23 February 2022 

*Update at bottom of the page

 

Many brothers may be worried about what the Arabic language placement test is for. The purpose of this test is simply to find out your level of Arabic. This test is usually carried out after a student has been accepted and come to Madinah and is completing his registration before starting studies. In the past the test was carried out so that the university would know the level of Arabic of the student and which level of study to enter him into. If the student is proficient in Arabic the University wants to know if he is able to go directly into the main departments/colleges for studies. If a student has weak or intermediate level of Arabic then he would be put into the Arabic Institute for those who are non-Arabic speakers. There are four terms in the Arabic institute, stronger students may be put in the later terms. If a student does not know any Arabic he would be put into the first term of the Arabic institute. However, with the test being carried out at this time, its objectives may be different, and Allah knows best.

 

Preparation for the Arabic placement test

Not much is known about what will happen in this test because it is the first time that it has been carried out online and at this stage of the application. With the large amount of people likely to partake in the test it is more than likely that it will be a written test or a multiple-choice test, meaning that the individual will not require to speak. There may be listening tasks in the exam but it is believed that it is unlikely that this will happen.

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In previous tests they would begin with easy Arabic sentences like what is your name? where do you come from? and would progress into more complicated Arabic. Also, grammar would be discussed to find out if the student understands Arabic grammar properly.

 

Before the exam

First and most importantly, the applicant should make dua to Allah that he helps him and his brothers in this affair and give them the best outcome and he should place his trust in Allah.

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He should try and revise the Arabic that he knows, particularly the grammar that he may have studied before. If an applicant does not know any Arabic he should not worry, this is very common, and the University will be expecting many applicants not to understand Arabic.

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The exam will be written in Arabic and will require the applicant to type the answers and Arabic. The applicant should try and familiarise himself with the Arabic keyboard. It is not known if there will be a tool on the online test. The applicants may be required to have the Arabic language downloaded on his computer and be able to type in Arabic. This may prove very difficult for some, there are online tools/apps which can help such as the Arabic keyboard website http://www.arabic-keyboard.org/. Applications can write in Arabic using this and cut and paste the answer. As stated on the previous page it is not allowed for the applicant to use translation tools or have someone help him during the exam.

وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ  (سورة العنكيوت 45)

And Allah knows what you do (Surah Al-Ankaboot 29:45)

 

The applicant should make sure that he knows exactly what time his exam is (see here). The exams are advertised in Saudi local time so he should check online what time the exam will be at his local time. He can use the following our website:

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/saudi-arabia/medina

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Important: It is not advisable to take the exam on a mobile phone or a tablet. He should take his exam on a computer or laptop that has a keyboard.

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He should try and login to the website where the exam will take place to familiarise himself with the website and to check that it is working for him.

Sign in link for the test: https://ium.blackboard.com/

English Language link: https://ium.blackboard.com/webapps/login/?action=login

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He should make sure that he gets a good night's sleep before the exam.

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He should prepare the place that he will take the exam, he should have a quiet place that he will not be disturbed and have a good internet connection.

 

On the day of the exam

The applicant should continue to make dua and try not to worry or be stressed Insha’Allah.

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It is a good idea for him to have eaten before the exam so that he will have energy and to have had a drink and have it beside him during the exam.

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On the day of the exam it is very important that the brother is ready to do the exam before it starts, perhaps one hour before. often in Saudi websites are fairly basic and may not be able to handle large amounts of traffic so to avoid this brothers should sign in earlier, but not too early during the time of an exam of the group before.

 

During the exam

The exam is advertised as 85 minutes long, however this will be the maximum limit and it is believed that the mass majority of applicants will finish long before this, and Allah knows best.

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Say بسم الله and start the exam.

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The applicant should try and answer to the best of his knowledge, if he does not know an answer he can put a dash or he can write لا أعلم (I do not know). Do not rush in the exam and make sure to reread all your answers.

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Remember to make dua during the exam.

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When you have finished, submit your exam and make sure that it is gone through before closing the page. Make sure to take any note of any reference numbers or important information. It is a good idea to take a photo or screenshot of it.

 

Update: Technical Issues and application status

We received many emails from applicants stating that when they had tried to sign into https://ium.blackboard.com/ to check it for the upcoming exam, their detail would be rejected and could not sign in. Alhamdulillah as of today the 23rd of February they can now sign in and access it.

On the application website https://minhatee2.iu.edu.sa/ applicants are able to check the status of their applications. Brothers had the message: تحت الدراسة (under consideration), now many brothers are reporting they have a new status: مؤهل لدخول اختبار اللغة العربية (Eligible for Arabic exam).

It is advisable for applicants to check both websites to make sure they can do the exam Insha’Allah.

 

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If you have any questions or queries, please contact us and we will try to get back to you Insha’Allah.

 

وفقكم الله

MadinahStudent.co.uk

MadinahTranslation.com

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