majan through the Rihla program truly made for such a productive, enjoyable, and unforgettable summer experience. In addition to significantly improving my Arabic language skills, the program also provided me with invaluable opportunities to engage with the local culture and develop meaningful relationships with both locals and other students. The structure of the Rihla program in which I studied for one month in Morocco at a partner institute and the second month in Oman with Noor Majan was an integral part of my experience; I found it so valuable to be immersed in two very distinct cultures of the Arabic speaking world and see how the same language can be shaped by culture and history. At both Noor Majan and AALIM, the partner institute in Morocco, the language instruction is phenomenal and really challenged me to engage with the language all day for the entirety of the summer. Coming into the program my listening and speaking skills were quite poor, but by the end of the program, I felt comfortable engaging in meaningful discussions on topics in politics and media. Every aspect of my experience with Noor Majan Training Institute and the Rihla program has been so valuable and enjoyable and I’m so thankful for the memories I have made and the amount that I have learned throughout this summer.” – Melita Piercy, Rihla Summer Program 2016, Princeton University”

    What is the Rihla Program?2019-10-27T14:45:07+01:00

    Course Syllabi

    Daily Schedule

    Start Finish
    8:30 10:10 MSA Textbook work
    10:10 10:30 Break
    10:30 11:20 MSA Skills focus
    11:20 11:30 Break
    11:30 01:10 Media Arabic
    01:10 01:50 Lunch

    Language Partners

    At Noor Majan we recognize that successful language acquisition comes from repetitive application of concepts and knowledge in real life situations. Thus, to support language growth we pair students with local Omani language partners for two hours every week. These individuals are given training on intercultural communication and strategies on how to support students studying Arabic. They encourage students to speak Arabic freely and to be confident in their language abilities. More than often language partners become students’ friends and serve as a mentor in engaging in the local culture. Friendships between language partners often leads to students being invited to their homes or to family events.

    Download

    Course Syllabi2023-05-14T02:28:44+02:00

    Course Materials

    The primary course book used by Noor Majan is Al-Kitaab fii ta’allum al-’Arabiyya by Brustad/Al-Battal (3rd edition). Depending on whether you’re a complete beginner or an advanced student, our curriculum is based on this internationally recognized resource, complemented with excerpts from other renowned sources, e.g. Al Kitab Al Asasi (El Seyyid Badawi), Modern Standard Arabic (Eckehard Schulz) or Ahlan wa Sahlan (Mahdi Alosh). For the media course, classes are based on real-time current and authentic resources from print and broadcast media.

    For students at the superior level or with those needing a more specific curriculum in the realm of diplomacy and politics, Noor Majan Arabic Institute has developed our own reader with relevant texts and exercises.

    We are also able to teach the Omani dialect as a separate class for customized program courses or in private lessons. We follow our own curriculum that was developed with the communicative needs of students in Oman in mind. The dialect course mainly contains dialogues and points our specific grammar points that will help you master the local colloquial.

    Our methodology is to engage the mind with a relevant and appropriate usage of the language. Thus, any opportunity to bring external sources and materials is exploited and very much encouraged by the Noor Majan methodology.

    Although the material listed above is Noor Majan’s standard offering for Arabic courses; we can accommodate for an extensive set of curricula, dependent on your needs and requirements as an institute. Our institute and teachers are able and willing to deliver to your requirements. Please inquire for information regarding your requirements and curriculum.

    Block 1 Learning Outcomes (beginner)
    At the end of the unit/program, beginner students will be able to form short and simple sentences. Students will possess a good amount of basic vocabulary as used in familiar and everyday situations, with a limited ability to use this vocabulary correctly and grammatically in all related situations. They will be able to answer formulaic questions with only rare occurrences of mistakes in vocabulary and grammar. Students will start expressing their thoughts independently of formulaic expressions, albeit their uttering may be incomplete or incorrect at times. Students will be able to understand the general content of speech on familiar topics and will have developed a more accurate sense of differentiation between similar sounds of the Arabic alphabet for their own text production.

    Block 2 Learning Outcomes (advanced beginners)
    At the end of the unit/program, advanced beginner students will be able to express themselves about personal topics and issues relating to daily life in short sentences. Students will be able to express their needs, requirements, and wishes (in a restaurant, hotel, taxi, or shop) and speak about their hobbies. They will be able to answer non-formulaic questions to a certain extent and be sometimes able to correct themselves while speaking or writing. Students will have more fluent reading ability and develop a better sense of Arabic written expression. Students will be able to understand the general content of speech and will have developed a more accurate sense of differentiation between similar sounds of the Arabic alphabet.

    Block 3 Learning Outcomes (Intermediate)
    At the end of the unit/program, intermediate students will be able to converse confidently about social issues. They can retell stories and speak about events that happened in the past. Students at this level will be able to express themselves about a variety of topics in all tenses. They can be understood by native speakers and partake in their conversations. Students will be able to understand and analyze Arabic grammar as used in diverse sources. Students will be able to use new grammar and vocabulary in order to produce coherent texts about social, historical, and personal topics.

    Block 4 Learning Outcomes (Advanced)
    At the end of the unit/program, advanced students will be able to express their opinion supported by arguments and can coherently reply to other opinions being expressed. Students at this level will be able to speak and write about varied and complex topics and issues that do not pertain to their direct environment and life. They are able to understand abstract texts and speech and can express themselves on these topics intelligibly. They are able to process authentic text sources of the target language such as print and broadcast media, books, and websites. They can independently develop on the issues raised in these source texts and organize written and oral texts on a formal language level.

    Block 5 Learning Outcomes (Higher Advanced)
    At the end of the unit/program, higher advanced students will be able to express their opinion supported by arguments and can coherently reply to other opinions being expressed. Students at this level will be able to speak and write about varied and complex topics and issues that do not pertain to their direct environment and life. They are able to understand abstract texts and speech and can express themselves on these topics intelligibly. They are able to process authentic text sources of the target language such as print and broadcast media, books, and websites. They can independently develop the issues raised in these source texts and organize written and oral texts on a formal language level.

    Course Materials2023-05-14T02:28:09+02:00

    How We Evaluate Our Courses

    Students receive continuous feedback from instructors throughout the course. Evaluation is a reflection of the student’s proficiency, participation, engagement and progress. Feedback is based on oral participation in class, results in quizzes, tests, and final exam as well as oral presentations in class and homework completion. Students can meet their teachers individually whenever they wish to discuss their performance and progress.

    How We Evaluate Our Courses2023-05-14T02:24:05+02:00

    Course Objectives

    Objective 1: Grammar, Text production, and Discussion

    Writing: Be introduced to new grammatical features that are part of a higher level of expression. Students will learn to construct sentences and express more complex thoughts independently. Students will be asked to produce texts departing from the texts treated in class. These include summaries, descriptions, narrations, and argumentative pieces developing a personal standpoint according to their level.

    Speaking: Students will discuss current topics in class or in debate groups using the studied grammar features. They will have awareness raised concerning typical mistakes in sentence structure and pronunciation. The course is completed by oral presentations in class.

    Objective 2: Media Literacy

    Listening: Students will develop the ability to comprehend utterances in the target language in recorded broadcast media, in both fusha (MSA) and commonly spoken Arabic as found in reports, interviews, and talk shows.

    Reading: Students will be introduced to texts from print media and the internet using the grammatical structures under study. In this unit, students will read different genres of texts, learn and apply skimming techniques according to their level, understand in-depth the given texts, and analyze them grammatically and style-wise.

    Course Objectives2023-05-14T02:23:41+02:00

    Academic Program Overview

    The intensive Arabic program is designed to rapidly develop a student’s language abilities by enabling them to engage with Arabic speakers confidently.

    Noor Majan believes that successful language acquisition occurs when students are repeatedly challenged to develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities in a structured environment. Thus, Noor Majan’s intensive Arabic program reflects this idea by developing all four language skills with a focus on three distinct concentrations; foundational knowledge in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), skills development, and application of knowledge through media literacy. The program will provide intensive reading, writing, speaking, and listening practice for 20 formal contact hours per week, lasting for a total of 4 weeks per term, a total of 100 formal contact hours per month. In addition to the 20 formal contact hours per week, Noor Majan’s intensive Arabic course strengthens students’ abilities with 2 hours of language partner sessions per week. During these language partner sessions, students will learn how to apply their classroom knowledge in a real-life setting, solidifying their knowledge.

    Noor Majan uses authentic and genuine material from print and broadcast media from the internet. Students will acquire the competence to consume, understand and comment on news broadcasts, articles, excerpts, and forum contributions using the adequate language register. Throughout the course, students will build on existing knowledge in Arabic grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and spoken and written skill sets. Finally, students will be introduced to various spoken dialects, enhancing their ability to understand the greater Arabic-speaking world.

    For information on our program dates, please see below.

    Academic Program Overview2023-05-14T02:12:40+02:00

    Noor Majan Arabic Institute

    Come study Arabic abroad in Oman. We're offering authentic Arabic taught by native and experienced Omani Arabic teachers. Ideal for Arabic immersion. Come study abroad!

    Noor Majan-Muscat Campus

    • “Shadow” Building Way no. 4507 Building no. 539, Al khuwair, Muscat
    • PO BOX: 2428 – PC: 113 Al khuwair, Sultanate of Oman
    • (968) 99433381
    • info[.@.]noormajan-institute.com
    • Sun – Thurs: 8:00 am – 2:00 pm Fri – Sat: Closed
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