Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA)

I had a great experience at Ahlan school in Alexandria. I was there for two weeks for an intensive ECA course. The teachers were professional and knowledgeable. All the staff made everything to make you feel welcome, including organizating off school events and student meet ups. The school is very centrally located and easy to find. Installations are appropriate for the school size.

It was a great experience, we meet great teachers, students and people and we learned a lot. Maybe what could have been better, is to know more exactly, how many hours we have school in advance.

I loved my stay in Ahlan and Alexandria.
I took a course in Fushat and Egyptian dialect and both teachers werde very kind and took our lessions serious.
I'am very happy with the choice of the school because I learned a lot. I made progress in reading, pronounciation and speaking.
It was also beautiful because the whole team of the school was very welcoming and during the week-ends they organised trips, presentations and events that you could join if you wanted.
I recommend the school with all my heart.

Every person in Ahlan Alexandria was very friendly and helpful. If you had questions, they all took their time to answer these without any pressure. My teacher could answer any question regarding Fusha or the Egyptian dialect I had, perfectly in English. That was possible due to the fact that my teacher studied Arabic literature and obtained a Master's degree in it. Needless to say that I was supervised by an expert, who helped me prepare well for my final exams in university.

The location of the school is amazing, cause it is only a few steps away from the sea. The area itself is a safe area too and some tourists end up nearby as well to drink in the many cafés. The school has several classrooms, a reception and a kitchen, where you can drink tea. Some classrooms even have a balcony on which you can have a seat.

Once every two to three weeks, the principal of the school organized activities for us students to gather, have a trip to Cairo or the surrounding of Alexandria or we mostly went to restaurants in Alexandria to eat and talk.

The apartment had three rooms for three students, so each of us had a single-room. We shared the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room and the balcony. The kitchen had some dishes, pans and pots, as well as a gas stove and a washing machine. It had most of the basics and therefore I was mostly concerned with buying food only. My room had a big bed, a window, a cabinet and a night stand, which was sufficient as I could put all my stuff and clothes in it. My room was around 10 square meters big. The living room had a small TV. The housing was in an area that had many foreign representations and culture centers. In my case, it wasn't far from the sea either. The supermarket was only 5 minutes away by walking.

What I liked most were my lessons with my teacher, as I was in great need for a professional preparation of my final exams in university. Furthermore, the location of the housing was in a great area and the tram line was right around the corner.

the location is center of the city. my teacher was willing to teach what i wanted to know about arabic. free wifi isi very useful.

Everything was great from start to finish.
The staff and administration are amazing. The Institute feels like one big family, so it's like being at home...

You are provided the support that you need and you can study at your own pace with highly qualified teachers who have deep knowledge of the Arabic language, alongside a good grasp of the English Language.

I would highly recommend Ahlan Institute to all learners of the Arabic language.

I took 5 weeks of MSA classes. Upon my arrival I could not take the workshop as I was the only student in this course. The school rapidly offered for me to take additional dialect classes to reach the 5 hours daily originally requested. This flexibility was great, I was also thinking of finishing the course early and again the school was helpful and said I could take the last classes as credit (either for another visit to Alex or online). This is a real strength of the school.

The teachers were great, supportive, creative and flexible and in 5 weeks I have seen a huge improvement on my ability to communicate, speak clearly and be able to read and write.

Thank you Ahlan!!

Wonderful classes, comfortable and full of colors. The director was really understanding. She were always listening, helping and friendly.
The school invited me to celebrate Aïd Day, together. It was a sweet moment with all the teachers and students.

My two teachers were both, with two different way of teaching, really interesting during the classes.

I never felt the time passed during the courses. All the lessons were attractive.

It was a really great experience and I already planned to be back there, to study in 3 months.

In a hurry to seat in that school again.

I had a really good experience at Ahlan Alexandria, and it ended up exceeding my expectations. In very few days I felt like everyone at school and in the accommodation was my family.

When we arrived it was a bit chaotic because our flight got in late, so we got there in the middle of the night and we had classes the next day. The accommodation was right next to the school though, so it was easy to find the next morning. Living at the accommodation was great, mostly because of the people. Everyone was friendly and wanted to hang out, and it felt like we were our own little community. The rooms were fine too, although the kitchen was a bit small, and there always seemed to be something broken in the bathroom. However, these were just little details and in my daily life I didn't notice them much.

The classes were also very good, we were only three people in my class, which I think was a very good size. The teachers were also excellent, and I learned more than I had hoped to in 3 weeks. Furthermore, the school arranged activities and planned weekend trips to different locations in Egypt upon request. I felt very welcome at all times, and everyone always did their best to help no matter what the problem. I would recommend this school to anyone looking to spend time in Egypt, Alexandria also being a fresh breath of air compared to Cairo.

If it weren't for the pandemic outbreak, I definitely would have considered staying longer than 3 weeks.

I really enjoyed my classes with two different teachers; both of them were professional and very friendly. I had the feeling that I could ask them everything at any time. The school itself is perfectly located (downtown, close to the sea) and just a two minutes walk from the housing. The school offered several activities, which I greatly appreciated. You had the feeling that you could Always reach someone if there were any problems. Regarding the housing I would like to see more pictures on the website, so that one can get a better impression.

As the class was small, I felt free to ask questions and teachers are knowledgeable. Students studying there are highly motivated so I got a lot of stimulation. Since the school is in the city near the Alexandria station and a tram station, it was easy for us to go to another place. Buses are also available on the street, which is really useful and cheap. The best thing in Alexandria is about people there. They are so friendly that I talked a lot with them and it was a good practice of speaking Arabic.

The teachers are great - special thanks to my teacher Sallam. The school is well located, near the sea (2 minutes away).
I stayed at Locanda New Hotel which is located at a ~3-minute walk from the school.

Activities were organized throughout the week by the teachers (e.g. Sallam invited a Sufi singer who performed at the school, and Mohamed organised small tours in noticeable places of Alexandria).

At the beginning I had one to one classes because there weren't many students although I didn't pay for it. But since one to one classes are very intensive I was happy when I had lesson together with other students. I had two classes with two different teachers. My level was between intermediate and advanced I. I studied with two books of modern Standard Arabic. The books contained reading, grammar, listening comprehension and free discussions. My teachers tried to train me in every of those disciplines. One of my teacher could speak a good English while the other one explained everything to me in Arabic which was very helpful because I had no chance to speak English at all. The grammar book contained English explanations which was also a help. My school was only 2 minutes from the hotel that I had booked together with the package. The name of the hotel was "New Hotel Locanda" and it was a very nice place where I met a lot of nice people from Europe and North America. The hotel only hosted foreign students. The school has 6 rooms and one kitchen and two toilets. There is air condition and also tea and sometimes coffee for the students and teachers. The hotel didn't have air condition but even though the weather was hot, the temperature in the hotel wasn't that hot. And there was also a fan. The school offered different types of activities like lectures about culture and religion but also trips to other places as Siwa or Fayyum. But we also went to restaurants together. The only thing that didn't work out very well all the time, was that the internet was weak sometimes. Especially at the end of the month. But that was ok to me since we were so many people at the hotel. The hotel has a nice kitchen with a cooking place, fridge and washing machine. I Was very happy about the location of the hotel since it was only a few meters away from the sea and school. So we always had fresh air from the sea. The Management of the school used to ask weather we have wishes and weather we are happy with the lessons. The teachers were very friendly and welcoming. Of course there were also some things that were different as in Europe, but the procedures at school were all in all satisfying in my point of view. At the end I got my certificate and I returned to Germany with a lot of experience and new impressions.

Everything was fine. The location of the school is perfect, just in the middle of the city and close to the corniche (shore). The staff is always looking for the best service for you.

The staff and everyone are very welcoming and the school have great teachers. I took one on one classes in Aamiya and I found that the lessons were really relaxed and helpful. The location is great as it's right next to where I live so everything was convenient. I am already a student in Alexandria and just needed extra help for speaking lessons as I needed more practice. Really good school in a lovely location with very helpful staff who are all young and fun!

The school was very nice because it was not a "real serious school" but more a comfortable area where we could learn and spend time. My teacher (Dr. Saber) was very good and I learned a lot.
About the accommodation, I was in the Saint Catherine convent. The rooms were nice and big, but it was very cold. Another little annoying thing was breakfast: we had everyday the exact same breakfast. It was good at the beginning but at the end we could not eat it anymore. The last negative point about the convent was the curfew. We had to be back at 11 pm every night, which is not cool when you want to see friends, knowing that life in Egypt starts later in the day than here, in Belgium. Otherwise, the people working in the convent were friendly and we were secured. The location of the convent was also perfect because it was extremely close to the school. The school was also well situated because the sea is very close to it.
I attended three activities organised by the school: we went in a Berber restaurant, we had a calligraphy class and we had an international lunch. I was a bit disappointed by the calligraphy class because we did not really learn how to make the calligraphy. However, the international lunch and the Berber restaurant were perfect.

I had only booked the school, my accommodation was privately chosen.

Ahlan Egypt school in Alexandria offered great and experienced teachers, who have a wide range in experiences and teaching tools. The lectures had been adjusted to my needs. The atmosphere was open-minded and international. It was great also to meet other students. The cultural program and the hospitality were impressive. The team of Ahlan Egypt took a lot of care of their students. The cultural tours had offered a lot of theories and information. We had been also been asked and contacted daily whether we are interested in activities and what we want to see or to do.

Altogether a great school with very professional teachers and amazing hospitality.

Ahlan School is a great place where everybody can practice Arabic. Teachers are really highly qualified. All the people who work in Ahlan School are very nice and always helpful in every situation. I didn't use the housing offered by the school. If I could take the course again, I would.