Concordia Language Villages staff may speak a Village language, creatively teach culture, work and play hard. They also develop skills and qualities that will make them excellent employees in any field.
Al-Wāḥa الواح
Arabic Language Village
About the Village
Imagine reading in a totally different alphabet — and from right to left! With more than 370 million speakers over five continents, Arabic is the world’s fifth most-spoken language, and it has influenced and contributed to many others — even English. Arab cultures’ global and linguistic influences on astronomy, mathematics, medicine, art, and philosophy cannot be overstated.
At Al-Wāḥa الواحة, you’ll play kūrat al-qadam (soccer) and paddle out in a markab (canoe) onto the buḥayra (lake). You’ll dine on traditional foods like shawarma (spit-cooked meats), falāfel (deep-fried chickpea fritters) and baqlāwa (sweet, flaky pastry), plus, it’s a unique opportunity you can choose to earn high school credit in Arabic. Since 2006, our Arabic Language Village, Al-Wāḥa, has allowed complete beginners and advanced students alike to tap into cultures of the Arabic-speaking world firsthand.
What makes Al-Wāḥa special?
Experience Al-Wāḥa | الواحة
Upcoming Arabic Camps & Programs
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Government & Corporate Programs
A global outlook is important for success in the domestic and international arena. Concordia Language Villages offers customized corporate, government and military training programs to meet the specific needs of our clients.
Learn About Scholarship Opportunities
Need-based scholarships are available for Arabic summer youth immersion sessions through the Passport Fund. Scholarships are based on a family’s adjusted gross income, number of dependents and the length of the session.
Additionally, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education offers a $1,000 stipend for Minnesota students who qualify for free or reduced lunch at school.
Lucy Lulua Thiboutot
Dean
A native Minnesotan, Lulua has taught Arabic in New England private schools, public schools in rural Pennsylvania and in STARTALK high school summer programs in Boston. Since 2013, she has edited the Arabic Educator Bulletin, now a monthly newsletter distributed to more than 2,000 people across the U.S. and world that focuses on the teaching of Arabic at the K-12 level. She has an M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, taught pre-K at the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon for two year and attended the CASA program in Damascus, Syria, studying Arabic intensively. She has been a leading member of the Board of the New England Arabic Teachers Council since 2019.
Our Location: Al-Wāḥa
Turtle River Lake
Al-Wāḥa will be held at our Korean Village, Sup sogŭi Hosu, in summer 2025. Our newest custom-built, culturally authentic Language Village, this state-of-the-art site opened in 2024. It will be artfully transformed into an Arab cultural oasis for Al-Wāḥa sessions.
The first phase of construction completed includes a dining hall and commercial kitchen, administrative complex, two villager cabins, soccer field and waterfront development. A cultural center, activities hall (including a martial arts studio and music room), archery range and more are planned in the coming years.
Meet Our Team
Read more about our professional staff at Al-Wāḥa, our Arabic Language Village.