This course is aimed at students who already have some knowledge of Arabic. Over the course of the year it will steadily build the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary for students to engage in everyday conversations and with short texts. It will focus on developing a communicative competence at intermediate level.
Related modules
LFA Arabic Lower Intermediate / Arabic Language and Cultures: Lower Intermediate or equivalent.
Module will run
Occurrence
Teaching period
A
Semester 1 2024-25 to Semester 2 2024-25
Module aims
The module aims are for students to:
further develop the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), while learning Arabic within the framework of diglossia (learning how to distinguish between the written and the spoken, formal and informal);
learn about dialects (regional dialects, such as Egyptian and Jordanian);
acquire advanced writing skills in modern standard Arabic;
gain further knowledge of cultural aspects of the Arab world and an understanding of additional structural patterns appropriate to this level;
gain more confidence in using the language in daily communication.
Students will engage, individually and in groups, in activities and tasks emphasising three core communicative skills:
reception activities (oral, audio-video and reading comprehension);
production activities (oral and written production);
interaction activities (oral, written and online interaction).
The mediums of instruction are English and Arabic.
Module learning outcomes
Ability to understand straightforward factual texts with a satisfactory level of comprehension.
Ability to produce short, complex texts on topics of interest and give and justify their opinion. Ability to summarise, report and give their opinion about accumulated factual information and to produce very brief reports in a standard conventionalised format.
Ability to express personal opinions and exchange information on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current events).
Ability to generally respond appropriately to the most commonly used cultural cues to discuss in simple terms different perceptions of culturally determined actions.
Module content
Topics may include:
Reading comprehension skills (topics may include short stories, general paragraphs, news reports, poems and literary topics).
Writing skills development mainly focuses on further training via exercises in class and at home.
Situational dialogues, a selection of passages in a variety of topics, such as political, cultural, media, history, and literature.
The tenses (past, present and future), more about the plural, more about making questions, the passive voice.
Work and ambition.
Talking about preferences.
The comparative and superlative.
The diminutive.
4- Culture: key cultural aspects in each Arab country.
The course is non-assessed but students will receive an LFA Certificate of Completion if they participate in at least 13 sessions out of 18.
Reassessment
None
Module feedback
Regular homework tasks will provide opportunities for ongoing feedback on progress.
In addition, students will have the opportunity to complete coursework. Its purpose is not to provide a summative assessment of students’ performance but to provide the basis for relevant tutor’s feedback and feedforward.
Indicative reading
Course materials and guided readings will be provided by the module convenors via the VLE at the start of the year.