AY Cultural and Experiential Learning Along with day-to-day life among Arab students and many Arab adults, AY students will put weekends and school breaks to good use. Weekends (Friday and Saturday in Jordan) will be opportunities for cultural visits to local towns and neighborhoods or experiential learning field trips to sites such as the Nabatean city of Petra, the biblical Dead Sea region, the Roman ruins at Jerash, the Crusader Castle at Karak, the Red Sea at Aqaba and the desert canyons of Wadi Rum, once home to Lawrence of Arabia. Longer breaks will offer opportunities to travel in the region, with possible organized trips to nearby countries. Daily life at AY offers insight and exposure to Arab identity and the Islamic religion. Immersed in the daily life of Jordan, AY students will gain a personal connection to Middle Eastern culture and perspectives.
“This is a great way for me to connect with my family roots, to actually feel what it’s like to live in this part of the world.” - Fawzi, Westwood, MA
AY Director Before joining the King’s Academy Department of Communication, nication, Rhetoric and the Literary Arts (CRLA) as an English teacher, AY Director Stephen h Morison M i Jr. J worked k d for f School Year Abroad (SYA) in China, where he taught English literature and co-supervised multiple student trips to Chinese provincial cities and villages. He is a 15-year veteran of the classroom, having taught at boarding schools in the United States, China and Morocco.
AY Admission Arabic Year will enroll its first cohort of 10-15 students for the 2012-2013 school year. Students admitted into AY must have demonstrated suitable academic achievement in their current school. They also should have a willingness to immerse themselves in a new culture and language and show the maturity to be able to live in an overseas boarding environment. Students of varying levels of Arabic language – from beginner to advanced – can be enrolled.