Intensive Arabic Course (Bildungsurlaub)

The teacher (director of the school) was very skilled, and he understood what I needed in my studies. He used every minute in a good way, exactly what I wanted. The location of the school was good, and the place was nice and clean. I fixed my housing by myself. and I was not interested in any activities so I don't know anything about that.

i thought i will have class in group, it wasn't clear that it s only me in class. it was good though and i learned a lot, my teacher was excellent. accommodation was difficult, very far away, it took me ca. 3h a day to come and go. this situation was do to the traffic situation in Tunis.

The teacher conducted the classes with professionalism and compassion. Oumaïma adapted very quickly to my needs and pushed me gently to improve what I needed to really work on. The Institute is well-located, and I enjoyed the exchanges with Mohammed the Director too. There was an initial difficulty with the accommodation (lack of Air-conditioning), however we quickly found a solution that worked for everyone involved. I would highly recommend this training to anyone.

Overall I had a great experience. The location of the centre was good in the city of Tunis easy to get too by taxi or walking. I stayed on my own a little distance away by my choice.

My teacher was marvellous she was patient and kind as i am an older student and somethings simply took longer for me to grasp, she always took her time and found ways to explain things to help me. She took me on an outing in The Medina and explained local culture for me and showed me a number of significant historical sites. The resources and dialogues we worked through were interesting and appropriate.

The school’s principal took me on a wonderful outing to the country and I shared Iftar with his family.

The center is a small center with only a few teachers and students, which suited me well. Everyone was open and welcoming and outside of classes, we were able to have lunch together, which was good. I also think the price was very reasonable considering what was provided.

I was very happy that the center was able to accommodate my interests, which were very specific as they were related to my research topic in Tunisia - LGBT+-issues. Despite the topic being quite controversial in Tunisia, I experiences no issues from the center in preparing lessons surrounding this theme.

The service from ACT-center with a personal teacher was very good.
The teacher Amiena Ben Mansour was verry helpfull and understanding
…. but 60 hours course is a start , real progressing I have to make with further practice in the futur.

Classes are small and you can learn on a high standard. Teachers are highly qualified and friendly. School is almost in the City centre and you can reach the location easily by a short walk if you are staying in the on famous Avenue de Paris or Avenue Habib Bourguiba.
I liked it very much and - as a beginner - I learned very fast and on a high level a lot of the Arabic language and even more of culture and way of life. 3 hours per day is tough but worth it.

End of February I decided to begin my seven week stay in Tunisia with a weeks arabic training course. I luckily found ACT center and Simone Reich, and magically, within less than a week everything was organised, including my stay in the house of a very charming young couple in the middle of Tunis, only 10 minutes walk from the school. Thank you so much, I had a very great time!

The entrance test that I started to fill out on the train journey to Genova, from where I took the ferry - a wonderful experience, I mean, the ferry! As for the test, for sure it broke my illusion of knowing some arabic... So I came to my first lesson with just my joy of "learning a foreign language". My teacher Sarab was experienced and playful enough, to turn my "half-knowledge" into countless moments of insight and discovery. Shukran kthir! I know, that I have to study a lot more to be talking and writing somewhat fluently. Still, I am very happy to have done this course and can only recommend, including the common school lunch was delicious!

I returned to Tunis after 40 years from the time I served there as a Peace Corps volunteer English teacher, with the aim to expand, consolidate, and perfect my understanding of modern standard Arabic. I have lived and worked in various Arabic-speaking countries and so bits and pieces of a number of different dialects have been jiggling around in my head, along with a very elementary knowledge of written Arabic, which I have been trying to work on on my own. I had two weeks free from work and so elected to undertake more intensive and concentrated study at ACT as a means of setting the foundations for further work.

The two weeks were excellent in providing me with a firmer basis on which to build. The director Mohamed and his staff were all extremely personable and welcoming, and my teacher Amina was wonderful, showing great patience and good humour as I stumbled my way yet another time through vocabulary words that we had already studied the day before! Determining the best level and teaching materials most appropriate to my needs was a bit of a challenge at first, and the director allowed me to acquire a fuller series of the text book we finally settled upon.

I personally struggled a bit with the textbook, which may have been slightly above my level, as I am just solidifying my knowledge of written Arabic. There were no phonetic transliterations, nor was there always an English translation next to the Arabic text; additionally, the vowel markings were not included, so it was quite challenging form me and I am not sure how easy it will be for me to continue with this on my own, without Amina's help in deciphering the words and voicing the pronunciations. The audio material was also a bit difficult to understand.

The locale is small, but pleasant, and the classrooms are fine. I walked to the school each day from the hotel I was staying at about half an hour away; the school is located not far from the centre of town. I felt very safe and there are a number of small Tunisian restaurants all around in the area. In traditionally hospitable way, I was invited with the other students to lunch by Mohamed at one of these restaurants, and on the last day Amina also invited me to lunch. Amina and I also spent a wonderful afternoon exploring the medina together.

I have come away from my experience filled with renewed enthusiasm to continue with Arabic and hope that I may return to Tunis to do so in the future. I also come away with new-found friends at ACT and am grateful to them for all of the help they have given me.

The location of the school is very convenient; in the financial district and very close to Boulevard Bourgiba and the Medina, with easy access and plenty of restaurants and shops nearby. The facilities of the school are very good, with classrooms for small groups and a waiting area with wifi available (I even stayed there after class to check my e-mails and make phone calls for work).

I had classes with two teachers, male and female, so I could practice conversation with both genders (which is important in Arabic). Both very skilled in teaching and from whom I learned a few key elements of the language structure which helped me improve a lot in just one week.

The school's principal organized touristic activities on the afternoons and we had a group lunch with all the students and teachers.

I really enjoy the Lessons in the school. The teacher was brilliant.