Arabic Language & Culture

A charming seaside city with rich Moroccan culture makes an unforgettable setting

Enjoy everyday life in this vibrant, friendly, and relatively small North African city as you hone your language skills and immerse yourself in a fascinating new culture. You’ll spend each weekday in intensive language study, taking on both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Darija, the Moroccan dialect. The courses are interactive and dynamic, connecting you with locals to make discoveries about the culture you’re exploring – discoveries tourists often miss. Your language classes will involve going out to the marketplace to buy vegetables for a cooking class, to an outdoor café to order your own Moroccan tea , or interviewing locals about an issue that impacts their community. After classes, head to the city center (Rabat is highly walkable) and hang out in a park or cafe near the 12th century Kasbah.

Through CIEE, you’ll get to participate in a variety of cultural activities like a Moroccan tea workshop, a dinner with Andalusian music, roundtable discussions with local high schoolers, kayaking off the Bouregrag River, volunteer with a West African and Syrian refugee NGO, learn the art of Arabic calligraphy, visit Rabat's Botanical gardens and tour of the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. You’ll be staying with a welcoming homestay, who will provide inside info on other things to do that only the locals know about!

CIEE Gap Year Abroad programs are focused on supporting participants in acquiring knowledge and developing skills to live in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world. In addition to developing your language skills and gaining a better understanding of the local culture, you will take part in our Global Competence Course. This online course will allow you to connect and collaborate in real-time with our entire cohort of Gap participants worldwide, through interactive workshops and discussions. Reflect on your own cultural biases, share insights about your experience and learn about topics ranging from cultural identity and leadership styles to how to work and live sustainably or develop communication skills.

Rabat is a modern city in a traditional Muslim country, so you’ll hear the five daily calls to prayer in Rabat as you travel the tree-lined boulevards each day. You might stop for mint tea and a croissant at a charming café, haggle with merchants in the medina (old city), or head to the waterfront for some breathtaking views.

On weekends and evenings participants will spend time with their homestay where you'll get into the rhythm of Moroccan life while exploring all your neighborhood has to offer. Prepare meals with your hosts, hit the beach, take a day trip to explore a nearby town or cultural site. Make the most of this amazing opportunity!