BA Modern Language and Business & Management (Arabic) / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Media and Business Arabic

Course unit fact file
Unit code MEST30182
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 3
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This course is designed for advanced level students requiring the language for general vocational and professional purposes. It teaches specialised vocabulary to enable participants to use their language skills in a more professional environment such as meetings, interviews, as well as covering related current affairs topics in the media. The course will enhance knowledge of Arabic life, culture, business and current social and political affairs using complex and linguistically accurate structure. The course is an integrated course which allows  developing a deep understanding of the Arabic Media through authentic texts and audio files from a wide variety of media sources, and enhancing knowledge of the business environment in the Arabic world . 

Pre/co-requisites

Unit title Unit code Requirement type Description
Arabic Language 4 MEST51042 Pre-Requisite Compulsory

Successful completion of MEST51042 followed by a substantial period of residence in an Arabic speaking country or equivalent.

Free choice dependent on level in Arabic at least a C1 level of the CEFR and subject to level assessment by the Arabic SLT.

Aims

With the growing importance of the Middle East in international affairs and initiatives to integrate the Arab world into the global economy, many new business opportunities are opening up. As a result, there is a growing need for western workers to develop their Arabic language skills as well as their understanding of the culture in order to do business effectively. The course will offer to the students: 

  • The tools to access media information. 
  • Introduction to the vocabulary, style and content of the Arabic press and broadcast media
  • Practical training to learn how to comprehend specialized vocabulary, style and subject content through texts by reading, analysing, translating, listening, debating and summarising. 
  • Ways to developing their competence in actively using relevant specialist vocabulary in Arabic, and to carry out a range of practical tasks in a business and media context.

 

 

Teaching and learning methods

3 contact hours a week using blended learning which integrates traditional face-to-face classroom instruction with online digital learning will be applied in the teaching of this course.  BL helps instructors engage students in active learning that promotes skills such as communication, information literacy, creativity and collaboration that transform into the ability to use digital technologies for learning the language. While students will be expected to engage in a learner-centred online environment  classes are devoted to  develop students’ analytical skills in Arabic and expand their reading, writing, and speaking capabilities. Students will work in groups to discuss the concepts presented in class and form their opinions on both Media and Business related matters. And they  will also work in groups to present a marketing project at the end of the semester.  

Part of the course is dedicated to enhancing students’ listening and speaking skills and ability to summarise Media and business related news reports. In addition to completing exercises in an Arabic media textbook, students will listen to real news programs and radio broadcasts, explore blogs, and examine articles from Arabic magazines and newspapers. Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiyya, BBC Arabic, Al-Ahram, Al-Quds, and Al-Arab are among the sources from which authentic mass media materials will be analysed and discussed and orally summarised. 

 

 

 

Knowledge and understanding

  • Use the vocabulary that's relevant to business and media in Arabic.
  • Read and understand Arabic materials dealing with business and trade (e.g. banking documents, correspondence, reports, forms, advertisements and contracts) and fill out Arabic business forms and transactions, both online and paper based. 
  • Read, show understanding analyse and comment on news articles in written, visual and audio format. 
  • Translate Arabic and English business and Media texts into an appropriate register; 

 

Intellectual skills

  • Comprehend a wide range of media communications: Writing, interviewing, broadcasting, reporting, news coverage, etc.
  • Analyse different aspects of Arab businesses or a particular company or commercial organization

Practical skills

  • The ability to read, analyse and translate articles and orally summarise news articles.

 

Transferable skills and personal qualities

  • develop their ability to improve their own learning and performance by identifying strengths and weaknesses;
  • enhance their personal organization and time management skills;
  • further develop the ability to work independently;
  • strengthen their interpersonal and communicative skills;
  • heighten their awareness of and responsiveness to cultural diversity and intercultural communication;
  • improve their ability to present information and analysis in a precise and orderly fashion.
  • group work contributes to the development of interpersonal and communicative skills and to the capability to work in a team.

Employability skills

Other
This course unit is essential to those students who wish to use their Arabic language to work in a field related to the media and business; as it increases their skills in comprehending both the language of the press and that business.

Assessment methods

Assessment task  

Formative or Summative 

Weighting within unit (if summative) 

Written Exam  

Summative 

60% 

Oral & Aural Exam

Summative

40%

* There will be one formative assessment during the course on all components of the course consisting of :  

Translation into Arabic 

Translation into English  

News Articles’ critical analysis and writing  

Oral and written summarising  

Feedback methods

Feedback method

Formative or Summative

  • Formative feedback on weekly assignment

In-class comments on language learning and students’ performance in Oral and Written Arabic

Written comments on assignments/homework throughout the year

Face to face feedback if required

Formative

  • Summative feedback

Feedback sheets indicating the quality of the exam performance in the various categories will be available to students

Summative

 

Recommended reading

Recommended Texts (Media) :

  1. Ashtiany, J. Media Arabic (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997)
  2. Elgibali, A. and Korica N. Media Arabic: A Coursebook for Reading Arabic News (Cairo: The American University in Cairo, 2007)
  3. Kendall, E. The Top 1000 Words for Understanding Media Arabic (Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2005)
  4. Lahlali, M. Advanced Media Arabic (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008)
  5. Wehr, H., & Cowan, J. M. (1980). A dictionary of modern written Arabic (Arabic and English), Beirut: Librarie du Liban

Recommended Texts (Business) 

  1. Mili, A. (2011) Arabic for Business Studies, Amel Mili, The lauder Institute, The University of Pennsylvania
  2. Rammuny, R. (2000) Business Arabic (Advanced Level) - Authentic Texts and Audio Visual Materials, University of Michigan Press.
  3. Bassiouney, R. (2010) Arabic and the media : linguistic analyses and applications. Leiden ; Boston: Brill.

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 22
Seminars 11
Independent study hours
Independent study 167

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Orieb Masadeh-Tate Unit coordinator

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