The Department of Middle East Studies Arabic Studies

Increasingly recognized as a national leader in the teaching of Arabic, the Middle East Department at BGU takes as its defining goal the facilitation of direct and meaningful engagement with the peoples, cultures, and history of the region, most notably the nearly 300,000 members of the Negev's Bedouin-Arab community. Unique among university programs, which traditionally focus on the technical aspects of the written form, the department's Arabic Studies Program treats Arabic as a living language, emphasizing the acquisition of academic skills alongside direct communication in Arabic. Through our integrated “Arabic in Arabic" approach, modeled after the highly successful program at Cornell University, native-Arabic instructors—Arab and Jewish alike—teach Modern Standard Arabic while speaking in the colloquial version, particularly the local Palestinian dialect. In this way, students acquire critical skills in a language of social, political, and regional importance, and become part of the department's efforts to connect Jewish Israelis with Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel and with more peoples of the Middle East.

Developed in consultation with leading researchers of foreign-language pedagogy, the curriculum creates a continuum of content that makes for applicable and effective learning. The program also features regular field tours to Israel's Arab cities, where students can put their growing language skills to use, and the option of an Arabic-speaking practicum in the Negev (or “Al-Naqab" in Arabic), in an Arab cultural center, school, clinic, or municipality, or in joint Jewish-Arab initiatives.

Designed to complement the full three years of a departmental undergraduate degree, the program also accommodates students in the M.A. and Ph.D. tracks, undergraduates in year- or semester-long exchange programs, and graduate students in other departments for whom skills in Arabic will advance their research. The program welcomes students at all levels of spoken and written Arabic, and its staff tailors a course of study to fit each students' goals and needs.

Show All

Hide All

The Curriculum

The program’s curriculum progresses in intuitive fashion from the personal to the academic and ultimately the professional realm. In the first year, “Arabic and the Self,” the teaching content is directed toward the acquisition of basic verbal and written skills, and focuses on students’ backgrounds, interests, and day-to-day environments. Emphasis is placed on students’ surroundings in the Negev and on the cultures and societies it contains.

In the second year, “Arabic in Academia,” students enhance their skills in Arabic by engaging in academic activities, such as reading Arabic texts, searching for articles in Arabic on the Internet, conducting an Arabic interview, analyzing Arabic television programs, and more.

In the third year, “Arabic in the Real World,” the curriculum empowers students to use their acquired knowledge to learn about and interact with Arabic-speaking societies. Along with compulsory courses whose texts include novels, historical newspapers, and modern song lyrics, students may choose an elective taught fully in Arabic and tailored for non-native speakers, or an Arabic-speaking practicum in a range of professional and social contexts.

Practicum in Arabic

In keeping with the department’s goal of preparing students for academic and professional careers, as well as its commitment to building bridges between the Negev’s Jewish and Arab communities, the program offers the option of a weekly practicum (or internship). Practicums may take place in one of the region’s many Bedouin schools, health clinics, nonprofits, or unincorporated townships, as well as at Beer-Sheva’s Soroka University Medical Center (SUMC). These practicums provide students a unique opportunity to practice and improve their communication skills in Arabic while learning about Arab culture from within, whether in the Bedouin city of Rahat, Houra, Al-Laqiya, Beer-Sheva, or other localities.

Individuals who wish to learn more about the program are invited to contact Dr. Yonatan Mendel, the program’s director, at mendely@bgu.ac.il.