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Spring I Term 2009
-- Fast Track Arabic: Master the Basics Quickly
-- Conversation Class Discount Available
-- Studying Arabic for 1001 Nights: John Gleason Revisited
-- San Franciscans Score C- in Language Quiz
-- Spring Classes: Register by February 13
You'd never know it's winter from the beautiful, dry weather we've been having here in the Bay Area. And spring's quickly approaching, along with our spring classes (beginning March 2), now posted on our calendar page. Remember to register by February 13. We may be rationing water this summer, but your Arabic can grow even as your lawn withers!
Arabic 1: Fast Track is a new way to begin your Arabic studies at PAR. Designed for students interested in mastering the basics quickly, this four-week course meets twice per week, presenting our Arabic 1 curriculum in half the normal time.
This course, for complete beginners, will always be offered during the second month of each term, preparing students to join Arabic 2 during the following term. Many students find the twice-weekly format greatly improves their retention of the material.
A section of Arabic 1: Fast Track is beginning on Monday, February 2, and the next starts in April. If you've been wanting to begin learning Arabic, PAR now offers more opportunities than ever.
Students who register for one of our core Standard Arabic courses (Arabic 1-12) may save $80 on the associated conversation class. For instance, a student who registers for Arabic 3 ($240) may also take Arabic 3 Conversation during the same term for only $160 more (instead of the usual $240). This student will pay $400 tuition for both courses.
These conversation classes are a wonderful opportunity to take your Arabic from theory to practice, and to meet students in other classes. Take advantage of our discounted tuition and bring your Arabic to the next level!
The indomitable John Gleason has been studying Arabic at PAR since 2002. Having completed our entire core curriculum, John went on to work independently with instructor Maher Sabry. Interested in reading the literature of the Arab world, John focused his independent studies on contemporary Egyptian and Sudanese authors, particularly Naguib Mahfouz.
To date, John has read eight books in Arabic, including two trilogies. He is currently working on Alf Layla wa Layla (A Thousand Nights and a Night), and -- no offense to Maher -- often feels lonely in his private sessions. If you're an advanced student of Arabic and would like to join John in reading Arabic literature, contact Jamye at our office.
 In 2006 the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages launched a "Discover Languages" initiative, a long-term effort to raise public awareness about the importance of learning languages. One of the more colorful activities associated with the initiative is the "language ambush," an unscientific multilingual quiz.
Last year an ambush was conducted on San Francisco's Market Street. Language students and teachers asked passersby the question "What time is it?" in a variety of languages and collected almost 1,400 responses in just two hours. In addition to the commonly taught languages of French and Spanish, interviewers used Urdu, Punjabi, Swahili, German, Italian, and Portuguese.
Of the 1,400 people asked, only 82 (5.9%) responded accurately in the correct language. 64 individuals (4.6%) answered the question in English, and 1,249 (89.5%) did not respond at all to the question.
The results indicate that the average Bay Area resident needs more language skills to support the nation's need for proficient speakers of languages other than English. If someone asked you what time it is in Arabic ... would you be able to answer them?
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