CEFR C1

    Level C1 — Advanced (Two Tracks)

    Advanced user. The writing option begins here. Pick the spoken track (conversational core only) or spoken + written (the Arabic alphabet strand runs SIMULTANEOUSLY in the same lessons). Writing covers Lebanese Arabic in Arabic letters — not fuṣḥā.

    Lessons

    70

    Total hours

    105

    Track

    Spoken / Spoken + Written (simultaneous)

    Schedule & dates

    ~10 months · opens after B2 — future enrollment

    Online900 LEI / month·In person1.260 LEI / month

    In-person classes are 40% more expensive than online (covers room rent and travel).

    At C1 correctness is no longer the subject. The subject is what gets said without being said: implied meaning, reading between the lines, irony and sarcasm, humour with timing and wordplay, advanced idioms and proverbs as they are actually used. This is the level where you catch the joke in the room you are in, rather than after someone explains it.

    It also covers the social map of the language: regional variation between Beirut and Mount Lebanon, then the South, the North and the Bekaa; sociolinguistics — who speaks how, by class, age and community; code-switching between Lebanese, French and English; and elevated phrasing, the fuṣḥā-flavoured elements that turn up naturally in educated speech. Plus storytelling mastery, debate, persuasion, negotiation, and expressing nuance — hedging, doubt, certainty.

    The cultural material is not decoration: Fairuz for language and imagery, Ziad Rahbani for irony and register, zajal and the oral poetry tradition, theatre and monologue, cinema and dialect authenticity, and religion, politics and historical reference as they appear in ordinary speech. C1 is also where writing opens up: you choose the spoken track or spoken + written, with the Arabic alphabet running simultaneously alongside it — and that means Lebanese Arabic in Arabic letters, not fuṣḥā.

    By the end of this level you can

    • Catch irony, sarcasm and the joke in real time rather than after the explanation
    • Tell where someone is from, and roughly their background, by how they speak
    • Code-switch between Lebanese, French and English the way Lebanese speakers do
    • Hold a debate, negotiate and persuade, with controlled nuance and register
    • Follow conversation at native speed, plus talk shows and political commentary
    • Optionally: read and write Lebanese Arabic in the Arabic alphabet

    Full curriculum

    Spoken core (all learners)

    1. B2 review & diagnostic
    2. Implicit meaning & reading between the lines
    3. Irony & sarcasm in Lebanese
    4. Humor: timing, wordplay
    5. Advanced idioms I
    6. Advanced idioms II
    7. Proverbs & their real-life use
    8. Regional variation: Beirut vs. Mount Lebanon
    9. Regional variation: South, North, Bekaa
    10. Sociolinguistics: who speaks how (class, age, community)
    11. Code-switching Lebanese ↔ French ↔ English
    12. Educated/elevated phrasing (the “fuṣḥā” elements that surface naturally)
    13. Storytelling mastery: long-form narration
    14. Debate & argumentation I
    15. Debate & argumentation II
    16. Persuasion & rhetoric
    17. Negotiation & diplomacy
    18. Expressing nuance: hedging, doubt, certainty
    19. Abstract discussion: ethics & values
    20. Abstract discussion: society & change
    21. Media analysis: talk shows
    22. Media analysis: news & political commentary
    23. Songs: Fairuz — language & imagery
    24. Songs: Ziad Rahbani — irony & register
    25. Zajal & the oral poetry tradition
    26. Theatre & monologue (Rahbani works)
    27. Cinema: dialogue & dialectal authenticity
    28. Cultural depth: religion in everyday speech
    29. Cultural depth: politics in everyday speech
    30. Cultural depth: historical references in conversation
    31. Emotional range: grief, joy, anger, tenderness
    32. Formal speech: toasts, condolences, congratulations
    33. Professional conversation by domain
    34. Spontaneous discourse: improv & role-play
    35. Listening: conversation at native speed
    36. Accent reduction & native prosody
    37. Integration project: delivering a speech
    38. Review & assessment (spoken)

    Writing strand — 20 units, in parallel (spoken + written track only). One unit every 1–2 lessons, from letters to writing Lebanese narratives.

    1. Alphabet: overview & sound → letter mapping
    2. Letters I + initial/medial/final forms
    3. Letters II + joining rules
    4. Letters III + non-joining letters
    5. Letters IV + easily confused letters
    6. Short vowels (ḥarakāt), sukūn, šadda
    7. Tanwīn, tā marbūṭa, hamza
    8. Reading transition: Arabizi → script (familiar words)
    9. Reading short Lebanese sentences
    10. Handwriting: letter formation
    11. Lebanese spelling: how dialect sounds are written
    12. Reading Lebanese on social media (posts, comments)
    13. Reading messages & informal texts
    14. Writing your own messages in Arabic script
    15. Reading longer Lebanese paragraphs
    16. Writing a short Lebanese narrative
    17. Common spelling conventions & variation
    18. Reading mixed Lebanese / fuṣḥā-flavored texts
    19. Writing project: a personal text in Arabic script
    20. Assessment (reading & writing)