The University of Texas at Arlington Department of Modern Languages
Fall 2010 ARAB 1441.Course Syllabus
Instructor: Reem Weiss Shishakly
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday 11-12 pm, Hammond Hall room 220
Time and place of class meetings: MWF 9:00-9:50 am COBA 141
E-mail:
Office phone number: 817-272-5650
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The purpose of this course is to perform language functions of reading, writing, and speaking using the language forms that will be learned. This ability will be developed by engaging in structured practical activities and grammatical exercises which will build up overall language readiness.
OBJECTIVES:
• Developing the listening , speaking, reading, and writing skills
• Mastering the sounds and writing systems of Arabic
• Understanding and using formulaic and idiomatic phrases
• Using numbers and counting
• Mastering some morphological and syntactic features
APPROACH:
Teacher and student activities are geared toward developing functional abilities to use Arabic accurately and fluently in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This involves intensive classroom interaction and out-of—class assignments.
COURSE MATERIALS:
• Ahan wa Sahlan “functional Modern Standard Arabic for Beginners, 2nd Edition By Mahdi Alosh, revised with Allen Clark.
• Ahlan wa Sahlan “ functional Modern Standard Arabic for Beginners, 2nd Edition ,Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language workbook By Mahdi Alosh
• Secondary audio & video materials.
• Online Interactive Exercise Program at http://yalebooks.com/awsexercises
Username: aws2009. Password: aleppo
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIE:
• Attending and participating in class activities. Most of the language skills to be developed cannot be acquired without effective participation and interaction with other students and with instructor. My expectation is that we can build an Arabic-speaking community through teamwork.
• Doing homework assignments. This out-of-class practice is essential for reinforcement of classroom learning, reading and writing. Homework will be submitted at the beginning of class; simply place it on my desk after you arrive. All exercises, including listening exercises, in a given lesson are automatically due as homework once the lesson has been covered. Reading and/or reviewing the culture and grammar notes is also the student’s responsibility.
• Taking classroom tests, quizzes, midterm, and written final.
• Listening to the CD and watching the DVD material which supplements the text book. It is also the student's responsibility to do the online exercises as assigned by the instructor. This activity is important to prepare the student to do the verbal and listening drills which will be used to assess and evaluate his/her oral skills.
• Doing a midterm skit or presentation and a final oral exam. Skit/presentation will be related to what is covered in class. Pronunciation, fluency, breadth of vocabulary, and appropriate functional usage will be taken into account. The skit or presentation should be designed and acted out by one to three students (one group at a time). The final oral exam will be in the form of a conversation between instructor and student. The skit/presentation and the oral exam should integrate most of the material covered and should reflect the students’ creative and imaginative abilities.
• CHAPTER TESTS: Chapter tests will be given only on the dates shown on the syllabus. You will be tested over material from the textbook, worksheets, and class activities. The policy of the department is no make-ups. If a student provides proper written documentation for an excused absence (only for serious extenuating circumstances) on the day of a chapter test, the score of the midterm or final closest to the missed test will also be used as the score for that test. Otherwise, missed tests are recorded as a “0”.
• ATTENDANCE: Each student is allowed three “free” hours of absences per course. All absences, for whatever reason, count, including, but not limited to, absences due to illness, family emergencies and religious holidays. If a student maintains his or her attendance record at or below this allowance of three, the lowest chapter test will be replaced with a '100'. Three tardies equal one absence. For every unexcused absence above the first three, one point will be deducted from the student’s final grade. Eight unexcused absences may constitute an “F”.
• GRADE DISTRIBUTION
• Homework 10%
• 2 unit tests 20%
• Quizzes 10%
• Midterm Exam 20% Skit/ presentation 5%
• Final Oral Exam 10%
• Final Written Exam 25%
• Americans with Disabilities Act: UTA is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 92-112 - The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens.
• As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide "reasonable accommodations" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty of their need for accommodation and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels. Information regarding specific diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining academic accommodations can be found at www.uta.edu/disability. Also, you may visit the Office for Students with Disabilities in Room 102 of University Hall or call them at (817) 272-3364.
• Academic Integrity: It is the philosophy of UTA that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University."Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such act."
• Collusion is defined as collaborating with another, without authorization, when preparing an assignment. (Regents' Rules and Regulations, Series 50101, Section 2.2).
• E-culture Policy: All email correspondence to your instructor must originate from your UTA email account. Email originating from any other account will be ignored. When dealing with faculty over email, it is important that students keep the following in mind: 1) always use salutations and signatures. Be courteous. 2) For serious matters use emails to facilitate a mutually agreeable time to meet. Email should not be used to avoid personal interaction. 3) Never use email to vent or to respond immediately to an emotional situation. 4) Always remember that email creates a documentary record of one's communication with others.
• There are two main reasons for using email in this course: 1) to set up a face-to-face appointment with your professor if you wish to ask questions regarding course materials, clarification or concerns about your progress in the course. 2) To inform the professor of absences.
• Do not use email for the following: 1) Do not email your professor asking him/her to tell you what you missed in class. 2) Do not email your professor asking him/her to email you class notes as an attachment. 3) Do not email your professor asking him/her to email you course handouts. 4) Do not use email as a way to solve issues that should be resolved professionally during the professor's regularly scheduled office hours.
• Cell phones, I-pods and laptops must be turned off and/or closed during class time.
• Student Support Services Available: UTA supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University and achieve academic success. These programs include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and appropriate referrals.
• TENTATIVE SCHEDULE: subject to revision as needed
Week 1: Aug.26-27
Fri: Course introduction
Week 2: Aug.30 - Sep.3
Mon: Unit 1
Wed: Unit 1
Fri: Unit 1
Week 3: Sep.6 - 10
Mon: labor Day Holiday
Wed: Unit 2
Fri: Unit 2
Week 4: Sep. 13 -17
Mon: Unit 2
Wed: Unit 3
Fri: Unit 3
Week 5: Sep.20 -24
Mon: Unit 3
Wed: Review for test 1
Fri: Units 1 -2 -3 Test
Week 6: Sep. 27 - Oct. 1
Mon: Unit 4
Wed: Unit 4
Fri: Unit 4
Week 7: Oct. 4 - 8
Mon: Unit 5
Wed: Unit 5
Fri: Unit 5
Week 8: Oct. 11 -15
Mon: Unit 6
Wed: unit 6
Fri: Unit 6
Week 9: Oct. 18 -22
Mon: Unit 6
Wed: Review for Mid-term
Fri: Mid-term Exam
Week 10: Oct. 25 -29
Mon: Oral presentation
Wed: Presentation
Fri: Presentation
Week11: Nov. 1 -5
Mon: Lesson 1 (Ahlan wa Sahlan Text Book)
Wed: Lesson 1
Fri: Lesson 1
Week 12: Nov. 8 -12
Mon: Lesson 1
Wed: Lesson 2
Fri: Lesson 2
Week 13: Nov. 15 - 19
Mon: Lesson 2
Wed: Lesson 2
Fri: Review for Test 2
Week 14: Nov.22 -26
Mon: Lesson 1 -2 test
Wed: Oral Final Exam
Fri: Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 15: Nov. 29 - Dec. 3
Mon: Oral Final Exam
Wed: Oral Final Exam
Fri: Select Film/ video
Week 16: Nov. 6 - 10
Mon: Film/ video
Wed: Review for Final Exam
Fri: Review for Final Exam
Final Exam: Wednesday Dec. 15 @ 8-10:30 am
How to do Well in This Class
This class is a group effort! We can make much more progress as a class than as individuals by creating an Arabic-speaking community of which you will be a fully participating member. The following suggestions will help you get the most out of the course:
• Prepare for active participation in class. Practice new vocabulary out loud until you can produce it easily, listen/read texts several times until you are ready to answer questions on them, practice new grammar by using them in sentences.
• Study out loud. The only way to train your brain and your mouth to speak in Arabic is through performance. Reading silently is not enough. Repeat whatever you hear, pronounce whatever you write, and learn to talk to yourself in Arabic.
• Think in Arabic. While on your way from one class to another, think to yourself in Arabic. Name all of the objects whose name you know in Arabic. Describe their location, size, shape, color, number, adding as much detail as possible.
• Study in pairs/groups. This is a great way to prepare for class and review—as long as you do the work in Arabic as much as possible, of course! Ask each other questions, brainstorm about assignments, go over materials covered in class together. You are welcome to collaborate on assignments, as long as each student hands in his/her own work.
• Personalize vocabulary. Make words relevant by thinking of what you can say about yourself with them. Write extra sentences that are meaningful to you so that the vocabulary becomes yours. It is important at this stage to concentrate on what you can say more than what you want to say—which will come in time—and the best way to successfully attain that goal is to build a solid vocabulary base. Language Learning is a process of programming yourself, because the words that you memorize are those very words that you will use to express yourself. By spending five minutes with words that you choose from the given vocabulary lists, you will be able to retain them for the rest of your life—Make this language yours.
• Language is context. The communicative approach to language learning encourages you, the learner, to use what you know to derive what you do not. Think about how you acquired your native language: you learned new words by guessing their meaning from context, and you learned how to produce sentences by imitating and using patterns. As adult learners, we can take some shortcuts, but guessing skills remain central to language acquisition.
• Good language learners learn from their own mistakes and those of others. As adults, we have been trained not to make mistakes. As language learners new to Arabic, mistakes are going to be made, but should not cause you undue stress. When your classmates are speaking, be an active listener by listening both to what they are saying and how they are saying it. Think about how you would correct their sentences.