SOAS LANGUAGE CENTRE

Arabic Beginners 1

Materials: Wightwick, J. and Gaafar, M. (2014): Mastering Arabic 1 (3 rd ed.). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Overview of Course Contents Synopsis

Ù 12 hours ó Introduction to the Arabic language The aim of Arabic Beginners 1 is to provide students with a basic knowledge of ó Alphabet and pronunciation ‘standard’ Arabic, which is the dialect common to the entire Arabic-speaking part of ó Greetings the world and not specifically associated with any given country or region. A good ó Introducing oneself: name, nationality, profession ó Forming simple sentences grounding in Modern Standard Arabic is the basis from which learners may progress ó Male and female forms to the study of vernacular forms, such as Egyptian or Levantine Arabic. ó Talking about one’s family ó Feminine words The course covers grammar and essential vocabulary and focuses on the four ó Demonstratives (What’s this?) language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), aiming to enable students to ó Talking about one’s work communicate in everyday situations. The course is taught in English and Arabic, and a ó Plural forms ó Describing things variety of materials specifically created by SOAS Language Centre teachers are used Ù 24 hours alongside the main textbook. ó Everyday objects ( Whose is this? ) ó Possessive endings In class, students are encouraged to interact with each other using Arabic, practising ó Making polite requests the vocabulary and structures learnt in pairs or in small groups. Outside of the class, ó The indefinite and definite articles ó ‘Sun and moon letters’ students are encouraged to revise what has been taught, so that progress may be ó Describing places made as the material covered becomes more complex. Participants are asked to put ó Asking questions ( Where? How? What? etc.) sufficient time aside between sessions to undertake the necessary consolidation. ó Prepositions ó Introduction to dialect features This course may be taken as a 10-week/term-long course in any of the three ó The iḍafa construction academic terms of the year, where the number of contact hours is 20. In both ó Forming more complex sentences ó Describing one’s town intensive and semi-intensive mode (offered during Easter and over the summer), the ó Writing and listening activities number is contact hours is 24. In semi intensive mode, the division between the first ó Overview and progress test and second weeks is indicated, opposite ( Ù 12 hours; Ù 24 hours).