Frequently Asked Questions - Arabic Classes

Participants will wake up and have breakfast at the Saint Elias Monastery at about 8:00 A.M. They will then be transported to their various volunteer opportunities. At 1:00 P.M they will return to Saint Elias for lunch. From 2:30 to 6:00 they will participate in the scheduled arabic classes at the Berlitz Language Institute. In the evenings there will often be a guest lecture or cultural event. On the weekends we will travel to different cities throughout Syria, such as Sweida, Homs, Palmyra, Aleppo, etc.

The Arabic classes will teach colloquial Arabic and focus on speaking skills. The teaching methodology will be based on the Berlitz method. You can learn more about this from the arabic portion of the website.

Although the Berlitz program (for Arabic) is internationally recognized, with over 600 centers around the world, it is not affiliated with a specific accredited University. If you are a college student participating in the Damascus program, we recommend that you meet with your advisor before departing for the Middle East. It is possible that you can obtain independent study credits for your experiences abroad and that you can complete related assignments while overseas (for example, keeping a daily journal about your experiences or putting together a portfolio of photos from your trip).