Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA2173: Living and Communicating in the Arab World

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the basics of a given Arabic dialect, starting with the basic morphology and syntax and progressing to simple sentence structures. You will learn how to speak the dialect with confidence, and to understand what you hear through listening and workshop activities. You will also be trained in practical aspects of living in the region – both through scenarios in Arabic dialect and lectures focusing on the successful management of life in the region. The practical aspects of the course will prepare you to deal with the ordinary situations that you will encounter in the region, and the unlikely ones for which you should be prepared. It opens the way for you to appreciate and enjoy the full potential of living and speaking Arabic in the Arab world.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Listen to spoken dialect dealing with practical daily topics and understand the main ideas with and without a dictionary, and finding specific information. 2. Speak about yourself, your environment and your needs in Arabic dialect, and carry out conversations on a variety of practical and daily-life topics. 3. Listen to simple Arabic dialect passages and read dialect texts, demonstrating an understanding of what you hear and read. 4. Compose simple spoken and written phrases in Arabic dialect using correct dialect grammar and translate simple dialect sentences from English to Arabic and from Arabic to English. 5. Demonstrate an understanding of basic Media Arabic texts.
Discipline-Specific Skills	6. Identify and use linguistic structures in writing and in conversation. 7. Demonstrate the necessary skills in social interaction, personal wellbeing, life management and risk assessment for living in the Middle East.
Personal and Key Skills	8. Demonstrate time management skills, the ability to conduct independent study and the ability to work in pairs and groups in conversation and on text-based work. 9. Exhibit confidence in the use of a foreign language including the use of audio-visual material, online resources and the language laboratory. 10. Deploy skills necessary for successful independent living overseas, including the abilities to communicate your needs in a foreign language, assess risk, and plan for and manage life overseas.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Daily homework assignments and preparation for classes. These include grammar drills, short pieces of writing and translation.	Throughout taught period of the module in term 3	1-10	Written and oral feedback in the classroom and outside.

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
10	0	90

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Planning and Risk Assessment Report	10	1500 words	7,8,10	Written and verbal feedback
Class Presentation	25	15 minutes	7,8,10	Written and verbal feedback
Oral test	35	10 minutes	1,2,4,5,9,10	Verbal feedback
Listening test	30	30 minutes	1,2,3,4,5,9	Written and verbal feedback

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Planning and Risk Assessment Report	Essay (1,500 words)	7,8,10	August assessment period
Class Presentation	Presentation to two members of staff (15 minutes)	7,8,10	August assessment period
Oral test	Oral test(10 minutes)	1,2,4,5,9,10	August assessment period
Listening test	Listening test (up to 30 minutes)	1,2,3,4,5,9	August assessment period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Liddicoat, M., Lennane R., and Abdul Rahim, I. 2008. Syrian Colloquial Arabic, a Functional Course (third edition). Online Resource

Lutfi Hussein. 1993. Levantine Arabic for Non-Natives: A Proficiency-Oriented Approach . New Haven: Yale University Press.

Mitchell, T.F. 1956. An Introduction to Egyptian Colloquial Arabic . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mitchell, T.F. 1962. Colloquial Arabic: the Living Language of Egypt . London: The English Universities Press.

Pipes, D. 1983 An Arabist’s Guide to Egyptian Colloquial .

Younes, M, Weatherspoon, M., and Saliba Foster, M. 2013. Arabiyyat al-Naas: An Introductory Course in Arabic. Vol. 1 Oxford: Routledge.

Supporting Materials:

Wehr, Hans 1979. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz.