Arabic Courses

This is an introductory course in the Arabic Program. The purpose of Arabic 201 is to familiarize students with the Arabic writing and sound systems and to enable them to develop basic proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. At the end of the semester, students should be able to perform simple tasks such as: recognize and produce Arabic sounds, write Arabic letters in different word positions correctly, read short and simple texts and understand their content, initiate and sustain a simple conversation on a number of topics, and provide information about certain aspects of Arabic culture.

5 hours.

This is an introductory course in the Arabic Program. Students are expected to finish Arabic 201 before enrolling in this course. The purpose of Arabic 202 is to enhance student's knowledge of the basic grammar of standard Arabic and to expand their reading, writing, speaking and listening abilities. At the end of the semester, students should be able to perform the following tasks: understand, form, and use many of the basic sentence structures of Modern Standard Arabic, initiate and sustain a simple conversation on a number of topics, read simple texts and understand their main ideas, guess the meaning of new words from the context, write simple passages about familiar topics, provide information about certain aspects of Arabic culture.

5 hours.

"This course will focus on one of the major spoken Arabic dialects in the Arab world. Students will be exposed to the variation between the dialect and Modern Standard Arabic in terms of vocabularly, grammar, and morphology. Students will develop conversational competency in the dialect, as well as general comprehension. Students will also be exposed to elements of the specific culture in which the dialect is spoken. Students must have completed ARAB 201 and ARAB 202 in order to enroll in this course."

4 Hours

Previous dialects that have been offered are Levantine (Fall 2012), and Moroccan (Fall 2013).

This is an intermediate course in the Arabic Program. Students are expected to finish Arabic 201 and 202 before enrolling in this course. The purpose of Arabic 403 is to increase the student's knowledge of the core grammar of Modern Standard Arabic and to expand their vocabulary for both reading and writing. A special emphasis is put on student's ability to communicate verbally with others in life-like situations. At the end of the semester, students should be able to perform the following tasks: understand the general meaning of simple but authentic texts, conversations, and other written or oral materials, express themselves in writing and speaking with some ease and with complex sentences, provide information about certain aspects of Arabic culture.

4 hours.

This is an intermediate course in the Arabic Program. Students are expected to finish Arabic 403 before enrolling in this course. The overall goal of this course is to develop students’ ability to use Modern Standard Arabic orally and in reading and writing. This course introduces more advanced grammar with emphasis on increasing conversational fluency in the formal non-colloquial style and reading of prose texts reflecting aspects of Arabic culture. The course aims to advance students’ proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic to the higher end of the intermediate level across the four language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

4 hours.

This is an advanced course in the Arabic Program. Students are expected to finish the above four Arabic courses before enrolling in this course. The purpose of this course is for the students to develop functional proficiency in Standard Arabic with special emphasis on reading and writing skills. In addition, the course aims to equip students with extensive vocabulary repertoire as well as the grammatical structures of Standard Arabic. Cultural background knowledge is viewed as particularly important to achieve competence in the target language, and therefore the course includes several cultural and historical readings and discussions. It is highly recommended and encouraged that students learn how to use Arabic-English dictionaries to achieve learners' autonomy in the future.

3 hours

This is an advanced course in the Arabic Program. Students are expected to finish Arabic 405 before enrolling in this course. The purpose of Arabic 406 is to extend students' knowledge of Arabic grammar and vocabulary and to give them the opportunity to deal with texts they might encounter in the media and other communication channels. The course delves more deeply into the Arabic culture, exploring in more depth different aspects of Arabic daily life. The themes and texts are selected based on their linguistic relevance and appropriateness to the students' language proficiency levels.

3 hours.

Selected readings from Modern Standard Arabic authors, with a focus on novels, plays, and basic poetry illustrative of Arab cultural issues and advanced level MSA grammar, as well as development of expository writing skills.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

Prerequisite: Arabic 406.

Continuation of Arabic 407 with increased emphasis on the reading and comprehension of literary texts exemplified in advanced level novels, plays, and poetry, as well as on advanced mastery of expository writing skills.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

Prerequisite: Arabic 407.

Introduction to Modern Standard Arabic in the professions as documented in selected newspapers, educational radio and TV programs, works of fiction, biographies, anthologies, and professional journals. Students will be introduced to argumentative writing in MSA, expected to make oral presentations, and to write a research paper in their field. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: Arabic 408.

Continuation of Arabic 409 with increased emphasis on the development of comprehension and writing of professional language.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

Prerequisite: Arabic 409.

Introduction to Arabic business language as used in basic business settings, including commercial advertisement and business correspondence. Emphasizes language skills that will enable students to conduct job searches and locate job vacancies that match their fields of study and their interests.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

May be repeated in separate terms if topics vary to a maximum of 6 undergraduate hours or 8 graduate hours.

Prerequisite: ARAB 405 or consent of instructor.

This is an introductory translation course that introduces students to translation methodolgy and the profession of translation, with particular emphassis on the development of Arabic-to-English translation techniques and the acquisition of related knowledge above and beyond language skills. Students will be exposed to a variety of text types from different Arabic-speaking countries and learn to produce quality, professional translations and apply effective strategies to deal with the challenges of fully preserving the meaning of the original text while conveying the appropriate tone (style/register) and paying attention to grammar, mechanics, and audience-specific needs.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

Prerequisite: advanced standing in Arabic.