BA History and Arabic

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Arabic Language 3

Course unit fact file
Unit code MEST51031
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 2
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This is a pre-intermediate level language course which provides students with the opportunity to continue and extend their knowledge and skills -as developed in the 1st year - and enable them to achieve competence in Arabic approximately equivalent to A2/B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This course underscores all four communication skills (reading, speaking, listening and writing) and uses audio and video material to familiarise students with native speakers in their local environment, introducing listening and cultural aspects of the Arab world to prepare students for their year abroad.  Students will also be introduced to basic skills of typing in Arabic.  

Information about Arab culture will be introduced implicitly and/or explicitly within topics covered. 

This unit is compulsory and as such requires a pass mark of 40% or above at the first sitting in order to progress to the next level of language in semester 2.  Students who fail to meet this requirement will be able to discuss their options with their relevant Programme Director and may be able to move onto the non-language degree award of Middle Eastern Studies.

 

Pre/co-requisites

Unit title Unit code Requirement type Description
Arabic Language 2 MEST51022 Pre-Requisite Compulsory

Available to students taking Arabic Studies, MES with Arabic, and any joint degree with Arabic. 

Aims

To consolidate the language skills acquired by students in MEST51022. The course also offers opportunities for students to increase their knowledge and appreciation of not only the language, in its Modern Standard form, but also the varieties of Arabic dialects and cultural production in the Arab world. 

Knowledge and understanding

  • Identify more complex grammatical structures and apply them to writing and translation.
  • Engage in more complex oral dialogues and simple debates. 
  • Familiarise themselves with the different varieties of the Arabic dialects and the cultural production in the Arab world.

Intellectual skills

  • Engage in problem solving activities, grammatical and textual analysis and translation 

Practical skills

  • This course leads to further Arabic language learning to enable students to graduate with Arabic language skills demanded by different organisations including governmental, business and NGOs.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

  • develop ability to improve independent learning and performance by identifying lingual strengths and weaknesses.
  • develop personal, organizational and time management skills.
  • develop interpersonal and communicative skills through group work inside and outside the class-room and preparing written and in-class oral presentations.
  • begin to gain awareness of and responsiveness to cultural diversity and intercultural communication. 

Assessment methods

Assessment Task Formative or Summative Weighting within unit (if summative)
Continuous written assessment in-class: Week 9 Summative 10%
Continuous written assessment in-class: Week 10 Summative 10%
Written exam: January Summative 60%
Speaking Exam (Weeks 11/12) Summative 20%

An overall 40% pass mark of the total is required in order to progress to the next level.

Students who fail to meet this requirement will be able to discuss their options with their relevant Programme Director and may be able to move onto the non-language degree award of Middle Eastern Studies.

Students will have formative assessment during the semester to assess their progress and they will receive written feedback. This will be spread over the weeks and will test all four language skills.    

Feedback methods

Feedback method

Formative feedback on weekly assignments

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 (during office hours).

Summative feedback

Feedback sheets indicating the quality of the exam performance in the various categories will be made available.

 

Recommended reading

Course Books: (Subject to change with prior notice) 

Supplementary materials will be provided by the tutors. 

At-Takallum: A Comprehensive Modern Arabic Course. Pre-Intermediate B1 Level by Ahmad Noor Al-Deen Sabir Al-Mashrafi  

Recommended Reading:   

Brustad, Kirsten et al. (eds), Al-Kitaab fii ta’llum al-Arabiyya, Part One (Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2004), this is the 2nd edition with DVD. 

Brustad, Kirsten et al. (eds), Al-Kitaab fii ta’llum al-Arabiyya, Part Two (Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2005), this is the 2nd edition with DVD.  

 

Doniach, N.S. et al., The Concise Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary (Oxford: OUP, 1984); Wehr, Hans, Arabic-English dictionary (Urbana, Illinois: Spoken Languages Services, 1994).  

Abboud, P.F. et al. (eds), Elementary Modern Standard Arabic (EMSA) (Cambridge: CUP, 3rd ed. 1983).  

Mace, J., Arabic Grammar (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998); 

Wightwick, J. & Gaafar, M., Mastering Ar

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 33
Seminars 33
Independent study hours
Independent study 134

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Abdelghani Mimouni Unit coordinator
Orieb Masadeh-Tate Unit coordinator

Additional notes

Extra-curricular activities:  

  • Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) 

All students are encouraged to take part in the PASS scheme to run sessions for 1st year students, in which attendees have a chance to actively discuss difficult course concepts with their peers.  Sessions focus on problem solving in groups in a tutor-free environment where students can raise key questions with each other and, in doing so, understand the material better themselves.  PASS is student-led, informal, friendly and hopefully fun.   

  • Middle Eastern Film Club, taking part in celebrations of Middle Eastern Festivals. 

 

This course and all its materials are available on Blackboard. Resources to extend on classroom work and for self-study will be made available. Work is classified according to skill, e.g. Reading, Listening, Grammar, etc. There will also be folders for work done weekly.  

 

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