Textbook:
Al-Kitaab fi ta`allum al-`arabiyya by Brustad et
al
Dictionaries:
A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (Wehr), edited
by J M. Cowan
During this semester we will begin by retracing some of our final
steps of LG-598-0 before continuing our work in Egyptian
Colloquial and Modern Standard Arabic.
It
is difficult to learn any language when contact with the Professor
occurs only once per week. Accordingly,
students will be asked to complete homework assignments by the Monday
following each class; these may be sent to the Professor by
conventional mail, hand delivery, fax, or email (the last, of
course, assumes access to an Arabic font and word processing
program). Assignments
will be reviewed and returned to the student, often with a new
assignment which can be handed in the following class-time.
In
effect, the attempt will be made to combine traditional
“contact” with “distance learning” aspects of education in
this course.
Homework
assignments will be graded and will account for 20% of the
final mark. Vocabulary
Quizzes, one per unit, will cumulatively account for 20% of the
grade. Chapter tests will also come to 20%; the Final Exam alone
will also count for 20% of the semester’s grade; the remaining
20% will be based on attendance and class participation.
While
ANY syllabus is tentative (and this one is fairly ambitious for a
non-intensive course), every effort will be made to adhere to the
following schedule:
September
16
Grammar Review; Lesson 7 Review
September
23
Lesson 7 – Completion; Lesson 8 – Vocabulary Quiz
September
30
Lesson 8 – Completion
October
7
Lesson 9 – Vocabulary Quiz
October
14
Lesson 9 – Completion; Lesson 10 – Vocabulary Quiz
October
21
Lesson 10 – Completion
October
28
Exam – Lessons 8-10; Lesson 11
November
4
Lesson 11 – Vocabulary Quiz and Completion
November
11
Lesson 12 – Vocabulary Quiz
November
18
Lesson 12 – Completion
November
25
NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING DAY
December
2
Lesson 13 – Vocabulary Quiz
December
9
Lesson 13 – Completion; Review
December
16
FINAL EXAM – Lessons 8-13
NB:
When learning a language, it is (infinitely?) better to
work a little each day than to cram on weekends or over large
chunks of time. In
other words, an hour each day of review and preparation during the
week is to be preferred over spending the entirety of a Saturday
or Sunday trying to catch-up.
Also,
in learning a language, it is better to use your out-of-class time
to work on material that has already been presented in class,
rather than to “work ahead”.
Working ahead risks internalizing faulty linguistic input,
since this is NOT a “teach yourself” course.
As
you already know, “I’m not here to hand out bad grades” is
one of my mottos. Every
effort will be made to keep all of you up to speed, that being one
of the luxuries of having a small class.
Most
importantly: HAVE
FUN! Even though
you’ve learned by this point that Arabic is NOT an easy
language, it CAN be enjoyable.
I’ll continue trying to make it that way; if you work,
there is that much more chance of making it that way for yourself.
Steven
Blackburn