Modern Hebrew / Spoken Arabic / Modern Standard Arabic – Language Courses Fall Semester 2022

This fall we will be offering the following language courses at our Jerusalem Campus, and/or Online as indicated under course descriptions:

• Modern Hebrew (All Levels)
• Spoken Arabic (All Levels)
• Modern Standard Arabic (Levels I & III)

What is Modern Hebrew?

Modern Hebrew is the majority spoken language in Israel, and one of the country’s two official languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by 9 million people worldwide, most of whom live in Israel. The language has its roots in Ancient Biblical Hebrew, dating back to the first millennium BC. At the turn of the 20th century, a number of scholars, teachers, and intellects used classical biblical, rabbinical, and medieval sources to revive Ancient Biblical Hebrew as a modern spoken language. Chief among them was Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. Modern (or Israeli) Hebrew, is essentially the modern form of the ancient language, making it one of the oldest languages spoken in the world today!

What is Spoken Arabic?

Arabic is the language of 22 Member States of UNESCO, a language with more than 422 million speakers in the Arab world (World Arabic Language Day, UNESCO, 18th December 2012). The Arabic language can be divided into three varieties:

• Classical Arabic: considered to be the language of the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods.
• Modern Standard Arabic (MSA): derived from Classical Arabic, this is the official Arabic language that is taught in schools and universities, and used by the media, etc.
• Spoken Arabic: known also as Dialectal or Colloquial Arabic, constitutes the everyday spoken language with all its regional varieties.

As such, the Arabic language exists in a state of diglossia where its two separate registers, written and spoken, are used in different situations in life. For example, when Spoken Arabic is taught, it is usually done so using Latin script – not Arabic script. Recently, however, the lines are beginning to blur. With the advent of smartphones, Spoken Arabic is being written in Arabic script for the first time, mostly in the form of informal text messages. At Polis, Spoken Arabic is taught in Arabic using Arabic script because we believe that this facilitates a more authentic and direct approach to the language, and is a more natural way of introducing the student to future studies in MSA. The Spoken Arabic we teach is based on the Palestinian Urban Dialect, which is the prevalent dialect in the Jerusalem area. The advantage of the Palestinian dialect is its closeness to formal Arabic in pronunciation and vocabulary, a fact that makes it intelligible in other Arabic-speaking areas.

Why not learn Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) first?

The answer depends on the academic or practical needs of the student. In truth, to be fluent in Arabic you need both Spoken Arabic and MSA – and we do offer MSA during the semester. However, starting with MSA won't help you hold a conversation in the street, but it will help you read texts in formal Arabic. Since most of our students need Arabic for practical daily use, there is greater demand for Spoken Arabic courses. Registration for both courses is also possible (although not during the summer) and is recommended for students who are able to distinguish and assimilate the differences between the two linguistic varieties, with sufficient study time to dedicate to both.

The Polis Method of Second Language Acquisition

The Polis Institute employs a unique method of language teaching – the Polis Method, which is primarily based on total immersion in the target language, but also adapts other principles such as Dynamic Language Development (DLD). Our method enables students to advance more holistically as compared to a strictly grammatical measure. In the process of learning to speak, students acquire an intuitive understanding of the language. Students also benefit from ongoing research at Polis. Old ideas are constantly challenged, while new ones are illuminated. Our classrooms are living laboratories in which to test the most promising techniques. Currently, our instructors are experimenting with Living Sequential Expression (LSE), a principle that was first conceived and developed at Polis and inspired by the work of François Gouin. The Polis Method is constantly being refined as we incorporate new insights into Second Language Acquisition.

Modern Hebrew

For online classes, students are divided into groups of no more than 12 individuals. For On-Campus classes, students are divided into groups of no more than 20 individuals. All courses are taught using the Polis Method, which is based on total language immersion from the very first class. This allows students to learn more naturally and faster compared to the traditional grammar-translated method. Students will advance an entire level in under one month and receive a certificate of completion from the Polis Institute.

Level I (Aleph)

Students are totally immersed in the language from the very first moment practicing all four major linguistic skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Subjects include the alphabet and language basics such as morphology, syntax, and vocabulary. The final grade is determined through homework assignments, quizzes, and exams.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 100 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 17:45-20:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2550 (approx. $750 USD)

Level II (Aleph+)

Registration in Level II (Aleph+) is based on a placement test, or completion of Level I (Aleph), or its equivalent. Students continue with total language immersion acquiring new vocabulary as they improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills. The final grade is determined through homework assignments, quizzes, and exams.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 100 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 14:00-16:45 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2550 (approx. $750 USD)

Level III (Beth)

Registration in Level III (Beth) is based on a placement test, or completion of Level II (Aleph+), or its equivalent. Students continue with total language immersion acquiring new vocabulary as they improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills. The final grade is determined through homework assignments, quizzes, and exams.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 100 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 17:45-20:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2550 (approx. $750 USD)

Level IV (Beth+)

Registration in Level IV (Beth+) is based on a placement test, or completion of Level III (Beth), or its equivalent. Students continue with total language immersion as they improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills. New vocabulary focuses on particular areas such as economics, military intelligence, diplomatic relations, and ancient Israel. Students expand their knowledge of conjugations of prepositions, possessive suffixes, new verb groups, and more. Topical and textual materials discussed will gradually become more demanding. The final grade is determined through homework assignments, quizzes, class presentations, and exams.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 100 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 17:45-20:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2550 (approx. $750 USD)

Level V (Gimel)

Registration in Level V (Gimel) is based on a placement test, or completion of Level IV (Beth+), or its equivalent. Students continue with total language immersion as they improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills within a significantly higher level of language use. The final grade is determined through homework assignments, quizzes, class presentations, and exams.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 100 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 17:45-20:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2550 (approx. $750 USD)

Level VI (Gimel+)

Registration in Level VI (Gimel+) is based on a placement test, or completion of Level V (Gimel), or its equivalent. Students continue with total language immersion as they improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills within a significantly higher level of language use. The final grade is determined through homework assignments, quizzes, class presentations, and exams.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 100 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 17:45-20:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2550 (approx. $750 USD)

Level VII (Dalet)

Registration in Level VII (Dalet) is based on a placement test, or completion of Level VI (Gimel+), or its equivalent. Students continue with total language immersion as they improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills within a significantly higher level of language use. The final grade is determined through homework assignments, quizzes, class presentations, and exams.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 100 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 17:45-20:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2550 (approx. $750 USD)

Spoken Arabic

For online classes, students are divided into groups of no more than 12 individuals. For On-Campus classes, students are divided into groups of no more than 20 individuals. All courses are taught using the Polis Method, which is based on total language immersion from the very first class. This allows students to learn more naturally and faster compared to the traditional grammar-translated method. Students will advance an entire level in under one month and receive a certificate of completion from the Polis Institute.

Level I (Absolute Beginners)

Level I introduces students to the Arabic script and the Palestinian dialect of Spoken Arabic. Students gain the skills to understand the basic conversation between other speakers and simple instructions. They are also able to engage in basic conversation in settings such as the classroom, marketplace, taxi, or restaurant.

First Option

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 18:00-20:00 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $875 USD)

Second Option

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 10:45-12:45 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $875 USD)

Level II (Advanced Beginners)

Registration in Level II is based on a placement test or completion of Level I. Students gain the skills to have a basic conversation with native Arabic speakers based on common daily experiences. They learn to express themselves in the past and present, give basic commands, and describe and compare people/objects.

First Option

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 18:00-20:00 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $875 USD)

Second Option

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 10:45-12:45 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $875 USD)

Level III (Low Intermediate)

Registration in Level III is based on a placement test or completion of Level II. Students gain the skills to understand and communicate in more detail. In particular, they learn to express desires, feelings, opinions, future plans, and to describe spaces. They are also able to gain a basic understanding of a text or conversation if the topic is familiar.

First Option

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 18:00-20:00 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $875 USD)

Second Option

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 10:45-12:45 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $875 USD)

Level IV (High Intermediate)

Registration is based on a placement test or completion of Level III. Students continue to develop skills to express opinions, past experiences, and tell stories. They will learn to manage different verb patterns of the same root in order to express different actions. Conversational topics include work, the weather, and asking for and giving directions.

First Option

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 18:00-20:00 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $875 USD)

Second Option

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 10:45-12:45 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $875 USD)

Level V

Registration is based on a placement test or completion of Level IV. Students will learn to express themselves on any topic, regardless of precise terminology, to understand the basic points of a complex or abstract topic, to justify their arguments and ideas, and to communicate in workplace setting.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 60 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 18:00-19:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2350 (approx. $690 USD)

• Online
• Total Hours: 60 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 18:00-19:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2350 (approx. $875 USD)

Level VI

Registration is based on a placement test or completion of Level V. Students will complete their knowledge of the most important Arabic morphology and syntax and focus on speaking and expression. They will be able to understand the details of a complex or abstract topic and to distinguish nuances.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 60 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 11:00-12:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2350 (approx. $875 USD)

• Online
• Total Hours: 60 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 18:00-19:30 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2350 (approx. $875 USD)

Advanced

Registration is based on a placement test or completion of Level VI. Students will be able to enter deeper dicussions with more specific terms and verbs. Activities include reading stories, watching movie scenes, writing summaries, and reviewing discussions.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 40 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday, 9:00-10:55 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 1600 (approx. $470 USD)

Modern Standard Arabic

For online classes, students are divided into groups of no more than 12 individuals. For On-Campus classes, students are divided into groups of no more than 20 individuals. All courses are taught using the Polis Method, which is based on total language immersion from the very first class. This allows students to learn more naturally and faster compared to the traditional grammar-translated method. Students will advance an entire level in under one month and receive a certificate of completion from the Polis Institute.

Level I

Registration is based on an existing knowledge of Arabic script (writing and reading). This is a full immersion language course that covers the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with assimilation of some fundamental morphological and syntactical knowlegde.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 100 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Monday/Wednesday, 14:50-17:55 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 3100 (approx. $910 USD)

Level III

Registration is based on a placement test or completion of Level II. Students will gain the ability to hold a more sophisticated conversation in MSA and to understand various nuances in text, conversation, and speech. The course will cover almost all of the grammatical structures. Oral expression and writing are emphasized in this level.

• Polis Jerusalem Campus
• Total Hours: 80 Academic Hours
• Dates: October 19, 2022 – February 15, 2023
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 15:00-17:00 (Local Jerusalem Time)
• Fees: ILS 2975 (approx. $8750 USD)

Special Programs

One-Year Program in Ancient Philology

A shortened version of the Two-Year Academic Program in Ancient Philology is available to students with a BA Degree wishing to study for only one year. Students will complete 600 academic hours including 440 hours of mandatory language courses. Scholarships and other teaching and research opportunities are also valid for the One-Year Program. Upon graduation, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Polis Institute.

One-Year Program in Near Eastern Languages

A shortened version of the Two-Year Academic Program in Near Eastern Languages is available for students with a BA Degree wishing to study for only one year. Students will complete 600 academic hours including 440 hours of mandatory language courses. Scholarships and other teaching and research opportunities are also valid for the One-Year Program. Upon graduation, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Polis Institute.

One-Year Program in Second Language Teaching Methodology

This program is intended to help language teachers improve their teaching methodology or adapt it to immersive methods in any of the languages offered at Polis. The program is also available for Spanish through our affiliate partner institution, Dia Logo. Specifically, the program will provide teachers with the necessary theoretical basis in Second Language Acquisition and methodological aspects, which will then be put into practice using the Polis Method of Second Language Acquisition. Upon graduation, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Polis Institute.

Two-Year Program in Language Fluency

The Language Fluency Program is available for students wishing to master Ancient Greek or Arabic. The Arabic track covers both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Spoken Levantine Arabic. No prior academic requirements are necessary to enroll. Students will be taught using the Polis Method of Second Language Acquisition to be proficient in all aspects of the target language – reading, writing and speaking. The Program also includes theoretical and practical courses related to the cultural milieu of the target language. Upon graduation, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Polis Institute.