There's no effortless way for adults to learn a new language, despite what some may claim. Learning any language takes time and consistent effort (which can, of course, be great fun). Newbies reach advanced levels of proficiency through practice, study and a willingness to make mistakes and learn from them.

Arabic is certainly no different in this regard but, in the end, it isn't really more "complicated" than other languages. If you attend classes regularly, study between class meetings, and arrive prepared every week you can move confidently through our program and learn Arabic. Arabic's challenges will be clarified for you as you advance through our curriculum.

Also, while Arabic can be tricky, in some ways it's less complicated than most European languages. For instance, Arabic has a very simple verb system -- only two tenses!

It takes time to learn any new language well. We offer a full three-year program in Standard Arabic, but you can become quite conversant within a year in our program. So although there might be much more to learn, Arabic can begin opening doors for you fairly quickly.

Pacific Arabic Resources is a private language school for adults in downtown San Francisco. We are a secular, non-political institute with only one purpose: helping our students learn.

You're best off taking MUNI or BART, since we're only half a block from the Montgomery Street station. The school is also served by many bus routes, and is only a few blocks from the Transbay Terminal.

Although parking can be difficult in the Financial District, our classes meet on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings, when spaces are often available on the street (especially in time for our 7:30 p.m. classes). The most reasonable indoor lots are listed here. There is also abundant motorcycle parking along Jessie Alley, just outside the school. Bicyclists will find a rack in front of the school where they may lock their bicycle. (Bicycles are not allowed inside the building.)

All kinds of people come to PAR to learn Arabic, for many different reasons. Diverse in age, background, and viewpoint, they form a vibrant community of language learners. Most of our students are between 25 and 40 years of age, but you'll also find high school students and retirees in our classes. We value our students' diversity, and it's important to us that all our students feel comfortable at our school.

Our classes meet weekday evenings (except Fridays) or on Saturday mornings. Most classes meet once per week for an hour and a half, while some meet twice per week. Classes begin at 6 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. on weeknights, or at 10 a.m. or 11:45 a.m. on Saturdays.

Basically, yes. We don't offer instruction for children, but we admit students as young as 14 if they have the emotional maturity to participate in a language class with adults.

Generally our classes have fewer than ten students. Our maximum registration is 17 students per class. We keep our classes small to ensure all students receive abundant attention.

Absolutely. The building and all our classrooms are fully accessible. Everyone is welcome to learn Arabic at PAR.

Each of our language instruction classes (as opposed to our conversation, history and calligraphy classes) presents approximately 300 new vocabulary items and some key grammatical concepts. Each course brings the student to a new plateau in their language acquisition.

You will have one (or possibly two) weekly meeting(s) with your instructor to practice earlier material and learn new concepts and vocabulary. You must then study the concepts and memorize the vocabulary on your own, as you'll be expected to know the new material fairly well before returning to class. We're always available to answer questions between class meetings.

Of course, students in our intensive programs will learn new material every day and must dedicate a few hours per day to study outside of class. Many of our intensive students like to stay at PAR and study together, which gives them access to PAR's resources (including teachers) while studying.

Our Standard Arabic classes present an average of 30 new words per week, along with one or two new grammatical concepts

You'll need to devote the time required to learn the new material, which may be more for some students and less for others (and the amount of time required may vary by the week). Therefore, we can't really give a specific answer to that question. However, there's one thing we can say with absolute certainty: it's far better to study a little bit every day than to wait five days and cram. And with the audio CDs you can review easily wherever you are.

Remember, learning a language is largely is a matter of developing habits. Like learning to play a musical instrument, daily practice -- even just a little -- is the way to go!

If your absences won't be back to back, you might want to take the class anyway. You may have the option of making up the class by attending a Saturday meeting at your level (or, if you're in a Saturday class, a weeknight meeting).

Barring that, you may schedule a meeting with a private tutor before you return to class. The texts we use in Arabic 1-6 and in our dialect classes were designed for self study, and students who have time to study while traveling can often keep up with the class without tutoring.

However, if you miss two class meetings in a row we cannot allow you to return to class unless you communicate with the school about your absence and make arrangements for tutoring or otherwise demonstrate your ability to participate fully in class.

Complete beginners should start with our Arabic 1 or Arabic 1: Fast Track courses. Students should know the material presented in Arabic 1 (or its Fast Track variant) before they may register for any of our other classes (except our history classes, which are taught in English).

Students in this class learn the Arabic alphabet, about 300 Arabic words and some basic grammar. At the end of the course, students are able to form simple sentences and to communicate about basic topics. With this rudimentary knowledge you can move on to any of our other courses. You'll find a complete course description here.

Arabic 1 is our course for complete beginners to Arabic. Students in this course meet once per week for eight weeks. Arabic 1: Fast Track is the same course, but students meet twice per week for four weeks, covering the material twice as quickly.

No, it isn't. The Beginner Intensive Program is an eight-week program offered in the summer, or a four-week program offered in the winter. Students in the summer program complete a year of college-level Arabic and winter students learn approximately a semester of college-level Arabic. Arabic 1: Fast Track is our Arabic 1 course taught in four weeks instead of eight.

You'll find the details here, and you may phone us at (415) 644-0110 if you don't find the information you're looking for.

Arabic 1B: Reading, Writing and Review isn't for complete beginners. It's a four-week workshop building on the material covered in Arabic 1. This class is suitable for students who want to solidify their knowledge and master reading and writing before taking Arabic 2 (or for students in Arabic 2 who want to strengthen their grasp of basic concepts).

No, we don't. We teach all forms of Arabic, standard and dialectal, using only the Arabic alphabet. Our teaching method stresses conversation, but we teach Arabic using Arabic script in our textbooks, handouts and on the board during class meetings. Students must be able to read and write Arabic in order to enroll in any of our courses except Arabic 1, Arabic 1: Fast Track and our history courses. However it might seem to you at this point, it's really a good idea to learn the Arabic alphabet if you study the language. It has only 28 letters and, although it might look baffling at first, it's not very hard to learn

Our conversation classes are designed to complement our Standard Arabic courses (Arabic 3 and above), putting new (and old) concepts and vocabulary to active use. The content of these conversation classes is tied to that of our instruction classes, and combining both is a great way to get two doses of Arabic in a week, and get a discount too.

First contact our registrar, who will help you determine your general level within our curriculum. Based on that assessment, the registrar will schedule a time for you to visit one of our current classes. This class visit will help you (and our school) determine which course level best suits you. We're also prepared to test students for placement purposes, and the registrar may ask the student to come to our office to complete this test. (The test takes no more than a half hour.)

Yes, of course. Call the registrar first, though, because you'll need to resubmit the non-refundable portion of your tuition payment (either $40 or $80). (The non-refundable portion of your tuition represents your commitment to a particular class at a particular day and time.)

We can help you a lot. At PAR you can learn the Arabic script and the Standard Arabic language. Although you grew up speaking Arabic, you speak Egyptian dialect, which is very different from Standard Arabic (the language of almost all written Arabic). Your best bet would be to take our Arabic 1 class and learn basic literacy skills and grammar and begin to develop a Standard Arabic vocabulary while you become accustomed to Standard Arabic phonology.

Students who do not yet know the Arabic alphabet are not eligible to register for any of our classes other than Arabic 1, Arabic 1: Fast Track or our history classes. Although you may feel Arabic 1 is beneath your level, you’ll find that it presents a language very different from the one you speak. Remember, modern Arabic dialects differ from Standard Arabic as much as Spanish differs from Latin.

We offer a three-year program in Standard Arabic, bringing the student to an advanced level of proficiency in the language. We teach Standard Arabic as the living language it is, and stress oral and written skills equally. Students who wish to study Standard Arabic at our school beyond our three-year program have the option to join one of our advanced literature or upper-level conversation classes. Students who attain this level might enjoy tutoring our lower-level students, as this benefits everyone involved.

Standard Arabic is the official language in Arabic-speaking countries. It is the language of television broadcasts, political speeches, literature … nearly all written Arabic is in Standard Arabic. If you know Standard Arabic, you can communicate with people throughout the Arabic-speaking world.

The Arabic dialects are the spoken languages of the Arab world. They differ from each other considerably and, as a group, they differ markedly from Standard Arabic (the official, written language).

That would depend on your needs and goals, but many choose to study both. If you're learning Arabic only to communicate with your in-laws, then there's certainly no need to study a lot of Standard Arabic. If, however, you are studying Arabic in order to do business in the Arab world or to read the news or literature of the region, then you should focus on Standard Arabic. Generally, though, it's a very good idea to learn a dialect in addition to Standard Arabic.

It would certainly enrich your travel experience if you can communicate a bit in Moroccan Arabic. However, you'll need to take our Arabic 1 class first to learn the writing system and sounds, and some rudimentary grammar.

We recommend waiting until after you've reached an intermediate level in Standard Arabic. Once you understand the basics of Standard Arabic grammar fairly well, you're likely to find a modern dialect quite simple to learn.

Yes, of course. Some of our students prefer to study only a regional form of Arabic, and that's fine. However, you must know the Arabic writing system (at the very least) before beginning your dialect studies at PAR.

Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia. As a South Semitic language, it is related to Arabic. We occasionally offer Amharic classes at PAR.

	Tuition	Repeat Tuition*	Non-Refundable Portion+
Workshop (four meetings)	$120**	$80**	$40
Full class (eight meetings)	$240**	$160**	$80
Combo: Language AND Conversation (16 meetings)	$400**	$280**	$100
AYCE (unlimited classes for a year++)	$1200**	--	$1200
Winter Intensive (20 meetings of 3.5 hours)	$600***	--	$200
Summer Intensive (40 meetings of 3.5 hours)	$1500***	--	$500

*You are eligible for this discount if you took the same course at PAR, within the last year. Third-timers must pay full tuition.
**Tuition increases by $20 about three weeks before class begins.
***Tuition increases by $125 (for Winter Intensive) and $250 (for Summer Intensive) as the first class meeting approaches.
+The remaining tuition will be refunded if the student withdraws from the class prior to the second class meeting. No refunds are given after the second class meeting begins.
++May not be used as payment for Winter or Summer Intensive programs.

Private instruction (available only for students enrolled in our group classes) is billed at $50 per hour. This amount is fully refundable if canceled 24 hours before the scheduled meeting.

Tuition increases to encourage students to register early. We'd like students to register before this date because we need to have realistic enrollment figures as early as possible. If fewer than four students register for a class we'll probably cancel it. Also, we sometimes have too many registrants for a particular class and need to divide the class into two sections. In that case, we need to arrange for a second teacher and classroom so early registration helps us prepare and ensure a quality learning experience for all. To help us keep our school running smoothly, and to continue offering instruction at all levels of Standard and regional Arabic, we ask students to register at least a month before a class begins.

Yes, in fact we encourage it. If you'd like to visit a class, please contact our registrar to make arrangements.

We encourage you to visit one of our classes before registering, but we can't allow visitors at the first meeting of a class. Registration closes once the first class meeting begins, so plan ahead and visit a class now if you're considering taking one of our classes in the near future.

To drop a class or request a refund, simply notify the registrar. You will receive a refund (minus the non-refundable portion of your tuition) if you notify the registrar before the second class meeting. (No refunds are given after the second class meeting begins.)

All You Can Eat (AYCE) is a steeply discounted tuition rate, currently $1,000 for three consecutive terms (approximately six months). Choosing this payment option entitles you to take as many classes as you want at PAR for three consecutive terms. (This period begins on the day your first AYCE-funded course begins.) If you take more than one class per term this is a very attractive discount. If you'd like more information about AYCE, please contact our registrar.

Yes, we do. If you register for an Arabic class along with a conversation class, you may pay $400 in combined tuition (a savings of $80).

We're a private language school and do not offer academic credit for our courses. Some students have obtained credit for our courses through their own university. Students need to arrange this through their own institution.

No, we don't. If you're looking for translation or interpretation services in the Bay Area, have a look at the Northern California Translators Association website.

PAR is a secular, non-political institute. We stand only for language learning (although we're passionate about that). Therefore, we don't pass on cause-related announcements. We ask our students to help by leaving political or religious views at the door when they come to class. We want everyone to feel equally comfortable studying at our school. Everyone can be part of our learning community, and we think that's one of the things that makes our school so great.