Arabic I is an introductory course aimed at teaching elementary Arabic to students who have no prior, or very limited, knowledge of either spoken or written Arabic.

Our time in class will center active, communicative, and experiential learning. There will be very little lecturing.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of Arabic I, students will be able to:

○ Use all skills to successfully communicate about the following themes: Self, immediate and extended family, Weather, Daily activities and hobbies

○ Exchange familiar cultural greetings and expressions

○ Produce short sentences and phrases to talk about course topics, ask and respond to familiar questions, and express likes and dislikes

○ Describe events in present using regular forms

○ Discuss self, family, work and studies

○ Form short paragraph-length texts using simple language on familiar topics.

○ Write short emails and fill in for

○ Identify basic information and summarize main points in simple passages on familiar topics

○ Use information from a text to complete various tasks (e.g., ordering from a menu)

○ Recognize familiar words, phrases and structures and identify basic

information in level-appropriate audio/visual texts about personal topics

By the end of this course, students are expected to reach at least the Intermediate-Low/Mid level of proficiency in Arabic. To reach that, we will be using the five language skills to successfully communicate about the following themes: weather, what we like and dislike, daily schedule, hobbies, TV programs, friends and family relationships, and feelings.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of Arabic II, students will be able to:

• Talk about a variety of personal topics, and narrate daily and past events by combining ideas 
• Engage in uncomplicated exchanges about course topics by asking and responding to questions

• Combine sentences with greater grammatical accuracy to create paragraphs about familiar topics

• Identify main and supporting details 
•  Answer comprehensive in level-appropriate listening passages
• Identify main and supporting details 
• Answer questions about and discuss the meaning of texts 
• Develop reading strategies for engaging with more difficult texts (e.g., guessing unfamiliar words, using roots)

By the end of this course, students are expected to reach at least the Intermediate-Mid/high level of proficiency in Arabic according to ACTFL guideline. Students will Use all skills to successfully communicate about the following themes: family, future plans, house, religious events, shopping, travel arrangements, geography, Famous figures

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of Arabic I, students will be able to:

• Combine sentences into strings in order to talk or write about familiar topics; narrate stories in the past, present and future; express personal ideas, and suggest future plans

• Connect and develop ideas to write essays and talk about familiar topics.
• Use more accurate grammar, sentence structures and expanded vocabulary to organize a progression of ideas into extended paragraph form.

• Extract relevant information, identify the main idea of a text, and give examples of supporting details
• Answer general as well as intensive questions.
• Develop reading strategies for engaging with more difficult texts (e.g., guessing unfamiliar words, using roots and patterns)
• Infer meaning of words you are not familiar with
• Paraphrase and summarize the topics you read in a text

By the end of this course, students are expected to reach Intermediate High proficiency in Arabic  according to ACTFL guidelines.  

By the end of the semester, students are expected to be able to:  

1. build vocabulary to encompass not only the personal sphere but also topics of wider  interest such as history of the Middle East, holidays and celebrations, and public culture.  
2. recognize, comprehend, and use new grammatical structures and vocabulary with  accuracy in speech and writing
3. narrate in different time frames and produce descriptive language in writing and speech  on the level of the connected paragraph.  
4. pose questions in natural, accurate language. 
5. develop general and intensive reading and listening skills and strategies with authentic  and prepared texts:  
6. skimming to get an overview of a text’s topic and structure before reading;  
7. scanning texts for specific information;  
8. inferring meaning from context and through knowledge of grammar and context;  
9. parsing and analyzing complex sentences;  
10. using the system of root and pattern to learn and guess the meaning of new words;  
11. identifying and ignoring inaccessible parts of a text;  
12. using the dictionary efficiently and strategically 
13. comprehend meaningful portions of connected texts, i.e., texts with connected  paragraphs, featuring description and narration and dealing in topics of general interest

This course will introduce you to either Egyptian Arabic, or Levantine Arabic which is the dialect spoken in Lebanon,Syria, Jordan, and Palestine. Designed for students who have completed Arabic III, this course will enable you to build on your existing knowledge of FuSHa to quickly learn how to communicate effectively in a wide range of contexts in the areas where Egyptian or Levantine Arabic is spoken.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 

• Navigate a range of common situations in Levantine Arabic, including arriving at the airport, taking a taxi, shopping, renting an apartment, handling emergencies, and engaging in social interactions.

• Produce paragraph-level discourse about a range of familiar topics including yourself, your interests, your family, and your daily life.

• Utilize culturally appropriate expressions in a range of situations. 
• Display competence in using Levantine Arabic grammar, including conjugating verbs in various tenses, using demonstratives, personal, possessive and relative pronouns, adverbs, negation, interrogatives, and more.

• Understand written and oral communication in a variety of authentic texts, including TV shows and songs.

• Develop proficiency with Levantine Arabic sounds and pronunciation

This course is designed for students who have already studied Arabic IV. The class will tackle sustainability and environmental issues in the Middle East. The course will focus on three main topics: climate change, renewable energy, and health.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

By the end of the semester students will be able to:

1- Develop reading skills to successfully identify the main ideas and supporting details in readings.

2- Answer comprehension questions.

3- Compare and contrast ideas related to the main topics.

4- Debate their ideas.

5- Discuss and explain different sentence structures.

6- Develop translation skills

7- Identify and apply Arabic grammar, parts of speech, sentence structures to produce solid Arabic pieces of writing and translation.

8- Write a literature review that demonstrates writing skills at an advanced level.

9- Synthesize ideas from different readings to compose a research paper or oral presentations using the new vocabulary and grammar.

10- Edit and develop writing skills

11- improve their speaking skills

This course is designed for students who have already studied Advanced Arabic I. The class will tackle social science issues in the Middle East. The course will focus on two main topics: health and society problems. 

Learning Objectives and Outcomes: 

By the end of the semester students will be able to: 

1- Develop reading and listening skills to successfully identify the main ideas and supporting details in readings. 

2- Answer comprehension questions. 

3- Compare and contrast ideas related to the main topics.

4- Debate ideas and personal opinions.

5- Discuss and explain different sentence structures. 

6- Develop translation skills

7- Identify and apply Arabic grammar, parts of speech, sentence structures to produce solid Arabic pieces of  writing and translation. 

8- Write a literature review that demonstrates writing skills at an advanced level. 

9- Synthesize ideas from different readings to compose a research paper or oral presentations using the  new vocabulary and grammar. 

10- Edit and develop writing skills

11- improve their speaking and listening skills

This course is designed for students who have completed at least three semesters of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Media Arabic aims to teach the language used in print and online news media to students seeking to reach an Low/ Mid Advanced level in Arabic. The course helps students master essential vocabulary and structures commonly found in front-page news articles. We will concentrate on three main topics: diplomacy, demonstrations, and elections. By focusing on meaning and language forms, the course enables students to read extended texts on these subjects with greater accuracy at an advanced level. Activities include reading, listening, discussions, and extensive practice in skimming and scanning and organizing information.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

– identify and discuss the main ideas and the supporting details of the three topics covered.

– analyze current events.

– answer comprehension questions.

– compare and contrast how news is presented in the US and Arabic speaking countries.

– evaluate media presentation of the news.

– emulate the language and style of the Arabic media writings.

– produce well-organized and structured pieces of writing.

– enhance the accuracy of their writing.

– effectively use new vocabulary and grammar to write about unfamiliar topics.

– report and discuss current events.

– use vocabulary, connectors, and structures to discuss topics beyond those covered in class.