There are many types of tourism nowadays. And Mandala Tours covers a good part of them, as long as they provide truly premium experiences. And that can be the case with language tourism, that is, travel undertaken by students of any age with the aim of learning a foreign language. To do this, they travel to a reference place where the language is spoken, thus fostering an immersion experience that enhances learning. And if the destination also offers other complementary attractions to the traveler, so much the better. Below we show you some destinations that our agencies handle and that are especially interesting in this segment.
Arabic in Cairo
Within the Arab world, Egypt is attributed a certain central role, in all senses: geographical, religious, and cultural. In this last aspect, the Arabic language spoken here can be considered the most neutral, without dialectal variations, as occurs in other countries. And within Egypt, Cairo is the city that is best equipped with schools and institutions capable of teaching Arabic to foreigners, both public and private. In addition, reading the press and watching television in this country is a guarantee of coming into contact with standard Arabic.
Arabic in Amman
Jordan, like Egypt, is a country very focused on tourism and where a relatively standard Arabic is spoken, although with its local peculiarities. Therefore, in cities like the capital, Amman, there are also academies oriented towards foreign travelers who wish to spend a short language stay here, before, during or after visiting such special places as Petra or the Dead Sea.
Arabic in Fez
We have indicated that in other countries dialectal versions of Arabic are spoken. Well, an example of this is Morocco, where they speak darija. However, in this country there is a reference city for the entire Arab world from a cultural point of view: Fez. That is why its academies and schools are very prestigious, including language schools aimed at foreigners, with intensive courses of different durations.
Turkish in Izmir
There is no doubt that Istanbul, being the most populous city, has multiple Turkish academies for foreigners. And even Ankara, with the prestige that its capital and administration gives it, too. But many choose Izmir, on the Aegean Sea coast, as their preferred language destination: the existence of good academies is combined with the attractiveness of its climate and surroundings. In addition, Izmir is one of the most modern and open cities in the whole country, which attracts many young students looking for fun after classes.
Other language and culture courses
So far we have mentioned two languages: Arabic and Turkish. The first is one of the most widely spoken and widespread in the world (according to some estimates, the fifth or sixth, with about 300 million speakers), which justifies learning it. And although Turkish is not so much (80 million, almost all in Turkey), learning it is the best way to thoroughly understand its culture.
But did you know that in these countries you also have the possibility to learn other languages and cultures? For example, in Morocco you can delve into the rich Amazigh (wrongly called Berber) culture, with a high number of people who speak some of the varieties of this language, so it is possible to immerse yourself in this language in Morocco, for example in cities like Agadir. And French continues to enjoy a wide presence in society, especially in the university and administrative spheres.
And in Turkey other languages are also spoken, with Kurdish being the second most important, with about 15 million speakers, making it a reference country to better understand its culture and language, in cities with as much tourist interest as Diyarbakır.