Al Bayt Al Arabi

There is not a better Arabic language tutoring school in the DC area than Al Bayt Al Arabi. I spent over nine months at Al Bayt al Arabi (five hours a day, Monday through Friday), and used their methods to move from the 1+ to the 3 level on the standard U.S. Government language assessment exam. Another student I overlapped with during this time had a nearly identical experience. I have previously studied Arabic full-time at the Foreign Service Institute and two other private language school in DC, and nowhere other than Al Bayt Al Arabi did I find instructors who worked harder than students (if you have any experience in full-time language training, you know how crazy that statement is). The two primary instructors know how provide real-world Arabic study that is still directly applicable to the quirks of government language assessment tests...no easy feat. The primary instructor at Al Bayt Al Arabi has spent decades as an Arabic instructor for both the U.S. Government and private institutions, and he takes those years of experience to (incredibly) create customized audio and visual study material for the student based on his or her level and specific needs and goals. This material then becomes available for independent study outside of class or for use while commuting to class. I’ve never even heard of another Arabic instructor in the DC area taking the time to do that. The instructors are flexible with study hours and are willing to utilize any mix of in-person or Skype sessions (so you can continue to have class while travelling). I was initially wary of the commute to class, but the drive for me was worth the quality of instruction (plus the aforementioned audio material created for study during the commute). Learning a language like Arabic is a daunting undertaking that you will likely only do once in your life. If you’re willing to make the investment, you might as well do it right with instructors like those at Al Bayt Al Arabi. I began at Al Bayt Al Arabi with some Arabic language experience and experience in the Arab world, so I can’t speak for a student starting from zero, but I know that diplomatic, corporate, and media headquarters across the Arab world are stocked with success stories from the two primary instructors at Al Bayt Al Arabi...everywhere I go in the professional Arab world I keep running into people that have studied Arabic under these instructors.