Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA2173: Living and Communicating in the Arab World

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Overview

NQF Level 5
Credits ECTS Value
Term(s) and duration

This module ran during term 3 (2 weeks)

Academic staff

no title Fatima Rawan (Lecturer)

Pre-requisites

ARA1033A and ARA1033B 

Co-requisites

None

Available via distance learning

No

Arabic is spoken by millions of people across the world, yet its resultant dialectic diversity remains intimidating for learners. This module provides you with an introduction to a given dialect ahead of your study year abroad, and in doing so supplies you with a model for dialect acquisition that you can apply to other countries in the region. Learning dialect as a complement to Modern Standard Arabic is necessary for your understanding the culture and civilisation of the Arab World, and your acquisition of the full range of Arabic register necessary for a non-native Arabic speaker.

This is an intensive core module of the MArabic taken in term 3 of year 1 in preparation for the year abroad. It is taught intensively for two weeks in term 3 (immediately following the examination period in May).  Any face-to-face teaching will conclude by the end of term (mid-June) but guided independent study tasks will continue over the summer period and assessments will be completed within two weeks after the end of teaching.  As this is a no-credit-baring module,students must pass it to progress to the year abroad.   The results would be given as pass or fail not as marks.

The module introduces you to the grammatical and lexical basics of the Arabic dialect of the country in which you will be residing during your study year abroad. It will introduce you to the morphology and syntax of the dialect, as well as the two particular skills required to function linguistically within it: namely speaking and listening. Written forms of dialect will be explored insofar as they occur in advertising and social media, but the focus will be on speaking and understanding the spoken language in practical situations.

The module will prepare you for living in the Middle East on both a linguistic and a practical level. You will work with fellow students and with your teachers on practical linguistic scenarios that reflect situations you are likely to encounter while living in the Middle East. In addition you will be introduced to ways of dealing with the practical aspects of living in the region, from bureaucratic, social, cultural, travel, political, security, health and wellbeing perspectives.

The course will prepare you for a successful study year abroad and subsequent more advanced Arabic language studies. You will be required to have completed the two core Elementary Arabic Language modules (ARA1033A and ARA1033B) before embarking on the module. This is a zero credit module but you must pass this module before you can start the Year Abroad module ARA2174                .

Module created

25/03/2014

Last revised

04/07/2017