Arabic 1

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

4 contact hours per week and 4 additional hours per week. 96 hours per semester.

New students will have their appropriate entry point determined by the Arabic Program, based on evidence of prior learning and/or results of a placement test. Placement Test information available here.

None.

None.

Students who have successfully completed ARBC10005 Arabic 1A are not eligible to enrol in this subject.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject is for students with very little or no knowledge of Arabic. Students will be introduced to the sounds of the Arabic language and to the letters and symbols of its writing system, start building their vocabulary and gain an understanding of, and the ability to use constructively some basic structures of the language. Vocabulary and grammar will be learnt and activated through working with texts affording students insights into Arab culture, at this stage concentrating on basic sociocultural matters related to some aspects of everyday living and social conventions. In the process, students will be aided by state-of-the-art textbooks, authentic materials, both written and audio-visual, and the interactive online program developed by Asia Institute staff. Along the way, students will learn to study the language actively and interactively, become audiovisual learners and develop learning strategies to enable them to eventually become self-sufficient language learners capable of independently engaging in the perpetual process of learning a language.

On completion of this subject, students will:

• have learnt to read and write all letters of the Arabic alphabet and all vowel signs encountered in printed materials and in very clear handwriting;
• have acquired some basic grammatical structures of the Arabic language and the ability to use these effectively to engage in written and oral communication and to construct meaning;
• have developed a spoken facility at a basic level in Modern Standard Arabic;
• have developed the ability to read and to interact with simple Arabic texts such as advertisements, charts and diagrams, lists, information leaflets, weather forecasts, short poems and descriptions;
• have developed the ability to create simple written texts in Arabic, such as lists, information leaflets and descriptions of people and events;
• have learnt to orientate themselves in the Arab World, to name and locate on the map the countries of the Middle East and North Africa and their capitals;
• have learnt about the different varieties of the Arabic language and have been exposed to some of these in the process of developing their listening comprehension skills;
• have learnt about some social conventions and gained important sociocultural knowledge related to interpersonal relations (concentrating on family and friends).

10 pieces of written assignments (throughout the semester) 20%, continuous oral assessment (throughout the semester) 15%, a mid-semester written test (during the middle of the semester) 20%, a 10-minute oral examination (during the examination period) 15% and a 2-hour written examination (during the examination period) 30%. Class attendance is required for this subject; if you do not attend a minimum of 80% of classes without an approved exemption you will not be eligible for a pass in this subject. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

• Brustad, K., Al-Batal, M. & Al-Tonsi, A., Alif Baa. Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds, Third Edition, Washington, D. C.: Georgetown University Press.
• Brustad, K., Al-Batal, M. & Al-Tonsi, A., Al-Kitaab fii Tacallum al-cArabiyya with DVDs. A Textbook for Beginning Arabic. Washington, D. C.: Georgetown University Press.

None.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• acquire general study skills facilitating the effective use of learning opportunities, using materials for independent learning and co-operating effectively in pair and group work;
• acquire skills involving coming to terms with new experience (new language, new ways of behaving, new people, etc.) and bringing other competences to bear (e.g. by observing, grasping the significance of what is observed, analysing, inferencing, memorising, etc.) in specific language learning situations, and the ability to use new technologies (e.g. the university’s online program);
• acquire time management and planning skills through managing and organising workloads and assignment completion;
• acquire public speaking skills through group and class discussions and presentations;
• develop sensitivity to different cultural phenomena and practices;
• learn to acknowledge the existence of alternative systems for organising and expressing thoughts.

New students will have their appropriate entry point determined by the Arabic Program, based on evidence of prior learning and/or results of a placement test. Placement Test information available here.

Information on the Language Curriculum Reform is available here.