Studying at York
Arabic Language and Cultures: Beginner - LAN00093H
- Department: Language and Linguistic Science
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
Learning a language can be a transformative and enriching experience. Both the process and the outcomes are beneficial at various levels, from increased neuroplasticity to improving your overall academic performance, fostering empathy and intercultural awareness, and enhancing your career opportunities. This course is aimed at students who have no previous knowledge of Arabic. Over the course of a semester, it will steadily build the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to learn Arabic and communicate in basic situations. It will focus on developing a communicative competence from beginner level and provide a foundation for further study.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
| B | Semester 2 2024-25 |
Module aims
The module aims are:
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to equip students with the key language skills to enable them to communicate in Arabic at a basic level, or to facilitate a trip to the countries where the target language is spoken;
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to facilitate the acquisition of grammatical structures in Arabic which will provide the foundation for further more in-depth study;
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to introduce Arab culture and raise their awareness about its distinctive features.
Students will engage, individually and in groups, in activities and tasks emphasising three core communicative skills:
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reception activities (oral, audio-video and reading comprehension);
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production activities (oral and written production);
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interaction activities (oral, written and online interaction).
The medium of instruction is English and Arabic.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of this module students should be able to:
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Understand everyday basic expressions and short, simple informational material and texts (e.g. on sports, music, travel or short, illustrated narratives about everyday activities).
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Produce short simple phrases about people and places and about themselves (e.g. name, address, family, nationality), to describe themselves as well as simple aspects of their everyday life in a series of simple sentences prepared in advance.
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Interact in a simple way and ask and answer simple questions about themselves and their daily routines.
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Recognise basic cultural differences (e.g. differing ways of numbering, measuring distance, telling the time, etc.) and establish basic social contact by using the simplest everyday polite forms of greetings, farewells and introductions.
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Reflect upon language use and justify linguistic choices.
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Self-monitor and self-regulate their own learning and resources.
Module content
Topics may include:
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The alphabets.
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Definite and indefinite nouns.
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Greetings and leave-taking.
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Introductions.
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Simple sentences.
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Describing places.
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Pronouns and demonstrative nouns.
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Jobs, work and study.
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Countries and people.
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Colours and numbers.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) | 60 |
| Oral presentation/seminar/exam | 40 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
The written exam will include one or two questions aimed at assessing students’ ability to reflect on language use and justify their responses and choices when using the language (in English), and a task related to students’ ability to monitor their own learning.
The oral exam will include strategic competence among the assessment criteria in production and interaction activities.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) | 60 |
| Oral presentation/seminar/exam | 40 |
Module feedback
Feedback on exams and essays as per University regulations.
Indicative reading
Course materials and guided readings will be provided by the module convenors via the VLE at the start of the semester.