CURRICULUM ARAB 1001 (03694, 23695, 78780)

Arabic 1001 : Arabic Fall, 2007 Prof. : Bouasria

Times: All

E-mail: to be announced

Office: Peabody room 21, (in the basement)

Office hours: to be announced

Text: Required: 1) Alif Baa Introduction to the Arabic Alphabet by Kristen Brustad; 2) Al-Kitaab fii Ta’allum al-‘Arabiyya: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic- Part One by Kristen Brustad. The Audio Compact Disks that come with the both textbooks are in integral part of the course. You will also need the Arabic-English Dictionary by Hans Wehr.

Goals of the class: To acquire a firm foundation in the Arabic alphabet towards attaining fluency in reading vocalized Arabic texts and being able to write legible Arabic script. After having the basics of the alphabet down the student will acquire basic vocabulary and be initiated into essential Arabic syntax: including the nominal phrase, the construct, and conjugation of the past and present tense verbs with an emphasis on the use of the verbal sentence. This course will stress listening comprehension and basic speaking skills and will include in-class dictations and regular evaluations.

Method: Memorization of the alphabet, vocabulary and verb conjugation tables. Oral reading from texts provided in class and from the exercises in the text with an emphasis on good pronunciation. Translation of basic Arabic sentences into English. General communication practice in class. Regular dictation drills in class. Participation in paired practice and class pronunciation is an obligatory aspect of this course.

Homework, Quizzes, and Examinations:

Listening practice: It is required that you use the CDs that come with a the books on a regular basis. There will be “pop-quizzes’ on a regular basis based on the CD assignments. Without regular listening work outside class time the student will find great difficulty following the teacher during actual class time.

Homework: All homework assignments are obligatory. The cumulative homework grades will count towards 25% of the final grade.

Vocabulary Quizzes: There will be regular 5 min. quiz on letter recognition, writing of words, and new vocabulary taken from the lesson vocabulary list, and any other words assigned.

Weekly Quizzes: There will be weekly quizzes on the main points covered in that week's lesson, but as learning any language

is a cumulative procedure, these quizzes will also cover all points of grammar and vocabulary dealt with in previous lessons. These quizzes will include dictation from sentences from the text. (These will begin after the first two or three weeks of class to allow time for the a firm acquisition of the alphabet.)

Midterm: Mon. October 15.

Final: See final schedule for Fall 2007. No other arrangements can be made. The exam will be cumulative, emphasizes material introduced since the mid-term, but covers all vocabulary and grammar discussed in course including the alphabet and all symbols used in written Arabic. All students are expected to take the final.

Composition of grade:

Midterm = 25 %; Final = 25%; Quizzes and translations = 25%; and dictations and homework = 25%.

Note: As the homework and dictations are on a done/not done basis, you will be able to calculate this part of your grade from your quiz grades. This can help you after the mid-term to know where you stand towards the final grade.

Note: Learning a language is a cumulative process. It is far better for the student to keep up with the class work through the quizzes and homework than to count on last minute studying for the final.

Honors credit requirements: Honor students will be asked to memorize some basic Islamic texts, read and paraphrase current event headlines from Arabic newspapers and make an oral presentation in Arabic to the professor.

Make-up quizzes and tests: Make-up quizzes or exams are only possible with a “reasonable” excuse. NOTE: the professor will have the final word whether the excuse is “reasonable” or not.

This course will abide strictly by the standards of academic honesty set forth in the University of Georgia “A Culture of Honesty” Policy on Academic Honesty