Arabic Language, Advanced, Part I (NCAA Approved)
About the Course
Expand your listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in a more complex cultural context in this advanced-level Arabic-language course. You’ll learn complex grammatical rules and master how to express your opinions in a full conversation. You’ll also independently read and analyze stories, write brief summaries, and grow your vocabulary for colors, geographic locations, daily activities, and more. Through virtual tours, you’ll learn more about Arab countries and their currency, traditions, musicians, and geography.
During virtual class meetings, your instructor will guide you through lessons, discussions, and other resources. You will also participate in one-on-one virtual meetings with your instructor and teaching assistant.
Meeting times: Monday, Wednesday – 8-9 p.m. ET
Time Commitment: 4 – 5 hours and 45 minutes per week (2 hours of class time, 45-minute optional meeting, 2-3 hours of independent work).
Course Overview
What we’ll do
We’ll work through lessons and assignments in weekly units that align with The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) standard. Each unit contains lessons, practice interactive activities, and homework that includes reading, writing, listening, and speaking exercises, and discussion forums. Each week, you will attend two live sessions, and participate interactively in group discussions, and collaborate on small tasks as well as while practicing the spoken language. Virtual one-on-one meetings with your instructor and teaching assistant will help reinforce the learning experience.
What we’ll learn
- How to name different fruits and vegetables and describe their colors in singular and plural forms
- How to recognize the names of immediate and extended family members in Arabic
- How to accurately apply grammatical rules to describe objects using comparative and superlative adjectives
- How to identify the names of several sports in Arabic and identify sports traditions in Arabic culture
- How to identify the names of several Arab countries, their flags, and discuss their locations on the map using geographic directions
- How to express exceptions using (غير – ما عدا – إلّا)
- How to express preference for sports, music, and TV shows in Arabic, and provide reasons for preferences
- How to recognize several famous Arab singers and their work
- How to express the names of different jobs and identify the operation sites for each job in Arabic
- How to extract information from job advertisements and identify job requirements
- How to accurately apply grammatical rules to form dual and plural nouns and use them in complete sentences
- How to define the function of the article (قَد) when followed by present- and past-tense verbs
- How to identify different types of transportation in Arabic, and express preferences of travel methods
- How to express reasons using the particles (لـِ ) and (كي)
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Discuss daily topics and activities in Arabic such as family, sports, jobs, and travel related activities
- Express frequency, uncertainty, preferences, and exceptions using proper tools and the correct sentence structure
- Use newly acquired vocabulary words to construct sentences and short paragraphs to describe professions, events, countries, and geographical directions
- Apply several grammar rules in speaking and written communication tasks such as conjugating past and present verbs, conjugating the verb كَان, superlative adjectives, and relative nouns
- Read and comprehend simple texts to identify main ideas and specific details to answer related comprehension questions
- Identify cultural practices in the Arab countries and compare them to other cultures
How we’ll measure learning
Instructors evaluate student’s work using rubrics and provide detailed constructive feedback on each assignment. This course is aligned to ACTFL standard on full language skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
