SECOND YEAR ARABIC II - COURSE SYLLABUS
CRN 22850-ARBC 2040-01, 3 Credits
SPRING 2015
Schedule: MWF
Time: 10:00-10:50
Classroom: EN21004 / Instructor: Prof. Ali H. Raddaoui
Office: Ross 131
Office Hours: M, W, F11:00-11:50, RH 131
(or by appt.)
Email:
Prerequisites
ARBC 2030 or LANG 2030 (Second Year Arabic I) or the consent of the instructor.
Course Introduction
This course aims to help students attain a lower intermediate level of ease with communication in Modern Standard Arabic through emphasis on the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. In the process of learning, students practice with a wider vocabulary pool, gain a deeper understanding of Arabic morphological and grammatical rules, and get acquainted with some aspects of life and culture in the Arab world.
Terminal performance objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Engage in formal and semi-formal conversations with acquaintances and strangers on a number of select topics;
- Listen to short presentations with understanding;
- Write short narrative and conversational pieces of a minimum of one hundred and fifty words;
- Understand and use a vocabulary of one thousand words, including your early lexical acquisitions;
- Ask and answer different types of Yes/No and Wh questions (who, what, when, etc);
Vocabulary acquisition as a conduit to fluency
Knowledge of grammar is a precondition of accurate, correct speech, but fluent speech requires that you be in possession of a minimum of 1000 words. At the level of the fourth semester, we are pitching our vocabulary acquisition target at 1000 words. There are at least two ways to achieve this goal. One is via learning decontextualized vocabulary lists and their English equivalents. A more effective way of learning vocabulary will be to learn vocabulary in context. Students write the new word, an optional translation into English, and a minimum of one sentence in which the word is used. My experience has been that review of vocabulary items in context for a two/three week period is enough to commit these items to permanent memory. For this term, there will be three vocabulary assignments. Please follow the Arabic word-optional English translation-word in context format for preparing your assignments. For each assignment, you are required to prepare a list of 100 new words. By new, I mean words that you have been exposed for the first time and not words introduced during the previous three Arabic courses.
Speaking and writing as central components of the course
The test of language knowledge does not only consist in the grammar and vocabulary knowledge that this course requires, but in your ability to put this knowledge to use. This is why I have programmed an average of one session a week for conversation practice and/or oral presentations. We will be talking in pairs or groups about a variety of topics using brainstorming and mind maps. Each topic requires specific vocabulary that will emerge as we discuss the topic. In the end, and in order to help you cement your acquisitions, you will be required to write a text that mirrors that activity done on those occasions. The work you do during these sessions will be integrated into your participation/attendance grade.
Course policies
Language: At Semester 4, students will have attained a level of ease with Arabic that will allow for it to be the only language of communication in class, whether between you and the instructor or among students themselves. This policy has the advantage of putting you in situations where you have to mobilize the totality of your linguistic resources to be able to communicate with understanding both in speech and in writing. This process will activate your dormant knowledge and speed up your learning acquisitions. It is extremely important that we stick to the Arabic-only policy in class, except when the textbook calls for engaging in a translation activity.
Attendance: UW Regulation 6-713 specifies that University sponsored absences are cleared through the Office of Student Life (OSL). Students with official authorized absences shall be permitted to make up work without penalty in classes missed. Beyond that, students are allowed to miss a maximum of five classes without penalty. Unexcused absence beyond the first five will be penalized with two points off the 10% attendance grade for each absence. Any additional absence will result in taking two points off from the total grade for the semester.
Communication: Announcements, assignments, and other information for the course will be posted on the course website in a timely manner. I may need to send a message with information about the class to your UYWO email account, so check it periodically. If you need to email me, always use your UYWO account. If you want a timely response, please send emails Monday-Friday between 10:30 am-5:00 pm.
Behavior: Creating an atmosphere conducive to learning, growth and personal as well collective fulfillment is the combined responsibility of the course instructor and the students. A committee of UW students and instructors met and drafted a set of guidelines which spell out optimal conditions for communication and detail expectations for both students and instructors. For more on this, you are strongly encouraged to read the document titled “A&S Students and Teachers—Working Together”, which you can access at: In general, distractions, negative attitudes, unwillingness to participate, and disruptive behavior will negatively affect your participation grade.
Academic dishonesty: Though class work will, in part, through pair or group work, there will be times when students are specifically requested to do individual work, such as during quizzes and in the final examination. In such circumstances, seeking help from anyone else falls under the rubric of ‘academic dishonesty’. University Regulation 802, Revision 2, defines academic dishonesty as “an act attempted or performed which misrepresents one’s involvement in an academic task in any way, or permits another student to misrepresent the latter’s involvement in an academic task by assisting the misrepresentation.” The discovery of any academic dishonesty in this course will result in a failure (F) on the test or work concerned for anyone involved.
Disability support: Students who have a physical, learning or psychological disability that requires accommodations should notify the instructor as soon as possible after the semester begins. These students will need to register with and provide documentation of their disability to University Disability Support Services in SEO, Room 330 Knight Hall.
Syllabus & Calendar: This syllabus and calendar are subject to change as the instructor will most likely need to make adjustments to the pace and content of the course. The instructor will update the syllabus & calendar as needed in order to keep you informed, but you must follow it throughout the semester.
Textbook
The main textbook for this class is:Al-Kitaab fi Ta’allum Al-Arabiya with DVDs. Part One. 2004. Authors: Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal, Abbas Al-Tonsi. ISBN: 1-58901-104-X. 2nd Ed. Georgetown University Press. Chapters 9-13
Dictionary
Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (Arabic-English) 4th Edition. 1993. ISBN: 0-87950-003-5.
Hans Wher is one of the most authoritative sources on Arabic. Purchasing it, though not compulsory, is a very wise move.
Assessment schedule and passing requirements
You will be assessed on a total of four quizzes, three vocabulary in context submissions, an end-of-term examination, as well on attendance and participation. Attendance counts for 7%, while a participation grade of 8% includes mini-homework assignments other than the vocabulary work, as well as your classroom activity.
/ Date / Assignment weighting
Vocabulary in context / 02/09 / 5%
Quiz 1 / 02/20 / 10%
Vocabulary in context / 03/04 / 5%
Quiz 2 / 03/23 / 10%
Vocabulary in context / 04/03 / 5%
Quiz 3 / 04/15 / 10%
Quiz 4 / 05/01 / 10%
Final Exam / TBA / 25%
Attendance & Participation / On-going / 10%
Homework / On-going / 10%
Total points / 100 %
Grading Scale
Grade / GPA Points / Catalog Definition / PercentagesA / 4.00 / Exceptional / 93-100
A- / 3.67 / 90-92
B+ / 3.33 / 88-89
B / 3.00 / Very Good / 83-87
B- / 2.67 / 80-82
C+ / 2.33 / 78-79
C / 2.0 / Fair / 73-77
C- / 1.67 / 70-72
D+ / 1.33 / 68-69
D / 1.00 / Poor / 60-67
F / 0 / Failure / 59 and below
Course Outline
CHAPTER TEN بيت العائلة / Weeks 1-2Story line: Family home
Vocabulary introduction and practice
Grammar: conditionals and comparatives: forms and functions; past and present forms: إذا، لو – أفعل
Readings; writing;
Cultural discussion points: بنت الحلال وابن الحلال
CHAPTER 11 أشعر بالخجل أحيانا
Story line: Sometimes I feel shy.
Vocabulary introduction and practice: Khaled’s family members; uncomfortable topics
Grammar: roots, measures and substantives: derived meanings from root verbفعل، تفعل، انفعل:
Reading; writing
Conversation: what makes you uncomfortable / Weeks 3-5
CHAPTER 12 أصعب قرار في حياتي
Story line: The difficult decision in my life.
Vocabulary introduction and practice
Grammar: future plans and associated expressions: future tense; negated future tense: سأفعل، لن أفعل
Grammar: the direct object: المفعول به
Grammar: verbal sentences
Reading; writing
Conversation practice: a difficult decision in my life 1
Reading: Edward Said dies / Weeks 6-8
CHAPTER 13 لماذا قررت البقاء في أمريكا
Story line: Why I decided to stay in USA? Vocabulary introduction and practice
Grammar: negated past tense with لم
Grammar: modulated sentences: to think that; to feel think, to understand that and corresponding complements: يعرف أن، يشعر بأن، فهم أن
Grammar: ?an + verbal sentence; ?anna + nominal sentence
Reading; writing
Conversation: difficult decisions in my life 2. / Weeks 9-12
Supplementary materials from newspapers, books, and television / 13-14