Potential Students Asking Questions about our Online Arabic Language Courses

1. How do students learn Arabic online?

Learning Arabic language online is a new experience that is worth trying. Every learner gets a unique password that s/he uses to log on to his/her courses.

Learners work on online highly interactive sessions that are composed of learning pages and activities. Teachers monitor students" progress through advanced student tracking tools. The time spent on every session as well as scores are recorded. When a learner has a question, s/he posts it on the teacher"s board. When s/he wishes to comment on the lessons, s/he posts messages on the student"s board.

There is also an Arabic board where students practice communication in Arabic. At the end of a session, students are required to submit a written composition and take an online test. Teachers correct the written compositions and send them back. The program also comprises speaking sessions that are conduced in real time. They are via SKYPE or any other internet telephony program. The student gets the chance to interact with teachers in real time and practice the vocabulary and language structures studied. It greatly enhances communication skills in the oral form.

2. How does your online program work? How are your courses organized?

Arab Academy offers comprehensive online coursework for learners from novice level to superior. Courses include a balance of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and culture.

Students begin each unit with a level-appropriate text for listening and/or reading, then continue on to lessons built around aspects of that text, such as vocabulary, specific grammatical structures, link words, and morphology. These lessons build on each other and spiral through the curriculum from Arabic 100 to 601. After the main text and each lesson, students practice the learning points with interactive exercises that address multiple learning styles. Lessons and exercises may be repeated as often as desired.

Feedback is immediate for most exercises while a few elicit correction by our teachers. Each unit or session ends with a composition in Arabic and an online exam. Students participate in our online learning community by reading and posting messages on our boards, and they also access technical support and teachers" help with the language via public boards.

On average a course takes three months, but students work at their own pace; some are able to finish in a month or two, while others may take longer than three months. (The first course, Arabic 100, which teaches the sound and writing systems of Arabic, takes considerably less time.)

We recommend that our Arabic students participate in our Speaking courses, which parallel each Arabic course. This option adds two 50-minute speaking sessions each week, in which the student converses generally and practices the learning points of his or her lessons with a native speaker of Arabic via Skype.

3. Do you have a demo that I can see?

If you wish to arrange for a live meeting, contact us directly at: livemeeting@arabacademy.com

We also have a short demo of our program in flash at:

http://www.arabacademy.com/demo

4. How do I write in Arabic if I do not have an Arabic keyboard?

You do not need to have an Arabic keyboard to use our program. Our program provides you with a virtual Arabic keyboard to use. If you want to use your own keyboard, then you will need to buy stickers with the Arabic alphabet, or a keyboard that has Latin/Arabic displays on the keys. You can order these from http://www.aramedia.com.

5. How is a student"s progress monitored?

Our system is fully automated, measuring time spent on activities, scoring tests, and recording participation and scores in online activities. Upon successful completion of each course, our system issues detailed progress reports, as well as a transcript or certificate of completion/language level. Make sure to read the course requirements and to check your “Overall Scores” regularly.

6. How are students evaluated?

A student"s grade is calculated by combining their coursework grades with the grade on their final exam. Coursework carries 76% of the grade and the final exam carries 24%.

Their coursework grade is determined by the following criteria:

Attendance (10%):

You are encouraged to study online as often as possible. However, you have the freedom to choose the schedule that is most convenient for you. When you log off at the end of each online session, your time spent working will be recorded.

Online Activities (35%):

Every online lesson comprises many interactive activities. You are expected to complete 25% of the total activities in each lesson. The activities help reinforce the material you are learning in the lesson, and serve as an invaluable learning tool.

Writing (10%):

You are expected to submit a short composition at the end of every lesson. This helps you practice writing in Arabic, and forms an important part of the learning process. Our teachers correct your compositions and send them back to you.

Online Tests (35%):

At the end of every lesson you will sit for an online test. The test covers material learned in the lesson, and the format is similar to the lesson activities. Each test is only taken once. Should you encounter a technical problem during the test, you will be allowed to re-take it.

Arabic Message Board (5%):

This student message board is designed to facilitate greater communication and comprehension skills in Arabic. By communicating with your colleagues in Arabic, you are synthesizing and utilizing what you have learned in your lessons. You are expected to send or respond to one message per lesson.

Class Participation (5%):

You are expected to communicate with your teacher and colleagues via the message boards. Throughout the course, every student has to post or respond to at least two messages on any of the following message boards: Questions to Teacher, Students" Message Board, and Suggestions for Improvement. Messages posted to the Private Mailbox of the teacher do not qualify.

7. Once I have completed a course, will I get a certificate?

Yes, upon completion of one of our courses, you can order an electronic certificate for free at any time. Electronic certificates are issued within 4 working days. You can also order a hard-copy certificate which we will mail to the address of your choice. However, we do charge administrative fees for this in order to cover the cost of our mailing expenses.

8. Do you offer a diploma?

Yes, we offer a diploma for students who have study for one year and complete an entire language level (3 courses at least).

9. How do I receive transfer credit at my school/university for taking your course?

Many schools and universities in North America and Europe have accepted the transfer of credit hours from our institution. However, you need to verify with your school administration to ensure that they will accept the transfer of credit hours. If you seek additional information not addressed on our website, please send us an email at info@arabacademy.com. To request a transcript or attestation of attendance, visit the registrar pages on the site.

10. If I took the Arabic Language Proficiency Test (ALPT), how do I get my results?

To get your ALPT test results, please do the following:

• Go to www.arabacademy.com.

• Click on the "Registrar" link, where you will find a link titled, "Get ALPT Results."

• Enter your ALPT user name and password, and your test results will be automatically e-mailed to you.