Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic II

Course Description

USF Code: ARA 2221

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION  

Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic II is the second semester of Intermediate –level Modern Standard Arabic. The course will expand and further develop the students understanding and effective use of Modern Standard Arabic, focusing on Chapters twelve through thirteen (Part One) and Chapters one through two (Part Two) of Al-Kitaab. The number of chapters covered may be increased if the students exhibit sufficient progress and proficiency in their studies to move forward. Students will focus on acquiring more vocabulary and an increased knowledge of the fundamental grammatical and morphological structures in order for them to attain a higher level of comprehending and communicating.  Please note that the first three hours of this semester is for a focused review of vocabulary and grammar listed in Chapter eleven. 
 
METHOD AND APPROACH  

In this level we will follow the steps of (Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum Al-Arabiyya Part Two with its DVDs) chapter by chapter; we may introduce some changes if necessary. The student will prepare the lessons at home, do homework exercises on DVD, listen to texts, read vocabulary and write short sentences or comment about the contents of the texts. Classroom work consists of further practice and clarification of ambiguities. 
 
EXAMPLES OF CLASS ACTIVITIES

• Listening to the texts in DVDs.  
• Reading and Comprehension of the texts.  
• Making a conversation with classmates.  
• Listening to songs or conversations between people.  
• Writing an essay or decrypting some situations.
• Discussing a subject or topics.  
• Learning grammatical rules in context. 

 
COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this semester you will have progressed from Intermediate Level II to Advanced Level I.   Further course objectives:  - Taking the students to a higher level as to the basic skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. - Reading with more accelerated speed and better comprehension. - Expanding students' vocabulary repertoire by about 1000 words. -Expanding on issues related to the verb system: types, characteristics, conjugations and derivative meanings. - Expanding on students' repertoire of linguistic idioms. - Training students on idiomatic translations from Arabic to English through lengthier and more complex texts. - Expanding on the cultural dimension of the language through biographies, stories, original literary writings, articles from media texts and other targeted texts.