Arabic Courses

Our Arabic program makes a distinction between the traditional Language Sequences (first-year, second-year, third-year) as well as Content Courses.  Every quarter, we offer a mixture of Language and Content courses.  Click here to see this year's course offerings.

TEACHING METHODS
The teaching method used in our first-, second-, and third-year Arabic language courses follows the integrated approach (developed by Professor Munther Younes (Cornell University) which blends the Modern Standard Arabic and the dialect or colloquial language in a way that reflects the authentic practice of native Arabic speakers. To develop reading and writing skills we are using Modern Standard Arabic called Fuṣḥā; to develop speaking and listening skills we use an educated spoken version of the āmmiyya of the Levantine dialect.  The integrated approach is an effective, logical, and economical method of instruction that successfully teaches the complexities of the Arabic sociolinguistic and diglossic situation and prepares students fully for the realities of the Arabic world. As our students become more proficient and their language needs more academic, we begin to emphasize Modern Standard Arabic, but never at the exclusion of dialect forms. Class discussions, even in higher level classes, will utilize both, the standard forms and the dialect forms.

LANGUAGE SEQUENCES

Language sequences are a series of courses (three for each level) that build on knowledge learned in the previous quarter.  Course content is based on work with a language textbook which contains carefully sequenced grammar, vocabulary, and culture exercises.  The goal is to ensure that students have mastered most important grammar topics, have developed a broad vocabulary, and are familiar with basic cultural and historical facts.  

FIRST-YEAR ARABIC (111-1,2,3)

First-Year Arabic, Arabic 111, is a three-quarter sequence providing a thorough grounding for listening, speaking, reading, and writing Arabic. The course follows the integrated approach which blends the standard Arabic, Fuṣḥā, and the dialect or colloquial language, āmmiyya, in a way that reflects the authentic practice of native Arabic speakers. To develop reading and writing skills we will be using Modern Standard Written Arabic called Fuṣḥā; to develop speaking and listening skills we will be using an educated spoken version of the āmmiyya of the Levantine dialect.  The goal for first-year Arabic is to bring the average students to Novice High Proficiency on the ACTFL scale (or A1.1 on the CEFR scale).*

Please note: Arabic 111-1 is designed for true beginners with no previous background in the language. Students with any background in Arabic must take the Arabic Placement Test and consult with the Placement Coordinator before enrolling in any of our  courses.
Prerequisites for Arabic 111-1: none
Prerequisites for Arabic 111-2: Arabic 111-1 or equivalent
Prerequisites for Arabic 111-3: Arabic 111-2 or equivalent 

CONVERSATION AND CULTURE IN THE ARAB WORLD (114)

This course focuses one of the main dialects of Arabic (Egyptian, Levantine, Moroccan). Dialects are spoken in homes and on the street and they have a strong presence in television entertainment, cinema and commercial advertising.   This course is strongly recommended for students, undergraduate or graduate, who wish to explore a spoken variety of Arabic. The course uses a communicative, proficiency-oriented approach with fully integrated audiovisual media to help students acquire a solid background on how to communicate using a dialect. Students will be introduced to very basic words, phrases, expressions, and structures used in everyday life in an interactive and lively way. Listening comprehension, oral reading practice, and oral interactive group work will be the main focus of the class. The goal for this class is to bring the average students to Nove High on the ACTFL scale (or A1.1 on the CEFR scale).*

Prerequisites for Arabic 114: Arabic 111-2
The course can be taken concurrently with 111-3 or higher. It does not count for the Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement.

SECOND-YEAR ARABIC (121-1,2,3)

Second-year Arabic is a three-quarter second-year course and a continuation of Arabic I.  The course follows the integrated approach which blends the standard Arabic, Fuṣḥā, and the dialect or colloquial language, āmmiyya, in a way that reflects the authentic practice of native Arabic speakers. To develop reading and writing skills we will be using Modern Standard Written Arabic called Fuṣḥā; to develop speaking and listening skills we will be using an educated spoken version of the āmmiyya of the Levantine dialect.  Class time is devoted to conversation, reading, translation and structure exercise. The goal for second-year Arabic is to bring the average students to Intermediate Low to Mid Proficiency on the ACTFL scale (or A1.2/A2 on the CEFR scale).*

Please note: Students with any background in Arabic including students who were abroad must take the Arabic Placement Test and consult with the Placement Coordinator before enrolling.
Prerequisites for Arabic 121-1: Arabic 111-3 or equivalent
Prerequisites for Arabic 121-2: Arabic 121-1 or equivalent
Prerequisites for Arabic 121-3: Arabic 121-2 or equivalent

THIRD-YEAR ARABIC (211-1,2,3)

Third-year Arabic is a three-quarter course and a continuation of Arabic II. The focus is on Modern Standard Arabic with the goal to enhance students’ ability to read, understand and discuss Arabic texts such as newspaper excerpts, magazine and journal articles, short stories and other materials of interest to the students and relevant to their field of study. In addition to focusing on developing reading and writing skills in Modern Standard Arabic, a special emphasis is placed on listening and speaking. During in-class discussions and out of class practice, students should free to infuse their spoken Arabic with any dialect they might have learned in previous classes or encountered while studying abroad. The goal for third-year Arabic is to bring the average students to Intermediate High Proficiency on the ACTFL scale (or B1 on the CEFR scale).*

Please note: Students with any background in Arabic including students who were abroad must take the Arabic Placement Test and consult with the Placement Coordinator before enrolling.
Prerequisites for Arabic 121-1: Arabic 121-3 or equivalent
Prerequisites for Arabic 121-2: Arabic 211-1 or equivalent
Prerequisites for Arabic 121-3: Arabic 211-2 or equivalent

CONTENT COURSES

Content Courses in Arabic are based on the rationale that people learn a second language more fully when they use the language as a means of acquiring information, rather than as an end in itself. In Content Courses, the thematic content - topics that students find interesting and relevant - provides the materials (mostly authentic language documents) around which listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities are created.  Content Courses are self-contained and do not need to be taken in a sequence.

 
ARABIC MEDIA (125)

This unique course is recommended for students, who want to understand the more specific, stylized content of Arabic-speaking media such as Al Jazeera or BBC News Arabic; and who want to learn more about the Middle East and its conflicting interests as portrayed in broadcast headlines and short news features.  Each week, students will learn new important expressions, practice listening skills to understand headlines and short news segments, as well as begin to develop the vocabulary necessary for improved  reading comprehension of authentic print materials such as articles and broadcast news features. Students will acquire over 250 high frequency vocabulary words through listening to headlines.  They will recognize specific expressions and sentence structures of broadcast news.  In addition, students will become familiar with the political culture of the Arab world by being introduced to political parties, movements, leading figures, and international Arab organizations. The goal for Media Arabic is to bring the average students to Intermediate Low to Mid Proficiency on the ACTFL scale (or A1.2/A2 on the CEFR scale).*

Prerequisites for Arabic 125: Arabic 121-2
The course can be taken concurrently with 121-3 or higher. It does not count for the Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement.

TRANSLATION PRACTICE: A BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE (304)

Translation has always been a crucial means of communication in spreading and preserving ideas and information. The Bible has been translated into more than five hundred languages and no matter what each of us believe, the impact on history and culture is undeniable.  Translation enables people all over the world speaking diverse languages to communicate and understand each other through their own cultural lens, hence building bridges between cultures and societies. This unique foundational course introduces students to translation skills to provide them with a competitive edge on the job market where professional translation is in high demand in every sector of the global economy. Honing grammatical as well as stylistic facility in Arabic, this course promotes higher-level linguistic analysis and interpretation by following a problem-solving approach in translation. Students will work on and discuss a variety of text genres, from literary sources such as poems, short stories or excerpts from longer works, to more technical texts in the field of medicine and law, to examples from the news media. To aid their work, students will be introduced to and work with conventional and digital resources used for translation.  The goal of Arabic 304 is to bring the average students to Advanced Low or Advanced Mid on the ACTFL scale (or B2/C1 on the CEFR scale). *

Prerequisites for Arabic 304: Strong performance in 2 200-level courses; average performance in 3 200-level courses or permission of instructor or placement results.

READING ARABIC TEXTS (316-1,2,3 / Topics may vary)

These courses offer students with advanced Arabic skills  a valuable chance to explore Arabic literary texts in depth (poetry, classical texts, or modern prose).  Student engaged in this course will learn foundational analytic and interpretational skills thorough the study of elements and imagery,  sound,  forms, and writing styles.  The linguistic textual analysis of each reading will enhance the understanding of syntax and style and will foster the rapid acquisition of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. The goal for Arabic 316 is to bring the average students to Advanced Mid on the ACTFL scale (or C1 on the CEFR scale).*  Arabic 316 may be repeated for credit with different topics. Prerequisites for Arabic 316: Strong performance in three (3) 200-level courses; average performance in four (4) 200-level courses or permission of instructor. Arabic 316 courses fulfill a Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area requirement. 

READING CLASSICAL ARABIC TEXTS: ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
This course is for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in exploring the multi-faceted language and cultural history of The Thousand and One Nights, also called The Arabian Nights (Arabic Alf laylah wa Laylah).  This rich collection of middle eastern and South Asian folk tales, encompassing the real and the supernatural, wealth and poverty, love and marriage, power and punishment, and the endless tests and uncertainties of fate, has long been considered a treasure of literary styles and genres. This course emphasizes the analysis and understanding of the use and function of Arabic in its literary context as presented by the stories: in their critical reading and discussion of the text, students will not only learn to appreciate the different writing styles incorporating oral traditions, they will be encouraged to analyze each story through the lens of death, sacrifice, miraculous healing, gender, sexuality, and feminism. Each story discussed is fully supported by a range of comprehension, vocabulary- and grammar-building exercises and activities.  In-class discussions will reinforce the use of new vocabulary and grammatical function, as well as enhance the understanding and appreciation of different layers of Arab culture.

READING CLASSICAL ARABIC TEXTS: MANUSCRIPTS

This course is an Introduction to Arabic Islamic Manuscripts (Codecology) with Applied Exercises. The course is dedicated to the study of the manuscript literature of the Arab Islamic civilization and heritage. It uses seven different Arabic scripts to provide the students interested in Arabic and Islamic manuscripts, with a professional and functional linguistic skills that enable them in the future to do research in the field of Arabic Islamic studies. While decoding the text, we will also delve into a literary analysis of the text and learn about style, new vocab, calligraphy, and advanced grammar concepts. Students will continue their learning of Arabic while reading an ancient Quranic sura/manuscript. 

READING MODERN PROSE: ARAB WOMEN AND THE SEARCH FOR A VOICE
In this course, students will explore the multidimensional experiences of Arab women as active agents in a quest to find a voice and visibility in many societies that are controversial. The literary material for the class; writings by women writers and writings about women in the Arab and Muslim World, are drawn from a variety of fictional and non-fictional sources and genres (roughly spanning the period from the early 20th century to the present) and are providing students an in-depth look at the diverse women who represent a number of cultures in the MENA region as well as important issues. The linguistic textual analysis of each reading will focus on: (1) understanding advanced grammatical structures, syntax and style; (2) rapid acquisition of vocabulary and popular idioms (e.g. gender manifestations) through in-class discussions and oral presentations; (3) writing assignments that reflect students’ abilities to understand and assimilate the texts. We will work intensively on improving reading-for-comprehension and writing skills, listening and speaking through in-class oral discussions and presentations. 


* The general level of language proficiency is corroborated by a large scale proficiency assessment study which took place over a period of three years at Michigan State University, the Unversity of Utah, and the University of Minnesota. Winke, P., Zhang, X., Rubio, F., Gass, S., Sonenson, D., & Hacking, J. (2020). The proficiency profiles of language students: Implications for programs. Second Language Research & Practice, 1(1), 25–64. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/69840