Arabic 1

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

Time commitment totals 170 hours.

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 successful completion of this subject, students should:

have learnt to read all letters of the Arabic alphabet and all Arabic vowel signs in printed materials and very clear handwriting, to pronounce the sounds of Arabic, and to write all Arabic letters and vowel signs;
have developed the ability to read, and to interact with, simple authentic Arabic texts (e.g. charts, diagrams, lists, advertisements, information leaflets, descriptions of people, places and events, etc.);
have acquired some basic grammatical structures and the ability to use these effectively to extract meaning from Arabic texts, and to construct meaning and to engage in written and oral interaction;
have developed the ability to create simple written texts in Arabic (e.g. charts, lists, information leaflets, descriptions of people and events, personal letters);
have learnt about the different varieties of the Arabic language and have been exposed to some of them in the process of developing listening comprehension skills;
have developed a spoken facility at a basic level in Modern Standard Arabic, have acquired to ability to initiate and sustain brief conversations on daily-life topics, to speak about oneself and one's family and friends;
have learnt about some social conventions and gained important sociocultural knowledge related to interpersonal relations in the Arab World (concentrating on family and friends);
have learnt to orientate themselves in the Arab World, to name and to locate on the map the countries of the Middle East and North Africa and their capitals.

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. Assignments submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. In-class assessment tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

• Brustad, K., Al-Batal, M. & Al-Tonsi, A., Alif Baa. Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds, Washington, D. C.: Georgetown University Press. Edition TBA.
• Brustad, K., Al-Batal, M. & Al-Tonsi, A., Al-Kitaab fii Tacallum al-cArabiyya. A Textbook for Beginning Arabic. Part 1, Third Edition, 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.

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.