Maha testimonial 2018

"You are going WHERE? To study WHAT? With WHOM?!?!" This was generally the reaction I got from friends and family when I explained that I was considering enrolling in Maha's intensive 2 week Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) Beginner Course abroad. I'll admit that I was skeptical myself. After all, why should a busy middle aged wife and mother of 4 with a full time job take 2 weeks off to study Arabic with some slick internet personality in a foreign country? There are plenty of Arabic classes here at home. Aside from the attractive and sympathetic online persona, Maha was obviously a total stranger to me personally. For all I knew, she could be a serial killer or a scam artist, using the cover of a language class to lure in her naive victims. And as a somewhat shy person, the prospect of staying in joint housing accommodations with fellow classmates sent a shiver down my own spine. What would these people be like and could we get along in a region of the world that seems perpetually politically charged and rife with conflict? And what about these unrealistic plans to tour all of these holy sites in basically a single weekend squeezed in the middle of the 2 week course? I'd previously tried slogging through them on my own as a tourist and struggled just to hit a few of the highlights, despite having considerably more than 2 days at my disposal and unencumbered by the burden of studying for a class. Finally, didn't the promise of actually learning all of the basics of such a complex language in just 2 weeks seem like a remote possibility, bordering on preposterous? 

However, given that learning Arabic (especially the intimidating task of reading and writing it) had been a goal of mine for years, I decided to take the chance. After all, no one else on the market was making such a bold offer, with other course syllabi describing months or years, not weeks, of boring class lectures before reaching even simple literacy. At this point in my life, I couldn't afford to take that much time off just to pursue a dream. Watching hours of Maha's concise and entertaining teaching style on YouTube, compounded by all the rave reviews from thousands of followers online made me hopeful, even cautiously optimistic. I reasoned that IF Maha could really pull this off, it would be amazing, but if not, then at least I would have enjoyed a reasonably priced fun 2 week vacation in an interesting part of the world.

After completing the course, not only can I honestly say that Maha kept all of her promises and allay all of my fears, but the class more than exceeded my expectations on every level. After keeping us spellbound with her lively, mesmerizing teaching style, audible gasps and squeals of delight could be heard from students across the classroom as we realized that after just 3 days, we were actually WRITING AND READING IN ARABIC! This was made all the more remarkable by the fact that my classmates were not just the crazy irresponsible teenage cross-country backpacker types that I'd feared this course would wind up attracting. Instead, I found that these were mostly serious, mature, and highly educated adults, some of whom had even attempted formal study of the language before elsewhere. I calculated that the average student age in my class was 42, though it was a very wide range, from some in their 20s to some in their 70s. As I got to know them more, I found that they came from a very broad range of backgrounds, countries, professions, native languages, and linguistic abilities. 

But they all shared an open mind and a love of learning that enabled them to endure the intense classroom schedule of 4 hours each morning. In fact, students not only survived, but thrived, thanks to what can only be described as a gifted and masterful educator. Maha has a unique ability to dissect the key components of the language and to articulate them clearly and succinctly to reach students. She constantly monitors her audience, very considerately taking the pulse of the class to ensure that everyone keeps up with her pace and that no one is left behind. Her passion for the language and the warmth of her effusive personality are infectious, encouraging students to plow through even the most complex challenges.

I won't lie and say that it was easy, because it wasn't. In order to actually get what is promised out of this course, students need to devote themselves fully to doing many hours of homework and reviewing material every evening. However, amazingly there was still time left to enjoy socializing with classmates and visiting local attractions. If there is one thing that Maha does as well as or better than teaching, it is screening students for her classes and making roommate arrangements. I came to truly like, respect, and admire my classmates, who actually enjoyed staying up late at night cramming for the next day's lesson. I like to say that this class is not aimed at the academically faint of heart, but rather at "cool nerds". But if the range of professions displayed in my class is any indication (biker, chemist, stewardess, physicist, nanny, doctors, realtor, linguist, priests, engineers, television producer, programmers, administrators, teacher, stay-at-home mom, just to name a few), I think it's safe to say that it's feasible for anyone with some intellectual ability and a real motivation for studying the material.

Finally, Maha's ability to organize tours was astounding. She shared my obsession with speed and punctuality, and more impressively demanded the same from anyone with whom she contracted to take us on tours. This enabled us to cover an extensive amount of holy sites. In an area where timeliness is a flexible concept, Maha always seemed ready to respond to "baden" (which roughly translates as "later", but usually means never) with "yallah" (which means "let's GO NOW"), and keep things moving, extracting cooperation and results when embarking on ambitious tour schedules. Clearly, she is very familiar with the land, routes, and culture, allowing students to maneuver through all of these holy sites much faster and effectively with her help. On several occasions when it seemed that obstacles were arising beyond her control that might make it impossible to cover some of the ground we'd been promised, Maha fiercely resisted adversity and persevered. I strongly sensed that she felt she'd put her personal reputation on the line when she gave us her word on something, so she refused to let anything block us. She truly cared that her students enjoyed the experience, both inside and outside of the classroom. I'd highly recommend this program to anyone.

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Amelia A. - USA