Fez — The American Language Center–Arabic Language Institute in Fez (ALC-ALIF) is a highly active learning center that provides Standard Arabic, Moroccan Arabic and English language courses for international learners. They also organize extracurricular activities that involve students, members of the community, and artists.
The Center attracts many students, since it recruits a carefully selected group of highly qualified and experienced American, Moroccan, Australian, and British teachers.
ALC-ALIF also provides comfortable classrooms equipped with TVs, DVD players, and air conditioners to make students intrinsically motivated and incrementally advance in levels.
ALC-ALIF has created a variety of clubs to help students interact and use English authentically outside the classroom and build a bridge between Moroccan and American cultures.
For example, the Cinema Club, directed by the American teacher Jamal Morelli, introduces a much wider range of topics than normally discussed in an average English class. Every Friday at 3:00 PM, students are invited to watch a film and have an in-depth discussion afterward. Students benefit enormously from this club, as they gain vocabulary and improve their accent.
Mohamed Naji El Maghnaoui, 20, a third-year English Literature university student who always attends the Club, said to MWN: "ALC Film Club is an opportunity to improve my speaking skills, and share my opinions and thoughts. Every week I watch a film with a new, interesting topic related to science, politics, or education, which broadens my views.’’
The Book Club, directed by Mitch Virchick, is an opportunity to read and analyze novels and plays, which helps students use English systematically. The Club selects seminal readings of prominent American writers and other pioneers of English literature.
The Cooking Club is another activity that aims to share culinary culture with students. The coordinator of the club, Safae Lahjouji El Idrissi, a 20-year-old university student, frequently hosts a different guest to cook a special meal and discuss its origins. Recently, ALC-ALIF invited J.J. Harder, U.S. Embassy Deputy Cultural Attaché, to make a classic American dish, chili, and give a presentation explaining the history of American cuisine. Dozens of Moroccan and American students attended the event. Harder welcomed the attendees and whetted their appetites by presenting the ingredients for chili. Then step by step, with the collaboration of Lahjouji El Idrissi and other members, he proceeded to make the dish in a learning-by-doing activity.
Harder then gave a presentation about the history of American cuisine to make Moroccans familiar with it and to dispel stereotypes. The audience was thrilled by the detailed presentation and was surprised by the richness and breadth of American cuisine.
Harder, who stressed culinary innovation, said: "I want to share the wide variety of U.S. dishes with Moroccans since culinary exchange is one of the few areas in which we can celebrate our differences and similarities.’’ He also said that he had visited many cities in Morocco and tasted food he had never eaten before.
The Music Club, coordinated by Hamza El Fasiki, 27, offers musical activities and events to promote better understanding of Moroccan and American culture and language. It organizes concerts that attract large audiences. ALC-ALIF recently invited Socorra Camposanto, an American blues/folk singer-songwriter from the San Francisco Bay Area, to perform seven concerts at ALCs throughout Morocco.
David Amster, director of ALC-Fes and ALIF, said to MWN "the goal of the club, and all our activities, is to promote mutual understanding through cultural and educational exchange, and our concerts and other activities are for this purpose.’’
ALC helped Camposanto produce an excellent album, "Little by Little." Part of the sales of the CD went to help the Ziat Center for Girls in Fez, which provides shelter for and protects abandoned girls from abuse. Recently ALC used the funds from Socorra to buy school bags for all girls at the shelter.
Camposanto attracted tourists and local Moroccan music fans alike, who admire her alto voice and light-heartedness.
Camposanto said to MWN, "music to me is a common language and the best way to connect people from many different cultures, religions, and nationalities." She added, "I love Morocco...it has a special place in my heart. I love the generosity, the food, the landscape and all of the friends that I have made along the way.’’
ALC-ALIF also created the Community Service Club, which organizes charitable activities like blood and clothes donations. Club members volunteer to teach English and always come up with new ideas to help people in need.
Angela Bryant, an American who has lived in Fez for the past 13 years, came up with the idea of bringing international and local students together through community service. This has provided an excellent cultural exchange opportunity, while also benefiting the local community.
“We exist to serve our community,” Bryant explained. “This is not just a Moroccan or an international thing. We’re all in this together, and it’s really the students that run this.”
ALC-ALIF also has an extraordinary English bookshop—a resource for learners and teachers of English, scholars, and university professors, since it contains some of the latest published books. The staff of the bookstore makes sure there are interesting books that tackle a variety of contemporary themes.
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