Levantine Arabic: Beginner Level 1 *In-Person*

Arabic today exists in multiple overlapping yet distinct varieties. In published writing and formal contexts (e.g., articles, novels, religious texts, presentations of news or information), people use Modern Standard Arabic. At the same time, there are several different regional varieties (also called dialects) that people use primarily in conversational and informal contexts (e.g., greetings, family and social life, daily communication, social media posts). Levantine Arabic is the regional variety of Arabic used by speakers from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria and is the native language to more than 44 million people. Furthermore, it is considered one of the most widely understood varieties across the Arabic-speaking world because of the large amount of media (songs, TV series, etc.) produced in it. Levantine Arabic shares with other varieties of Arabic many fundamental grammar structures and a large amount of vocabulary.
In Beginner Level 1, students will focus on listening, interacting, and creating stories together as a group. Through the context of these stories, students will learn how to greet people appropriately, ask and answer questions, narrate simple events, and discuss and describe everyday objects. In addition to the classroom stories, students will be exposed to some authentic contemporary media in Levantine Arabic, including popular songs and videos. Students will learn the Arabic alphabet and practice reading words they have learned to say.
Instructor: Alaa Aldeen Kayali

Sections

Instructor

Alaa Aldeen Kayali is a scholar of Islamic intellectual traditions and a Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He earned his Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and MA in Arabic Language and Literature from the American University of Beirut. An instructor at CCAE since 2024, Alaa Aldeen teaches courses ranging from Arabic language for non-native speakers to specialized seminars on Islamic literature and ethics, and Arabic poetry. His current research focuses on education and curriculum reform in post-conflict Syria.