Arabic Language and Culture Program

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Arabic Language and Culture Program

The Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Middle Studies (CAMES) at the American University of Beirut offers a five-week program in Arabic Language and Culture designed for students interested in developing overall proficiency in Arabic in both its Standard and Lebanese varieties. The program provides integrated instruction in classes in both Standard Arabic and Lebanese Arabic (based on the tasks and contexts involved). Emphasis is placed on the development of the different skills within a communicative, proficiency-based framework and special attention is given the development of intercultural competence in Arabic.The program provides instruction at various levels of proficiency according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale. The Arabic Language and Culture program uses the Al-Kitaab fi Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya textbook series in addition to various supplementary materials. Students earn 6 credit hours for this program which can be transferred to their home institutions. This program is highly demanding so students are expected to be totally committed and ready to attend classes and do homework on a daily basis. The typical daily workload entails 5 hours of classroom instruction and at least 4 hours of homework.

The Arabic Language and Culture program offers the levels below each summer:

MEST 360 Elementary Arabic (Intensive) (6 cr. )

This course is designed to introduce students who have no previous knowledge of Arabic to the Arabic language and culture within its Lebanese setting. It utilizes an integrated approach that teaches both Standard and Lebanese Arabic based on communicative tasks and contexts. The course will familiarize students with the cultures of various Arabic speaking countries, with an emphasis on Lebanese culture and society. By the end of the course, students will be able to speak and write simple connected sentences about themselves, their families and their immediate environment, and read and listen to short authentic texts. The course will use Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds (3rd Edition) and part of Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part One (3rd Edition). By the end of this course, students are expected to reach High Elementary proficiency in Arabic on the (ACTFL) scale. Annually.

MEST 361 High Elementary Arabic (Intensive) (6 cr.)

This course is designed for students who have studied the equivalent of one semester of Arabic. It utilizes an integrated approach that teaches both Standard and Lebanese Arabic based on communicative tasks and contexts. The course will familiarize students with the cultures of various Arabic speaking countries, with an emphasis on Lebanese culture and society. Students who enroll at this level are expected to know the Arabic alphabet and have basic reading, writing and conversational skills. By the end of the course, students will be able to speak and write longer connected sentences about themselves, their families, their environment and other topics, and to read and listen to longer authentic texts. The course will use part of Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part One (3rd Edition). By the end of the course, students are expected to reach Intermediate proficiency in Arabic following the ACTFL scale. Annually.

MEST 362 Intermediate Arabic (Intensive) (6 cr.)

This course is designed for students who have studied the equivalent of two semesters of Arabic. It utilizes an integrated approach that teaches both Standard and Lebanese Arabic based on communicative tasks and contexts. The course will familiarize students with the cultures of various Arabic speaking countries, with an emphasis on Lebanese culture and society. The objectives of this course are to further develop students' language skills and strategies, expand active vocabulary in a wide variety of topics and settings, enhance knowledge of basic Arabic grammar, and further develop intercultural competence. The course will use part of Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part One (3rd Edition) and part of Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part Two (3rd Edition). By the end of the course, students are expected to reach Intermediate-Mid proficiency in Arabic following the ACTFL scale. Annually.

MEST 363 Intermediate Mid Arabic (Intensive) (6 cr.)

This course is designed for students who have studied the equivalent of three semesters of Arabic. It utilizes an integrated approach that teaches both Standard and Lebanese Arabic based on communicative tasks and contexts. The course will familiarize students with the cultures of various Arabic speaking countries, with an emphasis on Lebanese culture and society. The course aims to further enhance students' proficiency in the various skills, expand their cultural knowledge, expand their vocabulary, and enhance their control of grammatical structures and pronunciation. Students will learn to give oral presentations and do a lengthy writing project. The course will use part of Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part Two (3rd Edition). By the end of the course, students are expected to reach Intermediate-High proficiency in Arabic following the ACTFL scale. Annually.

MEST 364 Intermediate High Arabic (Intensive) (6 cr.)

This course is designed for students who have studied the equivalent of four semesters of Arabic. It utilizes an integrated approach that teaches both Standard and Lebanese Arabic based on communicative tasks and contexts. The course will familiarize students with the cultures of various Arabic speaking countries, with an emphasis on Lebanese culture and society. The course aims to further enhance students' proficiency in the various skills, expand their cultural knowledge, expand their vocabulary, and enhance their control of complex grammatical structures and pronunciation. Students will be able to comprehend lengthy authentic listening material, give oral presentations, write extensive compositions, and read authentic Arabic texts for research purposes. The course will use part of Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part Two (3rd Edition). By the end of the course, students are expected to reach Advanced proficiency in Arabic following the ACTFL scale. Annually.

MEST 365 Advanced Arabic (Intensive) (6 cr.)

This course is designed for students who have studied the equivalent of five semesters of Arabic. It utilizes an integrated approach that teaches both Standard and Lebanese Arabic based on communicative tasks and contexts. The course will familiarize students with the cultures of various Arabic speaking countries, with an emphasis on Lebanese culture and society. It aims to enable students to reach higher levels of proficiency in all Arabic skills. Students will do readings on a variety of topics and genres, such as literature, language and the social sciences. They will engage in debates, give oral presentations and write short research papers. The course will use part of Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part Three, to be supplemented by extra material as needed. By the end of the course, students are expected to reach Advanced-Mid proficiency in Arabic following the ACTFL scale. Annually.

MEST 366 Advanced Mid Arabic (Intensive) (6 cr.)

This course is designed for students who have studied the equivalent of six semesters of Arabic. It utilizes an integrated approach that teaches both Standard and Lebanese Arabic based on communicative tasks and contexts. The course will familiarize students with the cultures of various Arabic speaking countries, with an emphasis on Lebanese culture and society. Students will do readings in a variety of genres: novels, short stories, academic articles, lengthy newspaper articles, and selections from medieval texts. They will improve their listening skills through news broadcasts, documentaries, and television shows in both Standard and Lebanese Arabic. They will improve their oral skills by doing extended oral presentations in class. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the nuances of the language and the use of idiomatic expressions and rhetorical devices in all the language skills. The course will use part of Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part Three, to be supplemented by extra material as needed. By the end of the course, students are expected to reach Advanced-High proficiency in Arabic following the ACTFL scale. Annually.

MEST 367 Advanced High Arabic (Intensive) (6 cr.)

This course is designed for students who have studied the equivalent of seven semesters of Arabic. It utilizes an integrated approach that teaches both Standard and Lebanese Arabic based on communicative tasks and contexts. The course will familiarize students with the cultures of various Arabic speaking countries, with an emphasis on Lebanese culture and society. This level focuses on extensive readings that cover a wide variety of genres including novels, short stories, academic articles, lengthy newspaper articles, and selections from medieval texts. Listening skills are enhanced through news broadcasts, documentaries, and television shows in both Standard and Lebanese Arabic. Oral skills are developed through extended presentations in class. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the nuances of the language and the use of idiomatic expressions and rhetorical devices in all the language skills. By the end of the course, students are expected to reach a near native proficiency in all the Arabic skills. The course will use Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya: Part Three, to be supplemented by extra material as needed. Annually.

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