ARAB 301: Seminar in Arabic (Fall Semester)

Course Syllabus

 

 

Instructor:

 

Instructor:             Maher Awad

Office:                    Rayzor Hall 329

Office phone:        (713) 348-3260

E-mail:                    awad@rice.edu

 

 

Course Description:

 

Advanced readings and discussions focus on various literary and cultural topics ranging from the classical to contemporary. The course integrates advanced grammatical constructions with comprehension and communication skills. Class discourse will be at the Intermediate-High level and above. Prerequisite: ARAB 202, placement test, or permission of the instructor. This is a Distribution Group I course. (3 credits)

 

 

Course Goals in Terms of Proficiency:

 

By the end of this course, students will reach the Intermediate-High level on the scale devised by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The following statements will roughly describe your four language skills at the end of this course (taken from the ACTFL guidelines):

 

SPEAKING:  Intermediate-High speakers are able to converse with ease and confidence when dealing with most routine tasks and social situations of the Intermediate level. They are able to handle successfully many uncomplicated tasks and social situations requiring an exchange of basic information related to work, school, recreation, particular interests and areas of competence, though hesitation and errors may be evident. Intermediate-High speakers handle the tasks pertaining to the Advanced level, but they are unable to sustain performance at that level over a variety of topics. With some consistency, speakers at the Intermediate-High level narrate and describe in major time frames using connected discourse of paragraph length. However, their performance of these Advanced-level tasks will exhibit one or more features of breakdown, such as the failure to maintain the narration or description semantically or syntactically in the appropriate major time frame, the disintegration of connected discourse, the misuse of cohesive devises, a reduction in breadth and appropriateness of vocabulary, the failure to successfully circumlocute, or a significant amount of hesitation. Intermediate-High speakers can generally be understood by native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non-natives, although the dominant language is still evident (e.g. use of code-switching, false cognates, literal translations, etc.), and gaps in communication may occur.

 

LISTENING:  Learners at the Intermediate-High level are able to sustain understanding over longer stretches of connected discourse on a number of topics pertaining to different times and places; however, understanding is inconsistent due to failure to grasp main ideas and/or details. Thus, while topics do not differ significantly from those of an Advanced level listener, comprehension is less in quantity and poorer in quality.

 

READING:  Learners at the Intermediate-High level are able to read consistently with full understanding simple connected texts dealing with basic personal and social needs about which the reader has personal interest and/or knowledge. They can get some main ideas and information from texts at the next higher level featuring description and narration. Structural complexity may interfere with comprehension; for example, basic grammatical relations may be misinterpreted and temporal references may rely primarily on lexical items. They have some difficulty with the cohesive factors in discourse, such as matching pronouns with referents. While texts do not differ significantly from those at the advanced level, comprehension is less consistent. They may have to read material several times for understanding.

 

WRITING:  Writers at the Intermediate-High level are able to meet all practical writing needs such as taking notes on familiar topics, and writing uncomplicated letters, simple summaries, and compositions related to work, school experiences, and topics of current and general interest. Intermediate-High writers connect sentences into paragraphs using a limited number of cohesive devices that tend to be repeated and with some breakdown in one or more features of the Advanced level. They can write simple descriptions and narrations of paragraph length on everyday events and situations in different time frames, although with some inaccuracies and inconsistencies. For example, they may be unsuccessful in their use of paraphrase and elaboration and/or inconsistent in the use of appropriate major time markers, resulting in a loss in clarity. In those languages that use verbal markers to indicate tense and aspect [e.g. Arabic], forms are not consistently accurate. The vocabulary, grammar, and style of Intermediate-High writers essentially correspond to those of spoken language. The writing of an Intermediate-High writer, even with numerous and perhaps significant errors, is generally comprehensible to natives not accustomed to the writing of non-natives, but gaps in comprehension may occur.

 

In addition to the above four linguistic skills, students will gain information about and insight into the culture of the Arabic-speaking world.

 

 

Course Materials:

 

These books are required:

 

·         Al-Kitaab with DVDs: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic, Part One, 2nd  edn., 2004, by Brustad et al.

·         Al-Kitaab with DVDs: A Textbook for Arabic, Part Two, 2nd  edn., 2006, by Brustad et al.

·         A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edn., 1994, by Hans Wehr.

 

The following book is not required. It is a classic, concise, and brief description of the Arabic language:

 

·         Arabic Language Handbook, Georgetown University Press, 2003, by Mary Catherine Bateson (updated reprint of the original 1967 edition).

 

 

Course Requirements and Grade Distribution:

 

1.  Attendance and participation – 20%. You are expected to come to every class meeting and to come prepared for class activities. This means that before you come to class you should do the assigned reading, watch the DVDs, study the new vocabulary, preview the exercises that are to be done in class, and be ready to answer questions. Quality participation in class is crucial for success. ‘Quality participation’ is a cover phrase for active, engaged, voluntary, non-disruptive, and consistent participation. Missing class not only means extra time for you to catch up, it is also unfair to your classmates as you will undoubtedly slow everyone down. You are allowed three absences during the semester for any reason and without any justification. Use these absences if you really need to. If you don’t need to, don’t use them. An absence beyond the three which is not excused will impact your grade negatively. For an absence to be excused, it must be for a compelling reason (e.g. illness, job interview, conference presentation, etc.) and it must be documented. Furthermore, note that class will begin and end on time and that two instances of tardiness will count as one absence. You are responsible in detail for material and information covered in class when you were absent or when you arrived late or left early. Check with your classmates or with me about what you may have missed. Note further that your participation grade is affected by whether or not you stay in touch with me in office hours on a semi-regular basis throughout the semester.

 

2.  Homework – 15%. There will be two main kinds of homework: (1) homework that will be turned in to be corrected and graded, and (2) homework that will be spot-checked in class for verification that it was done. Expect one or the other kind of homework every class. At the beginning of class, all written homework that is not for turn-in must be visible for spot-checking. No late homework will be accepted without a compelling reason. It is your responsibility to arrange to turn in your homework on time even if you must miss class on the day the homework is due. The following grading scale will be used to grade homework (out of 10 points):

10     =    A   =    excellent/very good

9       =    B    =    good/above average

8       =    C    =    okay/average

7       =    D   =    acceptable/below average

1–6   =    F    =    failing

 

3.  Lab requirement – 5%. You will log at least 60 minutes of work in the language lab (Language Resource Center) every week. Your time there must be spent doing things above and beyond the normal class requirements—that is to say, things other than preparing for tests, working on homework assignments, using the Al-Kitaab DVDs, etc. The purpose and spirit of this requirement is to encourage you to interact with and explore the Arabic language and culture beyond the normal class requirements. The following are some examples of creditable lab work: teaching yourself how to type in Arabic, watching and listening to Arabic programs on the Internet (e.g. SCOLA), reading Arabic texts on the Internet (e.g. newspapers), watching Arabic films, listening to Arabic songs and writing down their words (passive listening to music does not count), using Arabic learning software such as TMM, and so on. If you are not sure whether something counts toward fulfilling this requirement or not, ask me. To get credit for this requirement, students must log their time in the LRC log system.

 

4.  Oral interview – 5%. You will have a one-on-one oral interview with me in the latter part of the course. This interview will check your Arabic conversation skills.

 

5.  Vocabulary quizzes – 5%. There will be approximately 5 vocabulary quizzes, one every time we begin a new chapter in Al-Kitaab.

 

6.  Chapter tests – 25%. There will be 2 chapter tests, one every time we cover two chapters in Al-Kitaab. These tests will be scheduled as we go and will be announced a week or two in advance.

 

7.  Oral presentation – 10%. There will be one oral presentation due in class in the last two weeks of the semester. The script of the oral presentation is due a few days before the oral presentation is due.

 

8.  Final exam – 15%. There will be a cumulative final exam during the final exam period. The date of the final exam will be announced a few weeks into the semester, as soon as the Registrar’s office releases that information.

 

 

Grading Scale:  This is the scale that will be used to calculate your final course grade:

 

98–100%   =    A+                    89–91  =    B+                    80–82  =    C+                    71–73  =    D+                    0–64    =    F

95–97         =    A                      86–88  =    B                       77–79  =    C                       68–70  =    D

92–94         =    A-                     83–85  =    B-                     74–76  =    C-                     65–67  =    D-

 

Your goal is to learn Arabic, not to obsess over grades. The point of the grades is merely to keep you on track toward that goal. Do your work well, and the grades will take care of themselves.

 

 

Other Requirements and Expectations:

 

1.        It is highly unadvisable to take this course on a pass/fail grading basis as this tends to create two performance levels in class, the lower-level students being the ones opting for pass/fail.

 

2.        You should expect to spend at least two hours preparing for every in-class hour.

 

3.        You should come to office hours often during the semester, not only when there is a problem or an upcoming test. Your participation grade is affected by whether or not you stay in touch with me in office hours on a semi-regular basis throughout the semester.

 

4.        You are required to form groups of 3–4 students each and meet at a regular time for an hour once a week to practice your Arabic and to study together. Take the initiative in approaching your classmates to form your group.

 

5.        Planned absences (e.g., for religious observance, a job interview, a medical procedure, a conference presentation, etc.) must be communicated to me during the first two weeks of class, even if the exact dates of the planned absence are not known. In general, let me know as soon as you become aware that you must be absent on a given day. You will be responsible for making up any work you miss during your absence.

 

6.        No makeup exam or test will be given without a compelling documented reason.

 

7.        You are required to save every test and assignment returned to you in an organized folder until after the final grades are assigned at the end of the semester. This includes assignments that you send me electronically.

 

8.        Every requirement in this course, from the smallest to the biggest, will be carried out in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Rice Honor Code.

 

 

Special Needs:

 

Any student with a documented disability who needs academic adjustments or accommodations is requested to speak with me during the first two weeks of class. All discussions will remain confidential. Students with disabilities will also need to contact Disability Support Services in the Student Center (RMC).