Study Arabic In the West Bank, Palestine (1-13 Weeks)

Really a nice program. Teachers good. You are provided with textbooks - but the teachers are very flexible about that. Everybody in the center are very kind and helpful. You will meet a lot of students from UK, EU, US and Australia. Accomodation is good and together with other students. There will be excurtions with the center and the other students around Hebron. In the weekends it is possible to discover the hole Palestine by yourself or with the other students. Palestine and Israel is a very interesting place full of history.

The intensive arabic teaching excellent and you have to be prepared to put a lot in if you really want to make the most of your time. You need to follow up the classes with independant study. The standard of teaching is very high and personalised to your needs which is brilliant. There is also so much to learn about the situation here and the Centre are great at arranging trips. I also really enjoyed meeting and mixing with other students and colleagues on the human rights and teaching English programmes and sharing our awareness and experiences. It's been a really special time and I do hope to return . I would recommend the Center as a great place to learn Arabic and to get to know Hebron and someof the extraordinary people here who work peacefully and with creativity in spite of the huge challenges of living under the occupation.

I went on many excursions to various places around and outside of Al Khalil. Including a cutting edge art workshop the only of its kind in Al Khalil as well as a trip to Masafer Yatta where we spoke to local residents.
I was doing the intensive Arabic course. Aided by my brilliant teacher I was able to make considerable progress in my Arabic, improving all facets including reading, speaking and writing. My teacher also prepared immersive lessons where we visited different shops and cafes so I was able to practise my arabic with locals. This helped to boost my confidence and make the learning process more exciting.
The staff at the excellence centre have managed to cultivate a very warm and inviting environment where a lot of concerns someone may hold when travelling to Al khalil are quickly dispensed on arrival as volunteers are instantly put at ease and made to feel at home.

The excellence centre is a great environment because it attracts an interesting mix of volunteers and students, who come from all other the world for a multitude of reasons, be that to improve their Arabic, to explore Palestinian culture, or to learn more about the political situation in the region.
There’s lots I have loved about Palestine. I loved the food, the array of cosy coffee shops but most of all I loved the people I met here. From the people at the centre to people I met on the streets. Most people were friendly and hospitable and some exhibited incredible kindness and warmth.
Despite the complex political situation that overshadows the region it manages to sustain a vibrant culture and the people here exhibit an incredible spirit and willingness to entertain foreigners and make them feel welcome.
Overall experience has been incredibly positive. The cultural excursions along with the quality of teaching and the environment at the centre have made for an unforgettable experience that I will cherish for a long time.

I studied Arabic for three months in the Excellence Center. I visited several cities in the West Bank and in the Occupied Lands including an visit to Deir Mar Saba, a place I am sure I would not have visited if the Excellence Center had not organized it.

My Arabic lessons were great. I have learned a lot of Arabic in my three months here. My teachers were native Palestinians speakers with university degrees and experienced in teaching Arabic to non-native speakers.

Hebron is very safe and the people are very nice.

My name is Michael, I am 49 years old and come from Germany.

Here is a feedback about my stay in Palestine in September 2022.

Activities at excellence center
intensive Arabic immersion Program for one month

Arabic lessons
4 lessons a day, 5 times a week
very well organised
Well structured
Highly professional teacher, top notch!

Centers environment
Very experienced in what they are offering
Very Friendly stuff
Competent teachers
Very nice students / volunteers

Site visits
Ibrahims oak
Tour with Palestine students to Ibrahim mosque, plastic factory and old city
Attend an official meeting about some issues of Hebron in regard of energy, water supply
Wonderful Tour with my teacher through the old city and shopping - good chance to practice the Arabic

Visited places in Palestine
Bethlehem
Nablus
Jerusalem

Safety and security in Palestine
When you go to visit Israel and Palestine it is clear, that will enter a different world than you are used to in Europe/America.
However, I always felt very comfortable and safe during my stay.

Liked most in Palestine
very very very friendly people!
Always got help when I needed it
Hospitality is not just a word - it is part of the Palestinian DNA

Overall experience
I can fully recommend the excellence Center for other students / volunteers and would be very happy if I might come back in 2023.

Thank you for the wonderful four weeks.

As a complete beginner when I started the course, I now have a basic understanding of the language and a foundation for further learning. My teacher was excellent and I felt very comfortable learning with him. He made learning fun and we laughed a lot during class. I appreciated that I was with only one other student rather than a large class as this made learning faster and tailored to our needs and expectations. For me personally, I could of studied more than 3 hours per day, but after speaking with the other students 3 hours per day was enough for them.
I loved staying with a host family and I formed a close bond with them in one week.
I would of liked if the center offered meetings with NGOs and activists... in the week I was here there wasn't the opportunity for this.

I was a complete beginner when I started this course and now after finishing one week I feel I have a basic understanding and a foundation for further learning. My teacher was excellent and made me feel very comfortable. He also made learning fun and we laughed a lot. I also really appreciated learning with just one other student rather than a large group.
I enjoyed the breakfast provided by the center each day.
I would of liked more structure with activities for after class. For example, I would of liked to engage more with local NGOs and activists.

I studied at the Excellence Center in Hebron for two weeks. The staff at the center was really nice and communication was quick and effective. My one-on-one classes were really good, the teacher quickly understood what level I was at and tailored the classes to my specific level. Each day in class was different with different activities for learning which was good so that classes didn't become boring. The center also organized activities that I participated in, such as a tour to the Old City of Hebron with a really good guide, and we also had a evening with a talk about Palestine which was followed by a delicious meal and topped off with the great Palestinian dessert knafeh.

People in Hebron in general were really friendly and welcoming. Once I walked past a falafel shop and a worker there gave me a several falafels and a piece of bread just out of kindness. In the afternoons I would sometimes play football with the kids living in our neighbourhood which was good fun and a fun way to be exposed to a kind of Arabic that you won't hear in school.

Perhaps the best thing about staying in Hebron, though, was the friends that I made here at the center. Peole were open from the first day, and even though I was only at the center for two weeks, I would go out to cafes or restaurants with people from the center almost every day, and we also went on a weekend trip to Bethelem and Nablus (where we had the best knafeh you can possibly find!).

All in all, I really enjoyed my stay in Hebron and the experiences and the new friends I found through the center. Recommended.