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MENA LANGUAGES PROGRAM

Welcome to our Program

 

Learn Arabic, Hebrew, or Turkish

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Our students and our faculty welcome new and current students to our unique language and culture program. We hope you will choose to begin or continue studying with us. In addition to scheduling an array of interesting language and culture courses in Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Persian every quarter,  we offer tutoring services to help you advance your language skills and regular cultural programming such as language tables, movie nights, and guest speakers (we regularly collaborate with the MENA Student Association and the MENA Studies Program).  If you study with us, you will acquire important language skills and a fresh perspective on the cultures and people of the MENA region.  The MENA region stretches from Morocco to Iran, and it is one of the most diverse regions with more than sixty languages being spoken throughout.

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Noteworthy

 

Start a new Language now because learning a new language is an exciting experience. Not only does it expand your cultural and cognitive horizons, but it also boost academic performance overall by strengthening concentration and memory skills. Learning a new language helps you to become a good communicator: you grow your ability to empathize with and understand others and broaden your perspectives about the world. Start Arabic, Hebrew, or Turkish this fall and develop your sense of achievement by learning how to feel comfortable stepping outside your comfort zone and taking on new challenges.

Arabic 316-3 Reading Modern Arabic Prose
M / W from 2 pm - 3:20 pm with instructor Rana Raddawi

This course offers students an in-depth exploration of modern short stories by renowned Arabic writers, emphasizing current socio-cultural issues in the Middle East. Students will engage with a diverse array of narratives that reflect various images of Arab identities, cultures, and experiences in the contemporary world. Themes such as exile, identity, gender, and social change will be discussed, considering the historical and cultural contexts that shape these stories.
Prerequisites: Arabic 211-3 or permission of instructor.

Arabic Minor

MINOR IN ARABIC
The MENA Languages Program is excited to announce that we are now offering a Minor in Arabic, to students who wish to gain a high level of proficiency in Arabic.  Arabic is a very important language: with more than 300 million speakers word-wide, it is the fifth most-spoken language globally. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations and the United States government has deemed knowing Arabic as strategically important for the country.

The course work leading to the Minor in Arabic is carefully scaffolded along a set of overarching goals that inform the pedagogical tasks employed in each class:

  • Goal one: to understand and interact with communities of different ethnicities and cultures 
  • Goal two: to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Goal three: to speak Arabic at the advanced low level on the ACTFL Proficiency Scale

The Minor in Arabic requires 6 Arabic courses at the 200- and/or 300- level chosen from the various courses offered in the MENA Languages Program.

Find out more about our Arabic Minor

Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs)
The Fulbright FLTA Program enhances the teaching of global languages and exposes their students to a true understanding of people of different nations. Sponsored by the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), the Fulbright FLTA Program supports teaching assistantships in more than 35 languages. Northwestern is hosting five FLTAs this year and the Mena languages progam is proud to welcome three of them: Heba Khaldi in Arabic, Margo Oganezov in Hebrew, and Ecem Hermes in Turkish.

lucnh, FLTAs 2024 FLTA Welcome Lunch (September 2024)
From left to right: Margo Oganezov (Hebrew), Ecem Hermes (Turkish),  Inês Silva de Almeida (Portuguese), Kathleen Hrdinka (Departmental Assistant, MENA Languages Program), Meagan Keefe (Departmental Assistant, Program of African Studies), Heba Khaldi (Arabic), Staicy Toms (Swahili).

 

Learn more about our FLTAs

We have a unique program

 

PROGRESSIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Our program recognizes that students are diverse learners from racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse backgrounds. To encourage students to excel, we offer a variety of learning situations and scenarios including the frequent use of new technologies and opportunities to practice with native speakers of the target culture. The goal is for students to acquire the new language efficiently and thoroughly while being engaged.

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ENGAGING STUDY-ABROAD OPPORTUNITIES

Many of our students take advantage of the various study abroad opportunities the University offers and all come back with engaging stories to tell.  Mara Kelly spent her summer in Jordan learning Arabic: "During my time in Amman, Jordan, I lived with a Jordanian host family, which was the highlight of my experience. My host family helped me feel at home and was incredibly welcoming."

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AWARD WINNING INSTRUCTORS

Our program has exceptional teaching faculty who regularly receive awards and accolades for teaching. Every faculty member makes a concerted effort to offer classes that are engaging, motivating, intellectually fulfilling, and have an interactive learning environment.  

 

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News and Events

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 
MENA Languages Welcomes Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants

Northwestern University is welcoming five Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants for the 2024-25 Academic Year.  The MENA Languages Program is excited to welcome three of them: Heba Khaldi, who will work closely with instructors and students in the Arabic Language program; Ecem Hermes, who will engage with students and the instructor in the Turkish Language program; and, for the first time ever, a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant from Israel, Margo Oganezov, who will work with students and instructors in Hebrew.  Read more about Heba Khaldi, Ecem Hermes, and Margo Oganezov here.  

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Upcoming Events

 

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Latest MENA Languages News

 
Professor Seltzer wins CLI Teaching Award
Poster Exhibit on Remarkable Women
Sayed Kashua visits Hebrew Class
Isabela Lisco, Asiyah Arastu, and Lucas Kritz won ULGs
Partnership with the Institute for the study of Islamic Thought in Africa

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