I think I can speak for the both of us, when I say that the last two months of language study have been the most intense learning experience we've had. We studied with a teacher in a small group 6 days a week, 8 hours a day. We were doing activities and lessons at our youth center at nights. We lived with a host family speaking only Darija 24/7. It was exciting, encouraging, and absolutely exhausting. It was also empowering. When our heads hurt brimming with new information, space would be made the next day. When we looked back at our notes and flashcards that initially seemed impossible, the words were familiar. After hours and hours of dubbed soap operas, even plot lines and complex relationships began to make sense. Most importantly, we were able to glimpse the relationships that communication could enable.
We are studying Darija, a name for the colloquial Arabic spoken in Morocco. To say the least, people are surprised to learn we are trying to learn it. It is a spoken language, with very little written history. Modern Standard Arabic or French is used in formal speaking and in writing.
Two months certainly hasn't given us all we need to know. However, we recently were given language proficiency interviews and both scored well in the Intermediate level. I learned more language in 2 months than I did taking 2 years of French. Immersion learning is a very cool thing.
We are studying Darija, a name for the colloquial Arabic spoken in Morocco. To say the least, people are surprised to learn we are trying to learn it. It is a spoken language, with very little written history. Modern Standard Arabic or French is used in formal speaking and in writing.
Two months certainly hasn't given us all we need to know. However, we recently were given language proficiency interviews and both scored well in the Intermediate level. I learned more language in 2 months than I did taking 2 years of French. Immersion learning is a very cool thing.
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