The main target of this course is the completion of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) basic grammar and syntax. The cycle aims at improving the student’s capacity to apply knowledge and understanding, his ability to make autonomous judgements and his communicative and learning skills.

The course aims at reviewing the basics of grammar previously acquired, the control of complex grammatical structures, with an emphasis on root/pattern identification skills.

Tasks assignments and other activities will address the receptive and productive proficiency.

• Expressions of totality/partiality (kull/ba‘ad/kila)
• Reflexive expressions (nafs/anfus)
• Question and question words
• Connectives and conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions: the particle inna and her sisters
• Final clauses
• Indefinite relative pronouns
• The structure of adjectives and the comparative clause
• Adverbial accusative of specification (tamyiz)
• Verb roots: derivate patterns of regular verbs (forms VI through X except form IX) and relative verbal nouns and participles
• Geminate verbs and derivations
• Hollow verbs and derivations
• The Arabic verb-tense system
• Text vocalization
• Inna and its sisters
• Cardinal numbers
• The use of root-based dictionaries

This course is designed for students who have had the equivalent of 30 hours instruction.

Those who enroll in this course are expected to know the Arabic writing and transliteration systems, the basics of inflectional morphology and simple structures (such as construct phrase, nominal sentence). Limited writing and reading skills with fully vocalized texts are also required.

Knowledge and understanding: Completing the basics of grammar and broadening the range of vocabulary will enable students to comprehend texts of simple content (family, travels, work).

Applying knowledge and understanding: students will be able to read and understand simple non-vocalized texts and to write personal communication in standard Arabic.

Making judgements: Upon completing the module, students will improve their acquaintance with the Arabic derivational system.

Communication: students will be able to engage in short conversations on a variety of topics (habits, describing images, reporting past events).

Learning skills: by the end of this module, students will acquire the necessary tools for enhancing written production and oral comprehension skills.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Arabic training classes (6 hours per week).

Teaching

The duration of the course is 30 hours roughly distributed on 10 weeks time, 2 lessons per week.

Theoretical explanations on  verbs morphology and complex structures will be provided together with practical exercises to verify and validate the acquired knowledge. A special focus will be given to practicing receptive and productive skills, enabling students to engage in oral production. Further translation tasks will help underpin the grammatical structures addressed in the class. Synopsis and handouts will be distributed along the course.

Attendance

Arabic training classes attendance is highly recommended (6 hours per week).

Course books

Veccia Vaglieri L., Avino M., “Grammatica teorico-pratica della lingua araba, Istituto per l’Oriente, Roma.

Foreign students who are unacquainted with Italian may also use:

Ryding C. K., “A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic”, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Assessment

The final examination is divided into two parts:

Written test

the written test is divided in four different exercises:

- transformation tasks testing the knowledge of root/pattern verbal morphology

- conjugation task

- a vocalization task, testing reading/comprehension skills

- translation task, testing the ability to apply the syntactic rules.

Oral exam

Students will first be asked to review their own written test to seize on possible mistakes or inaccuracies. Then, they will be called on to prove their ability to apply knowledge and comprehension, by reading, translating and analysing an excerpt from one of the texts handed out during the module. Lastly they will be asked to transform a given triliteral root into one of its derivations.

Individual marks will be assigned for each written module (Written production / Reading and comprehension / Written test) added together and averaged out. Likewise all marks assigned for oral abilities (Dictation / Conversation / Oral exam) will be added together and averaged out.

Written and oral marks are finally added together and averaged to give the final mark.

Students attendance and their overall performance during classes shall be taken into account in the assessment.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

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Attendance

Students unable to attend classes are strongly recommended to get in touch with the professor prior to the beginning of the course.

Course books

As listed above for attending students.

Assessment

As illustrated above for attending students.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The exam can be taken in any of the scheduled sessions and may also be split in two different sessions (eg: written test in July and oral test in September).

Extra study material, synopsis and exercises will be available on moodle.