ARAB 302: Seminar in Arabic (Spring 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 301, 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 threshold of the Advanced-Low 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:  Speakers at the Advanced‑Low level are able to handle a variety of communicative tasks, although somewhat haltingly at times. They participate actively in most informal and a limited number of formal conversations on activities related to school, home, and leisure activities and, to a lesser degree, those related to events of work, current, public, and personal interest or individual relevance. Advanced‑Low speakers demonstrate the ability to narrate and describe in all major time frames (past, present and future) in paragraph length discourse, but control of aspect may be lacking at times. They can handle appropriately the linguistic challenges presented by a complication or unexpected turn of events that occurs within the context of a routine situation or communicative task with which they are otherwise familiar, though at times their discourse may be minimal for the level and strained. Communicative strategies such as rephrasing and circumlocution may be employed in such instances. In their narrations and descriptions, they combine and link sentences into connected discourse of paragraph length. When pressed for a fuller account, they tend to grope and rely on minimal discourse. Their utterances are typically not longer than a single paragraph. Structure of the dominant language is still evident in the use of false cognates, literal translations, or the oral paragraph structure of the speaker's own language rather than that of the target language. While the language of Advanced‑Low speakers may be marked by substantial, albeit irregular flow, it is typically somewhat strained and tentative, with noticeable self‑correction and a certain 'grammatical roughness.' The vocabulary of Advanced‑Low speakers is primarily generic in nature. Advanced‑Low speakers contribute to the conversation with sufficient accuracy, clarity, and precision to convey their intended message without misrepresentation or confusion, and it can be understood by native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non‑natives, even though this may be achieved through repetition and restatement. When attempting to perform functions or handle topics associated with the Superior level, the linguistic quality and quantity of their speech will deteriorate significantly.

 

LISTENING:  Learners at the Advanced-Low level are able to understand main ideas and most details of connected discourse on a variety of topics beyond the im­mediacy of the situation. Comprehension may be uneven due to a variety of linguistic and extra-linguistic fac­tors, among which topic familiarity is very prominent. These texts frequently involve description and narra­tion in different time frames or aspects, such as present, nonpast, habitual, or imperfective. Texts may include interviews, short lectures on familiar topics, and news items and reports primarily dealing with factual infor­mation. Listener is aware of cohesive devices but may not be able to use them to follow the sequence of thought in an oral text.

 

READING:  Learners at the Advanced-Low level are able to read somewhat longer prose of several paragraphs in length, particularly if presented with a clear underlying structure. The prose is predominantly in familiar sentence patterns. Reader gets the main ideas and facts and misses some details. Comprehension derives not only from situational and subject matter knowledge but from increasing control of the language. Texts at this level include descriptions and narrations such as simple short stories, news items, bibliographical information, social notices, personal correspondence, routinized business letters and simple technical material written for the general reader.

 

WRITING:  Writers at the Advanced‑Low level are able to meet basic work and/or academic writing needs, produce routine social correspondence, write about familiar topics by means of narratives and descriptions of a factual nature, and write simple summaries. Advanced‑Low writers demonstrate the ability to narrate and describe in major time frames with some control of aspect. Advanced‑Low writers are able to combine and link sentences into texts of paragraph length and structure. Their writings, while ade­quate to satisfy the criteria of the Advanced level, may not be substantive. Writers at the Advanced‑Low level demonstrate an ability to incorporate a limited number of cohe­sive devices but may resort to much redundancy and awk­ward repetition. Subordination in the expression of ideas is present and structurally coherent, but generally relies on native patterns of oral discourse or the writing style of the writer’s first language. Advanced‑Low writers demonstrate sustained control of simple target‑language sentence struc­tures and partial control of more complex structures. When attempting to perform functions at the Superior level, their writing will deteriorate significantly. Writing at the Advanced‑Low level is understood by natives not used to the writing of non‑natives, although some additional effort may be required in the reading of the text.

 

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 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).