Type of course

The course can be taught in-person or online. At 'timetable & registration' you find an overview of our courses.

In a classroom course, the teacher and all students are present in the classroom. To be able to participate online, you are advised to use a headset with microphone.To check that everything is working properly, please use: Quick Tech Check.

It is not possible to switch between courses once the course has started.

Course description

This course is a small group course for a maximum of 7 persons. This means that there is a lot of personal attention and assistance for the course participants.
The Advanced Arabic Conversation course is intended for participants who have taken the Arabic Conversation course or have a comparable level (B2.1). 

In this course you will learn Modern Standard Arabic. You will get exposed to some realistic integrated spoken Levantine Arabic tailored to fulfil the needs of the upper intermediate students who aim at improving their speaking skills. The target level of this course is C1, so students by the end of this course should be able to express themselves comprehensibly and mainly correctly.

The main focus of the course is building strong and pragmatic communication skills. Dynamic issues related to the modern Arab society (Arab minorities; education; religion; love and marriage; the Arab woman, etc.) will be tackled. Moreover, there will be excerpts from the news and from Arabic classic works (e.g. One Thousand and One Nights and Kalila wa Dimna) tutored in a stimulating approach.
The main emphasis is on communication and speaking skills.

The course makes use of the digital learning environment BrightSpace. Within this learning environment you will find the homework and additional learning materials. Course participants are expected to prepare the lessons at home (approximately three hours per lesson).

The course is concluded with a test. A certificate is awarded if the test is completed successfully and the participant has attended 80% of the lessons.

Course material

• Arabiyyat al-Naas (Part Three), An Advanced Course in Arabic. By Munther Younes, Yomns Chami
  ISBN 9780415509015
  Published April 24, 2014 by Routledge 

The course material is not included in the registration fee. Course participants are required to purchase course materials themselves.

Target group and admission requirements

The course is intended for adults with a higher education diploma, including both students and staff members of Leiden University, as well as interested parties who have no connection to Leiden University. The course is open to any person aged 17 or older with a completed secondary school education. Participants who have successfully completed the Arabic 7 course of the Academic Language Centre, or who can prove in some other way that they possess the required entry level can sign up.

Other information

• The minimum number of participants for this course is 3, the maximum 7.
• The course load is 56 hours. On request a Course load declaration form can be issued. The student should enquire with their department whether course participation can be converted into credits.
• The holiday periods can be found in the Academic Language Centre's academic calendar.
• If classes are cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, they will be added on to the end of the course. Please take into account courses may end later than scheduled.
• The course level is indicated with the help of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.