Postgraduate Course: Arabic 1a for PG Credit (IMES11103)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Arabic 1a for PG Credit is an elementary course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). It also introduces students to the fundamentals of spoken Arabic. It is worth 20 credits and runs in Semester 1 only. No previous knowledge of Arabic is required for entry to the course. |
| Course description |
1) Academic description: Arabic 1a for PG Credit is an elementary course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). It also introduces students to the fundamentals of spoken Arabic. It is worth 20 credits and runs in Semester 1 only. Students who complete Arabic 1a for PG Credit will be able to continue with Arabic 1b for PG Credit in Semester 2. No previous knowledge of Arabic is required for entry to the course. Students will learn how to use Arabic grammar and vocabulary related to basic topics such as the family, food, and travel; conduct basic social conversations; extract information from short texts and audiovisual material, and write short passages in Modern Standard Arabic.
2) Outline Content: Weeks 1-3 focus on the alphabet, and basic conversational phrases. Weeks 4-6 focus on basic grammar, such as adjectives, demonstratives, the iDaafa, and non-verbal sentences. Weeks 7-10 focus on verbs in the past tense, the verbal noun (maSdar), and further grammar topics such as case endings.
3) Student Learning Experience: Students normally take 1 hour of lecture (grammar) class and 5 hours of seminar (language practice, including a blend of speaking, grammar, and reading practice) classes every week. They also engage with weekly homework assignments, including writing and listening assignments; and online content, including explanatory videos, audio lessons, and vocabulary and grammar quizzes
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | PLEASE NOTE: This course is designed for complete beginners with no previous knowledge of Arabic of any kind. Students considering taking Arabic 1a as an elective course who have knowledge of Arabic at or beyond CEFR A2 level, or students who are native speakers of Arabic, should not enrol in this course, as this would be considered academic misconduct. In such cases the students will be asked to leave the course. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 15 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 8,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 50,
Formative Assessment Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 4,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
133 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
20 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework (Mid-Semester Test): 20%
Oral Exam: 20%
Written Exam: 60% |
| Feedback |
Students will receive feedback on formative homework assignments on a weekly basis. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Arabic 1a | 3:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | Arabic 1a | 3:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Read and write the Arabic script.
- Use basic Arabic grammatical structures such as nominal sentences, noun-adjective phrases, the iDaafa, and verbs in the past tense.
- Use Arabic vocabulary related to basic topics such as family, greetings, professions, describing people and places, food and drink, and past events.
- Use Spoken Arabic confidently to understand and conduct conversations, including greetings, introductions, talking about one's family, and talking about past events.
- Read and extract information from texts and audiovisual material of a range of types (e.g. advertisements, short media passages, short audio and video recordings), and write short narrative essays in Modern Standard Arabic.
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Reading List
All resources for the course are in-house material and are available on Learn.
Further Reading:
Jane Wightwick & Mahmoud Gaafar, Mastering Arabic 1 (3rd edition)
Jane Wightwick & Mahmoud Gaafar, Mastering Arabic Grammar
Hans Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (ed. J. M. Cowan) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
A. Research and Enquiry: Students will be able to use the basic Arabic they have learned in research projects, and seek out opportunities in the Arab world and in communication with Arabic speakers.
B. Personal and Intellectual Autonomy: Students will be able to read the Arabic script, and understand and independently evaluate basic texts, sources, and speech in the language.
C. Communication: Students will develop basic communication skills in Spoken and Standard (written) Arabic, and enhance their understanding of and engagement with the Middle East and Arabic-speaking communities.
D. Personal effectiveness: Students will learn to function independently in basic Arabic, influence positively through communicating with others in Arabic, and adapt to new situations where Arabic is spoken. |
| Keywords | Modern Standard Arabic,Integrated Approach,Grammar,Speaking,Reading,Writing,Translation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jona Fras
Tel: (0131 6)50 3625
Email: jona.fras@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Hope Hamilton
Tel: (0131 6)50 4167
Email: hope.hamilton@ed.ac.uk |
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