Online Course Format
Faculty: Ruwa Majid-Pokorny
Tuition: $200 (tuition discounts available; only 20 positions will be available)
Textbooks: Al-Kitab fi Ta’allum al-Arabiyya
with CDs, Part One, Third Edition by Abbas Al-Tonsi, Mahmoud Al-Batal and Kristen Brustad.
Course prerequisites: Arabic I, or the equivalent thereof (You must know your alphabet, long and short vowels and be at a rudimentary level of reading. You should know your present tense verb conjugation and possessive pronouns for first person singular, second person singular, both male and female, and third person singular both male and female.). Please, feel free to contact me at rmpokorny@comcast.net if you’re not sure about whether you satisfy these prerequisites.
Course Description: As the textbook indicates, this course is intended to devote attention to all skills of learning Arabic, including listening comprehension, oral reading and reading
comprehension, writing, and speaking, using the basic building blocks of vocabulary and grammar in the format of drills and activities. You will be given many opportunities to practice your newly acquired skills through these drills and activities, both in class and as homework. Emphasis on actively using the language in class will increase as the course advances. We will continue learning a bit about the Middle East culture. I would strongly encourage you to read those few pages at the beginning of the book that address the student. These will bring to light the general philosophy of the book and explain how to best use it to achieve the ultimate desired goal of this course, which is learning the language. Each lesson will generally consist of going over homework and answering questions that you may have. I will cover the new material, which you will have already acquainted yourselves with before class, and we will do some in-class drills and exercises.
Meeting only twice a week will require you to do much of the prep work and practice on your own. I highly recommend finding a way for partnership with classmates for practice. So, please expect to dedicate a few hours between classes for that work.
