Tag(s)
GC, L
Admission Requirements
Arabic – Beginners or equivalent.
Description
This is an elementary MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) course. MSA is the common language of the 22 Arabic countries, and is widely spread in the inter-Arab media (such as al-Jazeera). Building on the basics students have acquired at the Beginners level, this course will enable them to reach a solid intermediate proficiency by the end of the semester. It provides them with the background information they need if they wish, later on, to learn one of the many dialects of the region. Communicative skills as well as grammar basics will be activated through the story of Egyptian and Syrian students, introducing learners to an Arabic cultural environment.
Course Objectives
Converse about routine matters
Read simple texts and understand basic information in it without the help of the Dictionary
Write informal notes
General understanding of the basic aspects of Arabic culture
Mode of Instruction
The course is based on an interactive method, giving space to the student to practice and to make sure he/she is progressing in the learning process. Based on an attractive text book, with audio visual material helping the student to efficiently improve pronunciation as well as listening and fluency skills, the course requires a lot of self-teaching at home.
Literature
Compulsory Literature
Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal, Abbas Al-Tonsi, Al-Kitaab fii Ta’allum al-‘Arabiyya: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic, Part One, Third Edition, 2011, Georgetown University Press.
Recommended Literature
Hans Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (Arabic-English). Edited by J. Milton Cowan. Fourth Edition, considerably enlarged and amended by the author. (Ithaca, N.Y., 1994).