Arabic has been termed a critical language by the federal government and opens a wide range of educational and employment possibilities for its students. Wofford employs a communicative approach in Arabic language pedagogy and teaches students formal Modern Standard Arabic, which is used in literature and media, as well as other dialects of Arabic, mainly Moroccan, Masri and Shami Arabic.
The MENA program offers first, second and third-year Arabic. The first-year course meets five days a week, the second-year course meets four days a week, and the third-year course meets 3 days a week. These courses will be available to the general public and to students at other local and regional campuses as well as to Wofford students, providing a resource for the community at large.
Wofford students have opportunities to study and to conduct internships in the Arab world through Wofford’s foreign study service providers, which include the Council for International Education Exchange (CIEE), the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) and the School for International Training (SIT). See The Office of International Programs for more information.
Wofford College offers a limited number of Critical Languages Travel Grants worth $1,500 each to eligible students participating in qualified travel/study programs in Greater China, the Middle East and North Africa. Eligible students who apply to one of the following programs by the established deadline will automatically be considered for the grant, subject to availability:
Qualified Interim 2025 Travel/Study Programs:
Arabic language:
Chinese language:
Eligibility requirements:
The Critical Languages Travel Grant can be combined with other Wofford Travel Grants.
*Note for Interim 2025: Students who completed Arabic or Chinese 102 in Spring 2024 will also be considered for this grant if they apply for a qualifying program by the established deadline, subject to availability.
Completion of 19 hours as follows:
and ONE course from the following:
If students decide to do both the Arabic Minor and the MENA program, they cannot overlap the MENA elective categories for the minor and the program. Therefore, there would be no overlap in courses.
Also, students willing to do both the MENA program and the Arabic minor, they have to meet with the coordinators of MENA and Arabic to coordinate their electives to make sure there is no overlap.
Youness Mountaki, a native of Casablanca, Morocco, has been teaching Arabic as a foreign language for more than twelve years. In 2006, he received a Fulbright scholarship under the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program (FLTA). He earned his MA in teaching and learning and a second MA in Liberal Arts from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (LHU), and his Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and Instructional Technology from the University of South Florida (USF). Before coming to Wofford College, Youness has taught Arabic at LHU, Green Mountain College, Saint Michael College, Lawh wa Qalam language center, the University of Tampa, and USF. In addition to Arabic instruction, Youness served as a language director for the Middlebury Interactive Languages program, and a director of studies for St. Giles Summer programs.